How Jacqueline Kennedy Became the Fabulous First Lady of Fashion
Only 31 when she became First Lady, Jackie Kennedy was the Queen of Camelot wearing outfits from American fashion designer Oleg Cassini and dazzling in big-buttoned suits, pillbox hats and her favorite accessory – pearls.
Though she served only a short time as First Lady — from January 1961 until the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, in November 1963 — Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis remains deeply rooted in American culture.
A large part of this stems from her timeless style that made her one of the biggest fashion icons of the last century. Legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head called her the greatest single fashion influence in history. Almost thirty years after her death (May 19 marks the 29th anniversary of her death from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 64), she continues to influence fashion.
The newly sworn-in President Kennedy and First Lady arrive at the Inaugural Ball January, 20, 1961. Jackie’s elegant ensemble was well-received in the press and helped solidify her as a fashion icon. Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution/Gift of Mrs. John F. Kennedy
Famous for her big-buttoned suits, pillbox hats, and bouffant hair, Jackie’s ladylike couture style in the 1960s was minimal and modern, and she adorned herself with simple accessories, including her favorite pearls.
Long before setting trends as the First Lady, Jackie developed her style while growing up in a wealthy New York family, attending prep schools, debutante balls, and equestrian shows. After marrying Greek billionaire shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968, she ushered in her new life with a new look centering around flowing maxi dresses, menswear-inspired suits, and her signature oversized sunglasses. After becoming a widower again in the 1970s, she focused on her career as a respected literary editor and adopted a chic and casual businesswoman style.
But it is for what she wore during her time as First Lady that she is most remembered and admired.
Jackie was 31 years old when she became the First Lady and capitalized on her beauty, youth, and poise to popularize her husband’s presidency. She appointed her friend, American fashion designer Oleg Cassini to be her couturier. The famous designer had dressed some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly (whom he was once engaged to), and Marilyn Monroe.
Jacqueline Kennedy wore this evening dress by Oleg Cassini, inspired by another Givenchy design, to a foreign ministry reception in Mexico City on June 29, 1962. The strapless gown, in azure blue silk crepe Giselle, is adorned with a bow at the bustline. Courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
“I was proposing a new look, a new concept, my interpretation of how Jaqueline Bouvier Kennedy should appear in her role as First Lady … I told her that she needed a story, a scenario as First Lady,” Cassini said in his 1995 book, A Thousand Days of Magic: Dressing Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House.
Cassini designed more than 300 custom outfits for the First Lady over three years and she collaborated, suggesting colors, fabrics, and tailoring for her outfits.
All-white was a theme for Jackie, and on a trip to Texas in 1963 she styled her pale tailored separates with contrasting black accessories, including a belt that nipped in the waist, a cute mini purse, and a black hat. Cecil Stoughton and courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Jackie called Cassini her Secretary of Style, and he earned her the title of First Lady of Fashion. Together they created the “Jackie look” that showcased her lithe 5-foot-7-inch frame: strapless and sleeveless evening gowns with elbow-length gloves, streamlined shift dresses and daytime ensembles in vibrant colors and bold lines that made her stand out in a crowd, fur-trimmed coats with large collars and buttons, tailored suits, boxy jackets, and, of course, the ubiquitous pillbox hats. Her fashions reflected the elegance and American regency that marked the new Queen of Camelot, and defined the trends of the decade.
Here is a look back at some of her most memorable fashions showcasing her timeless style:
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy on her wedding day, September 12, 1953, in a gown by trailblazing Black designer Ann Lowe. The dress, made of ivory-colored silk taffeta, features a portrait neckline and a voluminous skirt with interwoven tucking bands and tiny wax flowers. Lowe’s creation is one of the most famous bridal gowns of the modern era and one of the most imitated. Bachrach/Getty Images
Famed fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon photographed Jackie in the ivory satin-twill gown she wore for the pre-inauguration in 1961. The gown was designed by Oleg Cassini, who Jackie called her "Secretary of Style."
Walking through a crowd in Udaipur, India, in 1962, Jackie embraced the country’s love of vibrant colors with this silk apricot-colored dress with a matching purse and her famous triple strand of pearls. She wore the dress and matching coat on a boat ride. Cassini calculated its dazzling color and sheen to ensure that Jackie would be instantly identifiable to the people on shore. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
According to an excerpt published in Vanity Fair from the biography "Simply Halston," designer Roy Halston was the first to make the First Lady’s famous pillbox hat when he was a milliner at Bergdorf Goodman. Though the hats were one of her famous signatures, she reportedly was not a fan of them at first because she thought her head was too big, especially with her bouffant hair. The pillbox hat here was worn during her husband’s 1960 presidential campaign. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Jackie wore this long scarlet coat during a press conference announcing her husband’s candidacy for presidency at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 2, 1960. She also wore it throughout his campaign and dubbed it her “good luck coat.” The double-breasted wool coat was by French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy. Jackie’s fondness for Givenchy, Chanel, Dior, and French couture became a controversial issue during JFK's presidential campaign and she was criticized for her “un-American fashion choices.” From then on, JFK wanted her to wear only American designs, but according to Vanity Fair, her sister, Lee, smuggled Givenchy dresses into the White House. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Jackie was known for wearing classic, tailored suits in monochromatic colors — pink was a favorite. For Valentine’s Day in 1961, she wore this pink wool suit with an asymmetrical collar, accessorized with a big smile, while meeting children representing the Heart Fund. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Jackie’s personal fashion icon was reportedly Audrey Hepburn, so when the First Lady spotted a photograph in a 1962 issue of Life magazine of Hepburn wearing a yellow sari-inspired gown designed by Hubert de Givenchy, she asked Cassini to create this version for her. The pink silk chiffon evening gown, hand embroidered with crystal beads, was one of her favorites. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Chez Ninon, a high-end boutique nestled in Midtown Manhattan, supplied a socialite-studded client list with exact copies of French and Italian couture designs, including the First Lady. Every custom look was Europe-designed, American-made, and 100 percent legal. Kennedy wore this Chez Ninon dress February 14, 1962, during the TV special, A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy. Bettmann/Getty Images
Later in life, far from the chaos of the White House, Jackie found peace as a book editor in New York. Here, she heads to work in 1973 wearing a Yves St. Laurent fox-trimmed sweater and a Valentino shirt. Oversized sunglasses became such an iconic part of her style that the expression ”Jackie O sunglasses” was coined by the press for specific oversized designs. Peter Simins/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images
