Few First Ladies have had
more influence on style as Jacqueline Kennedy.
Her timeless style is still an inspiration for modern women who want to
look elegantly sophisticated, and feminine.
As a young woman,
Jacqueline lived in Paris and studied at the Sorbonne. While in Paris, she acquired her love of art
history. Her studies at the Sorbonne
combined with her time in Paris inspired her impeccable taste in fashion and
style. And like every women who has ever
spent any time in Paris, she also acquired an appreciation of French fashion designers. Even after leaving Paris she continued to
dress in couture from French designers Givenchy, Balenciaga, and Chanel.
After her return to the
United States she met the charismatic congressman from Massachusetts, John F.
Kennedy. The couple was married in the fall
of 1953. During this time, Mrs. Kennedy
approached fashion with the same intensity that her husband approached
politics. As the wife of a senator who
was looking to the presidency, her taste in Parisian fashion sparked public
debate. It was speculated that Mrs.
Kennedy may be too extravagant to be relatable to the Middle American
homemaker.
In 1960 John F. Kennedy
began his run for the president of the United States. Mrs. Kennedy was issued a discrete ultimatum
from her husband’s campaign to abandon her French fashion, and collaborate with
American fashion designers instead. Oleg
Cassini, a social acquaintance of the Kennedy’s, had recently opened a fashion
house in New York City. Cassini successfully
persuaded Jacqueline Kennedy to allow him to be her American fashion
designer.
In 1961, when Jacqueline
and John Kennedy moved into the White House, the new First Lady appointed
Cassini as her exclusive couturier, and he became known as the creator of the
“Jackie look”. Cassini was nicknamed the “Secretary of
Style”. He created a wardrobe for
Jacqueline that featured original and copies of Parisian designs. The
First Lady often supplied Cassini with fabric swatches, sketches and pages torn
from magazines. During the time
Jacqueline Kennedy was First Lady he designed over 300 outfits for her which
included evening gowns, coats, dresses, and suits.
Women across America fell
in love with the “Jackie look” and flocked to copy her styles. Dresses that were inspired by her clothes
flew out of the stores, and Cassini was firmly established as a great American
designer. Although the roles of women in
society have changed drastically in the last 50 years, Jacqueline Kennedy’s
look still influences fashion today. From
the pillbox hat, to the simple suit, and to the elegant gowns, women can find
fashion inspiration by emulating the fashion of Jacqueline Kennedy.
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