Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...
was wearing a pink suit when her husband, President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
, was
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.
She insisted on wearing the suit, stained with his blood, during the
swearing-in of Lyndon B. Johnson that afternoon and for the flight back to Washington D.C. Jacqueline Kennedy was a
fashion icon
A fashion icon or fashion leader is a influential person who introduces new styles which spread throughout fashion culture and become part of fashion. They initiate a new style which others may follow. They may be famous personalities such as ...
, and the suit is arguably the most referenced and revisited among her clothing items.
Made of wool
bouclé, the
double-breasted
A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of button ...
, raspberry pink and navy trim collared suit was matched with a trademark pink
pillbox hat
A pillbox hat is a small hat, usually worn by women, with a flat crown, straight, upright sides, and no brim. It is named after the small cylindrical or hexagonal cases that were used for storing or carrying a small number of pills. and white gloves.
A long-time question among fashion historians and experts about whether the suit was made by Chanel in France or a quality copy purchased from New York's semiannual Chez Ninon collections, was resolved by
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...
's biographer,
Justine Picardie. She showed that the suit was a garment made by Chez Ninon using Chanel's approved "line for line" system with authorized Chanel patterns and materials.
The suit as fashion
![Kennedys arrive at Dallas 11-22-63 (Cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Kennedys_arrive_at_Dallas_11-22-63_%28Cropped%29.jpg)
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Chanel suit was one of the strongest symbols of bourgeois female chic that could be found anywhere in the Western world, evoking a powerful image of a sophisticated, intelligent and independent modern woman.
During this era it became the "wardrobe staple of the upwardly mobile American female which could fit almost every daytime occasion that required a woman to dress stylishly".
Although women wearing pink in the 21st century is common, pink was new to fashion in the 1950s and was a color loved and even popularized to an extent in American fashion by
Mamie Eisenhower
Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was the first lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household in C ...
, who endorsed a color which, according to cultural historian
Karal Ann Marling
Katnajur ( hy, Կաթնաջուր, also romanized as Kat’najur and Katnadzhur; formerly, Karal) is a town in the Lori Province of Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Ar ...
, was called "Mamie Pink".
Given that the Chanel suit was a strong statement of an independent woman, the color pink has an element of traditional femininity, perhaps evading the foreign and feminist attributes associated with the Chanel suit in a conservative American society.
Before John F. Kennedy departed for Texas he asked his wife what she planned to wear. In an interview with
William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004) was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the ...
after the tragedy, Kennedy said that her husband had told her:
It was said that the pink suit was one of her husband's "particular favorites";
[ the suit had first been shown by ]Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...
in her 1961 autumn/winter collection.[ Photographs exist of Mrs. Kennedy wearing the suit – or one very similar to it – in Washington D.C. in November 1961; to church on November 12, 1961; in London on March 26, 1962; in Washington D.C. in September 1962; in Lafayette Square on September 26, 1962; at the visit by the ]Prime Minister of Algeria
The prime minister of Algeria is the head of government of Algeria. Aymen Benabderrahmane has been the prime minister since 30 June 2021.
The prime minister is appointed by the president of Algeria, along with other ministers and members of t ...
on October 15, 1962; and the visit of the Maharaja of Jaipur
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
on October 23, 1962. After the last of these occasions, she was apparently not photographed wearing it until the day of the assassination, when she was pictured in it at Fort Worth and Dallas leading up to the assassination, having been revealed wearing it after stepping out of Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...
at Love Field.
The suit was double-breasted
A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of button ...
, with six gold buttons and four square pockets, two on each side. The fabric was a light weight wool from Linton Tweeds in a nubby weave known as bouclé. The color was raspberry although most press reports described it as strawberry pink. The wide quilted collar, jacket lining, piping trim on the sleeves, and at the top of each pocket was navy blue silk. There were two gold buttons on each sleeve. The buttons on the suit had navy blue piping around the edge. A clever feature of Chanel jackets was a small gold chain sewn along the inside bottom edge of jacket to provide just enough weight for it to hang straight. The suit came with a sleeveless navy silk shell blouse. For cool weather, Kennedy would wear a matching navy silk scarf knotted at the neck and tucked into the front of the jacket, which she did in Dallas. Accompanying the suit was a trademark pillbox hat in matching pink with a band of navy piping around the crown. She secured the hat to her head with a standard hatpin. Kennedy carried a navy handbag with a gold buckle and gold chain handle. She wore low-heeled navy shoes with a small gold ornament at the toe. A gold bangle bracelet on her left wrist and short white kid leather gloves with tiny wrist buttons completed her outfit.
Most of the American public viewing pictures of the presidential couple on television and in newspapers between 1961 and 1963 would not have known the color of the suit, given that at the time of the assassination TV news was still in black and white and newspapers did not print color photographs. The color of the suit became widely known only after the publication of color photos in Life magazine's JFK memorial issue November 29, 1963 and in Life's Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...
report issue October 2, 1964.
Authenticity
There was long a question among fashion historians and experts whether the suit was made by Chanel in France or a garment purchased from New York's Chez Ninon, a popular dress shop that imported European label designs and materials and put them together in the United States. A number of sources claimed it was more than likely a version of a Chanel pink bouclé wool suit trimmed with a navy blue collar, some asserting it was made by Chez Ninon in 1961. Further complicating the matter was the indisputable fact that the First Lady's "official" designer was Oleg Cassini
Oleg Cassini (11 April 1913 – 17 March 2006) was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after starting as a designer in Rome, and quickly got ...
