the charm of carolyn bessette kennedy
even decades after her death she remains as charming as ever.
When John F. Kennedy Jr. married Carolyn Bessette, America had a new princess. The duo was deemed the fairy tale couple we grew up reading about.
However, he wasn’t a prince. Nor was she a princess. Instead, the couple portrayed an ordinary life in the many candid photos of them around the streets of Manhattan: taking the subway, brunching with friends, or walking their dog Friday. All of which made Carolyn and John more fascinating than if they had had that storybook life. When you add to a family dynasty, such as the Kennedys, beauty and money and celebrity, you have what they had: the capacity to be, for better or for worse, the center of all eyes. And they had that.



From one moment to the next, Carolyn Bessette became the center of popping flashbulbs in every corner of Manhattan. Although JFK Jr. was in the spotlight from the moment he was born and was deemed America’s most eligible bachelor at the time, his wife never got used to public attention. She did not grant the media interviews or photoshoots, which contributed to creating an image that, to this day, is kept on a pedestal.
As the photo of the couple leaving the tiny Church on Cumberland Island, where the secret ceremony was held for a small number of friends and family members, was stamped in every newspaper, magazine, television channel, and on the Internet, it was seen by virtually everyone. The moment was both charming and ground-breaking. Dressed in a cowl neck, bias-cut silk slip dress designed by the then little-known Narciso Rodriguez (who had worked as a design assistant at Calvin Klein), Carolyn Bessette personified the decade’s minimalism.
Right then and there, she consolidated the path she was creating without even knowing it: becoming a fashion icon that would transcend her short life. Within days of her wedding to JFK Jr., Carolyn Bessette was labeled as a beacon of American style by every fashion authority. But it was not just the dress—far from it. She had been the focus of paparazzi for almost three years and, by then, had proved the allure she had on people. Her style continued to resonate long after the honeymoon glow had faded and the couple returned to their quotidian life.
Carolyn Bessette’s unique style combined American sportswear with avant-garde pieces, unusual for the classic Kennedys. With a makeup-free face and tousled hair, she became a byword for minimalism and established the modern-day uniform: understated separates that never go out of style. Although a fashion publicist for Calvin Klein, she didn’t like to wear full looks, so she would mix and match with pieces from other labels.
In an interview with the New York Post, JFK Jr.’s former assistant, Rose Marie Terenzio, revealed that Carolyn Bessette didn’t have a big wardrobe—she might have had around 30 pieces in it—and never accepted presents from designers. Instead, she would regularly and repeatedly wear a few of the same basic and classic pieces. Amongst her favorites were Levi’s jeans, Gap T-shirts, and a Prada coat, which she had in three different colors. She was also a secondhand devotee, being a client at Soho’s What Goes Around Comes Around.
Carolyn Bessette understood the power that dressing had in one’s image, and she chose wisely how to use that to her advantage. Although she was committed to straight silhouettes, she opted for different textiles and textures that lent depth to her clothes. She also favored a palette of white, black, and camel but occasionally dressed in pops of color or print, such as her Spring 1996 Prada coat and her vintage leopard coat, both of which she repeated often. There was a certain audacity in her austerity.
Except for her Hermès bags, she did not wear labels on her sleeve. Although she was a faithful client at Prada, New York Magazine once reported that Carolyn Bessette had asked a sales assistant to remove the brand’s logo from an outfit she’d bought from the label. Indeed, she was the original icon of quiet luxury coded dressing.
Her personality complemented her personal style. The aversion to the public eye made her life (and looks) captured mainly by the paparazzi. To this day, the candidness of her photos depicts a secretive image of someone everyone wants to know a little bit more about. Such a close character, yet so hard to decode.
The fairy tale would end just as quickly as it began: on July 16, 1999, the couple and Carolyn’s sister Lauren were killed when the plane JFK Jr. was piloting crashed just off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. She was 33. With her death, a certain chapter in the decade’s minimalist style also ended—a style that has been picked up in the past years.
Even decades after her death, she remains a token of exquisite taste. Images of Carolyn and John populate social media feeds and even inspire ad campaigns. It is easy to understand why her character has such an allure in this generation: the contrast between Carolyn Bessette’s style and the current pace of fashion, as well as the constant exposure on Instagram, is enormous.
Underneath all the layers of extraordinary, there was a woman who praised privacy and dignity. In times of social media, that is her ultimate lesson.
Reference
• Financial Times, ‘How Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy cultivated a timeless style’ by Jessica Beresford;
• New York Times, ‘Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Ghost Influencer’ by Vanessa Friedman;
• The Washington Post, ‘Carolyn Bessette Kennedy let her style do the talking’ by Rachel Tashjian;
• Vanity Fair, ‘Why Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Style Stands the Test of Time’ by Claire Coghlan.
I finished the book Once upon a Time: the captivating tale of Carolyn bessette kennedy. I listened to the audio book. It was indeed a ride I highly recommend.