Anton Chekhov considered this photograph to be his best and most accurate portrait. As a rule, Chekhov gave pictures taken in the studio to his acquaintances with a memorable or humorous caption. “In a human being everything should be beautiful: the face, the clothes, the soul, the thoughts.” These words of doctor Astrov from Chekhov’s play “Uncle Vanya” were also true of the author himself. There were many in his circle who were impressed by the taste that he always had in clothing.

Chekhov loved wearing elegant and even extravagant clothes. He knew how to find them, especially when traveling in Europe. Going to France, the capital of fashion and style, Chekhov would jokingly say,

French goods were very accessible, “cheaper than mushrooms”. It was from France that Chekhov brought his ties, shirts, coats and suits. It was also possible to buy high-quality goods in Germany, but the things Chekhov bought in Italy were a disappointment,

However, the writer did buy silk ties and a pin in Naples.

A Chekhov’s contemporary reminisced,

A tie, an important item of men’s clothing of the late nineteenth century, was never overlooked by the writer. In his photographs and portraits of different years he was shown wearing all sorts of ties: narrow and wide ones, those with a soft wide knot or loosely tied; he would also wear a variety of bow ties: checked, striped, colored and plain.

Anton Chekhov appreciated perfumes and had been wearing them since a young age. Perfume was available in Moscow’s first department store, “Mur & Merilize”, or in Popov’s Passage, where Chekhov often asked his sister to stop by for perfume. In one of his letters to a female friend of his, recovering from a pulmonary hemorrhage, found the strength to joke,

Chekhov wrote this letter at the age of 37.