, who provided much of her public as well as private wardrobe. In her 2010 authorized biography of Coco Chanel, Justine Picardie resolved the matter, stating the fabric, buttons and trim for the jacket came from Chanel in Paris, from which the suit was made and fitted for Kennedy at Chez Ninon, using Chanel's approved "line for line" system.[ Picardie insists this system had nothing to do with forgery or trademark infringement, since Chanel supplied the materials to Chez Ninon. The purpose of buying the suit from Chez Ninon was not to save money – the costs were the same – but to appear patriotic to the American electorate by buying her garments from the United States rather than France.][ The suit in 1963 was estimated to cost $800 to $1,000 ($ to $ in dollars).]
Assassination
Kennedy was seated to the left side of the President in the back seat of the open-top presidential limousine as the vehicle traveled through local streets in Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. Immediately after he was shot in the head, her suit was spattered by his blood.
Upon arriving at Parkland Hospital
Parkland often refers to a park.
Parkland or Parklands may also refer to:
Geography
* Aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie and boreal forest (taiga)
* Landscaped parkland, a managed rural area associated with European country hous ...
, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's wife Lady Bird saw the car and said:
At the hospital, Kennedy continued to wear the blood-stained suit, but she had removed her hat. William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004) was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the ...
wrote in ''The Death of a President
''The Death of a President: November 20–November 25, 1963'' is historian William Manchester's 1967 account of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. The book gained public attention before it was published when Kennedy' ...
'':
The whereabouts of the hat today are unknown, and the last person known to have had it—her personal secretary, Mary Gallagher—will not discuss it.[Fiore, Faye]
''Austin American-Statesman'', January 30, 2011. Accessed May 6, 2011 Several people asked Kennedy whether she would like to change her suit but she refused. When Lady Bird offered to send someone to help her, she responded:
Despite the advice of John F. Kennedy's physician, Admiral George Burkley, who "gently tried to persuade her to change out of her gore-soaked pink Chanel suit", she wore the suit alongside Vice President Johnson as he was First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson, sworn in on Air Force One as the 36th President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. In the photograph of the ceremony (''right'') the blood stains cannot be seen as they were on the right-hand side of the suit. Lady Bird recalls that during the swearing-in:
Kennedy had no regrets about refusing to take the blood-stained suit off; her only regret was that she had washed the blood off her face before Johnson was sworn in.
Aftermath
When Jacqueline Kennedy finally removed her suit the following morning, her maid folded it and placed it in a box. Some days after the assassination this box was dispatched to Kennedy's mother, Janet Lee Auchincloss, who wrote "November 22nd 1963" on the top of the box and stored it in her attic.[ Eventually the box was given to the National Archives in Maryland, together with an unsigned note bearing the Auchincloss letterhead stationery. The note read: "Jackie's suit and bag worn Nov. 22, 1963".][ The suit, which was never cleaned,][ is kept out of public view in "an acid-free container in a windowless room ... the precise location is kept secret. The temperature hovers between ; the humidity is 40 percent; the air is changed six times an hour."][
Kennedy continued to buy Chanel clothes for a time after the assassination.][
]
Historical significance
Kennedy's Chanel suit has been variously described as "a famous pink suit which will forever be embedded in America's historical conscience", "one of those indelible images Americans had stored: Jackie in the blood-stained pink Chanel suit", "the most legendary garment in American history", and "emblematic of the ending of innocence".[
The garment is now stored out of public view in the National Archives.] It will not be seen by the public until at least 2103, according to a deed of Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born November 27, 1957) is an American author, attorney, and diplomat serving in the Biden administration as the United States Ambassador to Australia since 2022. She previously served in the Obama administration as th ...
, Kennedy's sole surviving heir.[ At that time, when the 100-year deed expires, the Kennedy family descendants will renegotiate the matter.][
]
Cultural references
The suit has been well referenced and replicated in theater and film. In 2011, a copy of the suit appeared in the mini-series '' The Kennedys''. However, the Chanel copy was recreated by Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...
. Costume designer Madeline Fontaine
Madeline Fontaine is a French costume designer.
Biography
Madeline Fontaine is president of the French Association of Film and Audiovisual costumers (AFCCA).
Filmography
* Costume designer:
** 1996 A Saturday on Earth of Diane Bertrand
* ...
recreated the suit for the 2016 film '' Jackie'', with Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...
portraying Kennedy; the buttons, chain, and label were provided by Chanel. Costume designer Jane Petrie recreated the suit for the eighth episode of the second season of ''The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
'', titled "Dear Mrs. Kennedy". In the ''Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...
'' episode "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield
"Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield" is the fourteenth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 4, 1996. In this ...
", the Chanel outfit worn by Marge Simpson
Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family, eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' shor ...
(whose maiden name is Bouvier in a nod to the former First Lady) was modelled upon Kennedy's suit. In "Never Say Goodbye", the last installment of the famous "I Will Survive" trilogy, the main character's wife wears what is very clearly a homage to the suit.
References
External links
{{Assassination of John F. Kennedy
1960s fashion
1961 clothing
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Chanel
Individual suits
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis