13 Essential Pieces to Nail Jackie Kennedy's Iconic Style
A guide to preppy fashion influenced by the fashionable former First Lady.
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Even six decades after leaving the White House, Jackie Kennedy is still frequently referred to as a style icon—and with good reason. She popularized numerous trends that are still in fashion to this day. Her aesthetic continues to influence First Ladies, with both Melania Trump and Michelle Obama taking inspiration from her outfits during their husbands’ administrations. Kennedy’s style can be characterized as many things—preppy, elegant, classic, but above all her looks are timeless. Here, 13 examples of her incredible sense of style—and how to channel it yourself.
Shift Dresses
If there’s one thing Jackie popularized, it’s a shift dress. She made the silhouette a quintessential one for first ladies, with Michelle Obama and French First Lady Brigitte Macron taking inspiration from the style many years later.
Pearls
Jackie once famously said “Pearls are always appropriate”—and she was most certainly right. A fan of the classic gem, she was seen wearing them on many formal outings as the first lady, and even wore two strings of pearls on the cover of Life Magazine in 1959.
Gloves
Although gloves became less popular as the prevailing aesthetic in the ‘60s transitioned from conservative classy to hippie chic, gloves were one of Jackie’s favorite accessories. She loved to pair her gowns with long arm length white gloves. Although the style is retro, gloves are starting to make a comeback with stars like Sydney Sweeney and Blake Lively fashioning the garment on the red carpet.
Trench Coats
Trench coats were another ‘60s fashion staple that Jackie embraced—both during her White House years, and long after. She was photographed wearing trench coats on her trips to Paris in the late ‘60s and during outings in New York City in the ‘70s, she’d usually style them with dresses or in a trouser and turtleneck combo.
Capri Pants
It’s no secret that Jackie was inspired by the European way of life, especially when it came to style. Capri pants, named after the island, were not just favored by Italians but by Jackie as well. She often wore them during the trips she took to Italy and Greece while she was married to shipping tycoon, Aristotle Onassis.
Jack Rogers Sandals
Jackie was not only a wearer of Jack Rogers sandals, she’s the reason they even exist. After a trip in Capri, Jackie brought back a sandal with whipstitched detailing and asked a cobbler in Palm Beach to replicate them. Soon enough, every member of her inner circle—and crowds of preppy women in America—owned a pair.
Dress Suits
During her term as First Lady, Jackie favored a uniform and clean look. To achieve that, she was a big fan of dress suits and matching sets like the Chez Ninon two-piece outfit that she wore for the televised tour of the White House.
Quarter Length Sleeve Shirts
During her tenure as First Lady, Jackie favored a quarter-length sleeve. Later on, in the ‘70s, she would also wear simple quarter length sleeved tops which created a look that’s effortless yet classic.
Lilly Pulitzer Dresses
Lilly Pullitzer’s dresses have been a principle part of a preppy wardrobe for nearly 60 years. However Jackie, Lilly’s former classmate, was one of the first women to popularize the brand when she wore a Lilly Puliitzer dress for Life Magazine.
Loafers
Loafers went well with Kennedy’s classic northeastern style and she would often wear a pair with dresses. Her daughter-in-law, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, followed suit and would incorporate loafers into her style as well.
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