All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
In the 25-plus years since Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy died, she has remained a perennial style inspiration, a source of endless stories (like this one) on how to “steal her look.” But, as we were recently reminded, replicating Bessette-Kennedy’s ’90s minimalism is a tougher task than one might imagine.
In March, Ryan Murphy announced that he had cast Broadway breakout Sarah Pidgeon as Bessette-Kennedy in his forthcoming FX series, American Love Story. And just last week, the showrunner released the first images of Pidgeon alongside her co-star, Paul Kelly. While Kelly was lauded for his resemblance to John F. Kennedy Jr., Pidgeon’s CBK drew criticism, largely in part for her wardrobe: a flimsy brown coat over a black turtleneck, cropped trousers, slingback kitten heels, and an empty Birkin.
Many dissenters were quick to point out that just because a garment mimics Bessette-Kennedy’s minimalist wardrobe, that doesn’t mean it hits the mark. “I know the silhouettes look the same but Zara is very different from vintage Calvin, Narciso, Jil,” stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson commented on an Instagram post. “[S]orry but the wardrobe is wrong,” Moda Operandi founder Lauren Santo Domingo agreed.
A fashion publicist for Calvin Klein, Bessette-Kennedy had an exacting eye for fashion, filling her wardrobe with Prada, Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, and Yohji Yamamoto. (She was especially fond of Yamamoto, who gave her sleek style an avant-garde flair.) That’s not to suggest it was entirely inaccessible: she was loyal to Levi’s 517s and stocked up on her favorite headbands at a local New York apothecary, C.O. Bigelow. But to assume her considered style, tailored to a tee, could be replicated without effort would be a mistake.
In Elements of Style, we’re distilling a celebrity’s fashion sense into its most basic components. Here, we break down the five key pieces in Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s closet. Copycats, take note!
Statement Outerwear
When it works, it works! A Prada acolyte, Bessette-Kennedy incorporated the belted outerwear into her wardrobe in both black and camel. But while her palette was usually muted, that didn’t stop her from experimenting with texture, pattern, and color, like the ruffled Yohji coat she wore to the “Newman’s Own” George Awards, or the red plaid Prada number she wore out and about in NYC.
What: Prada, Yohji Yamamoto, Versace
Where: “Newman’s Own” George Awards, Fire Ice Ball, walking in New York
Wear it with: Bootcut jeans, a black weekender bag, strappy sandals
_0014_image7.jpg)
_0009_image12.jpg)
A Tortoiseshell Headband
Eternally associated with the plastic headband, Bessette-Kennedy wore a thick, tortoiseshell iteration year-round, be it with a Miu Miu dress and Prada boots, or with her go-to Levi’s. The publicist is said to have gotten the Charles J. Wahba headband from Greenwich Village apothecary C.O. Bigelow, though other sources claim she bought them from Upper East Side pharmacy Zitomer.
What: Charles J. Wahba
Where: Out and about in New York
Wear it with: Miu Miu dress, Prada coat, Levi’s 517s, a white T-shirt, knee-high boots
_0016_image5.jpg)
_0008_image13.jpg)
_0004_image17.jpg)
_0002_image19.jpg)
Oval Sunglasses
Bessette-Kennedy favored the oval Aldo shades from Selima Optique, wearing them with almost any outfit. The brand later named a pair, the Carolyn, in her honor.
What: Selima Optique
Where: Her honeymoon in Turkey, in New York
Wear it with: A bandana, bootcut jeans, strappy sandals, a Birkin, a black winter coat
_0013_image8.jpg)
_0010_image11.jpg)
_0017_image4.jpg)
_0006_image15.jpg)
Closet Staples
Even Bessette-Kennedy’s closet staples were elevated, from the white Yohji Yamamoto Homme shirt she wore to the 1999 Whitney Museum gala to the black Ralph Lauren turtleneck she paired with brown Helmut Lang pants and her black Birkin.
What: Levi’s 517s, button-up shirts, loafers, black shoulder bags, a black turtleneck, black pointy-toe slingbacks
Where: The Whitney Museum Gala, the Robin Hood Foundation benefit, out and about in New York
Wear it with: A Birkin, an L.L. Bean Boat and Tote, oval sunglasses, Helmut Lang pants, a Chanel sundress, Prada boots
_0001_image20.jpg)
_0019_image2.jpg)
_0018_image3.jpg)
_0011_image10.jpg)
All-Black Formalwear
Bessette-Kennedy was partial to an all-black look, especially when it came to formalwear. Still, while her color palette was singular, she showed plenty of range from her waist-cinching Yohji skirt suits to the glamorous two-piece off-the-shoulder number she wore to the Warhol Look/Glamour Style and Fashion Exhibition Gala at the Whitney.
What: Yohji Yamamoto, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen
Where: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a White House State dinner, the Profiles in Courage Awards
Wear it with: Strappy black sandals, black velvet opera gloves, pointy-toe pumps, a red lip, a sleek bun
_0003_image18.jpg)
_0015_image6.jpg)
_0012_image9.jpg)
_0020_image1.jpg)
