Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy a style icon?

[narniabusiness]

Recently I’ve seen a lot of references to Carolyn B-K as a style icon and I’m not sure that I fully understand the love. For those who are unfamiliar with her she worked for Calvin Klein, married a Kennedy and died tragically young.
Since the Kennedys seem to be the American equivalent of our Royal family, is it that the gives her a touch of glamour? Especially when combined with her tragic death, like Princess Diana?
Or is it that she really did look more stylish than her contemporaries? Does her frequent referencing in style guides mean that minimalism is having a moment?
Anyone else noticed these frequent references to her style and do you like it or think its unremarkable?

Her look was the classic American old money look. It hasn't changed much at all.

She's always been iconic in the US. Perhaps that look has only now started to become appealing across the pond.

Great thread about a fascinating woman. She was terribly harassed by paparazzi and I read that she decided to wear the same clothes every day when leaving the apartment to make their photos less valuable.

The whole idea of her style was not to shine. It was the opposite of 'look at me'.

Her look was the classic American old money look. It hasn't changed much at all.
She's always been iconic in the US. Perhaps that look has only now started to become appealing across the pond

British women have never looked to America for style or fashion inspiration. There's something of a revival in 1990s fashion. I dressed like that back then and I'm not from old or new money.

We definitely had some influence by the US in the 90s - Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan… I could go on.

@Uricon2 And another daughter was lobotomised and confined to an insititution. The Kennedys seem to have an unerring knack of destroying themselves and many who cross their path. There are many reports that her marriage to JFK jnr was not an idyll, but it is very sad indeed they and her sister died so tragically

Your comment reminds me of the old quote "Does Rose Kennedy have a black dress?"

I'm half way through listening to the audio version of 'Ask Not' by Maureen Callaghan (The Kennedy's and the women they destroyed). Fascinating read and CBK is mentioned a lot... Thoroughly recommend 👌

As a PP said, there’s a new Ryan Murphy American Anthology series about JFK jr and CBK out soon and it was filmed all over Manhattan this summer. I even saw some of it myself and photos comparing the scenes being filmed and the real life pap shots are all over the socials. It’s been a real event in the city.

I have always found her role as a style icon rather overdone. She was very beautiful but I never found her clothes especially interesting. Certainly nothing compared to Jacqueline Kennedy in terms of inspiration and impact.

She's a style icon to me. She's trendy to criticise because she's having such a moment online but she really did dress beautifully. She was also a very good looking woman, tall and thin so everything looked good on her. I like that she was a bit horsey looking too and actually looked like a real woman, imperfect. I love minimal style and she nailed it. Good poise and posture too. I liked that she never seemed to have done nails either and her makeup and jewellery was minimal.

Based on those 2 photos? Completely ordinary and unremarkable. I wouldn't give a second glance to anyone dressed like that.

But you're looking at 30 year old photos. At the time her look was fresh, chic and understated and often fashion forward. Her white shirt with a black evening skirt was new and has been copied many times since. Her Yohji Yamamoto light brown ruffled blouse was cutting edge. Many of her looks are still relevant today.

I don't think it was about the clothes. I think it was about the way she wore them. Her grace and dignity were her style. She certainly had an "aura".

I never understood the hype.
That was the trend back then and almost everyone dressed like that Gwyneth , Carolyn Murphy. Jennifer Aniston, Christy Turlington , who was the face of Calvin for many years and attended the Met with Calvin a couple of times wearing two really iconic looks by Calvin.
Carolyn was far from being well off, very normal middle class upbringing even when she moved to upscale CT , i really believe John influenced how she dressed in a way , her hair dresser commented on how she wanted to look more regal after marrying John.

The age of the photos isn't relevant. Audrey Hepburn for example looks fantastic in every photo. The outfits in those photos are really dull.

30 years is the 1990s- I wouldn't have given a second glance then at anyone dressed like that.

@IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle Audrey Hepburn was also wearing a plain white shirt with formal skirts (including black) before Carolyn BK was born.

I really don't know anything about her. I've googled Carolyn Besset Kennedy style and with very few exceptions (the wedding dress and a couple of formal dresses) it's all very boring, blend into the background neutrals. Maybe it looked better in the flesh.

She was 7 years younger than me so we're contemporary but there's nothing I've seen which impresses.

Sharon stone wore a white shirt by the Gap to the Oscar’s and looked spectacular.

Audrey Hepburn always looked stunning. Carolyn Besset - Kennedy doesn't.

Yeah, she did. As I said earlier, we lived near them in NY, and in person, she absolutely stood out. She wore the clothes rather than the clothes wearing her, but there's no way you would have passed her without noticing her.

To the pp who said she wore the same outfit every day to make the photos less valuable, she definitely dressed down on a regular basis, but for around the neighbourhood, she wasn't always wearing the same thing.

Yes she was.
I thought she was stunning at the time. She definitely wasn't conventionally beautiful & at times could look somewhat pinched, but the whole package was very stylish & original. Looking at those pictures they are pretty much dateless & the styles are still relevant to today.
She had a star quality that I don't believe Kate moss ever possessed. Kate Moss was cute & pretty, but never classy.

I liked the fact that she didn't perform and didn't act as if she had anything to prove. I loved her elegant simple style and she was always her own person.

Looking at those pictures they are pretty much dateless & the styles are still relevant to today.

They look like what the SAHM mothers wore to drop off their children at my son's (private) school in the years 1995 to 2008. If that's the image you're aiming for, then go for it.

Sorry, it feels a bit nasty to say this but there's nothing remarkable in the photographs I've seen. I'm not a huge fan of Kate Moss but she had a definite look- this is just bland.

Carolyn was far from being well off, very normal middle class upbringing even when she moved to upscale CT

Her stepfather was an ortho surgeon and they make bank. Plus, she lived in Old Greenwich, which is a well to do area.

Not really sure if that's a dig at CBK or SAHMs, but I think the point is that there's a difference between making a statement and having a style, and hers was pretty iconic. It's not mine, but then, I also don't think making yourself look like a giant piece of upholstery in a poorly fitting slip cover is anything I aspire to either.

Not to mention, if it was 1995-2008 'the SAHM private school mums' were very likely taking their cues at least in part from her. I was working in a NY law firm for some of those years, by the way, as well as dropping my kids off at private school, and I certainly don't recall that most of us in the office were pushing the style envelope in wild ways.