While American pop culture has long been fascinated by the Kennedys, much of the recent excitement around FX’s new hit show, Love Story, has focused on the style of Carolyn Bessette. She worked as a publicist at Calvin Klein before marrying into America’s most famous political family.
On TikTok, influencers are trying to recreate her looks and makeup routines. Brands are also referencing Bessette to promote their products. For example, the hair care brand Schwarzkopf posted about a highlighting technique they called “foiled cashmere, inspired by Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.”
This enthusiasm is understandable. Love Story, which follows the dramatic and tragic romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Bessette, has become FX’s most-watched limited series ever on streaming. The network recently announced that the first five episodes have been viewed for over 25 million hours on Disney+ and Hulu.
Bessette was both very private and fashionable. Previously, those wanting to emulate her style relied on paparazzi photos or red carpet images. Now, they are being influenced by Love Story.
Sunita Kumar Nair, creative director and author of CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion, believes fashion was the main way Carolyn communicated with the world. “I think that was the reason why she didn’t really give that many interviews, and why she felt that maybe the fashion just speaks for itself when she’s public,” she told the Guardian.
Bessette’s style is often described as ’90s minimalism, with a focus on designers like Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, Yohji Yamamoto, and Prada. While many viewers see the chic, simple looks of the 1990s as a broader trend, Nair says Bessette’s style stood out because she ignored what was in fashion. “I think she just knew who she was and dressed the way that she felt represented her,” said Nair, who also consulted on Love Story. “She was incredibly private. She didn’t really seek fame, which I think is a really attractive quality, especially in this day.”
Her style has also been called the epitome of “quiet luxury”—a style shaped by her work at Calvin Klein that has become popular again recently. Dr. Colleen Hill, senior curator of costume at the Museum at FIT, said, “[Calvin Klein] was thinking more about fit and materials than he was about embellishments and this opulent luxury. It’s a real shift away from much of what we saw in 1980s fashion, which was all about showing off how fashionable you were and how much money you could spend on your clothes.”
Ironically, Bessette’s highly individual style, influenced by a strong sense of self and a refusal to follow trends, is now being copied by many. “She is probably the antithesis of what Gen Z has been growing up with,” said Nair. In an era where influencers share their every move, Nair suggests that “the quieter you are, the more interest or mystery you create.”
People are going to great lengths to capture Bessette’s essence. Earlier this week, a Prada camel coat she wore sold for $192,000 at auction. The Fashion Auctioneer, which hosted the sale, reported a total of $408,750 from the auction. This included four items Bessette gave to Rosemarie Terenzio, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s assistant and a friend of the couple, and twenty original vintage pieces loaned to Love Story.
While the sale coincided with renewed interest in Bessette’s style, Lucy Bishop, fashion historian and owner of the Fashion Auctioneer, had been researching pieces worn by Bessette for over a decade. “I always had an instinct and felt that eventually the time would come where Carolyn’s style would be recognized and celebrated,” she said.”Carolyn Bessette Kennedy would gain recognition as one of the greatest style icons of the 20th century,” she said.
Bishop held a two-day exhibition of the pieces in Manhattan before the auction closed. There, she witnessed firsthand the magnetic pull women felt toward Bessette’s style—and how it was being passed down through generations.
“Women from Carolyn’s generation in the ’90s were bringing their daughters to see the clothes,” she said. “I thought that was quite sweet. We even had two little girls who came with their mother and asked if her wedding dress was there. They’d seen it in a book, thought she was so beautiful, and wanted to see it.”
Dr. Hill added on that multi-generational appeal: “Young women are sometimes wearing what their mothers had in their wardrobes at the time. That’s one of the trends: looking back at what someone before you was wearing, thinking it looks chic, and maybe being able to get your hands on it.”
Many women from Bessette’s generation have also recently taken the opportunity presented by Love Story to share their experiences—and their wardrobes—from working at Calvin Klein in the 1990s.
Kara Mendelsohn, who worked in sales in the late ’90s, shared some of the rules she had to follow while working for the iconic designer in a TikTok video. “We had a very specific image we were supposed to uphold,” she said. “We were not allowed to wear any nail polish… you really needed to wear extremely minimalist makeup.”
Her daughter, Ella, also posted about her mom’s connection to the era depicted in Love Story and tried on vintage Calvin Klein pieces, styled by her mother to emulate Bessette.
Bessette’s influence has even inspired a whole new generation to visit the country’s oldest apothecary, CO Bigelow. Before the Love Story phenomenon, the store—founded in 1838 and now owned and run by fourth-generation pharmacist Alec Ginsberg and his father—was highlighted in a viral TikTok as the place where Bessette bought her signature tortoiseshell headbands.
Now, with a surge of interest from the show, the store has been flooded “to another level than we’ve ever seen before.”
“And it’s not just downtown New Yorkers. It’s tourists, people traveling from all over,” Ginsberg told The Guardian. Substack writer Emily Sundberg reported that CO Bigelow’s sales are up 500% since 2023, and the store sold six figures’ worth of hair accessories in February alone.
“It’s much easier to walk into Bigelow and play with headbands and hair accessories and feel like you’re Carolyn, than to go into Calvin Klein and say, ‘Let me try on a $5,000 dress,'” Ginsberg said.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs Carolyn Bessettes Style the Quiet Luxury Revival
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What is this article about
Its about how the minimalist elegant style of Carolyn BessetteKennedy as seen in the new documentary Love Story is becoming popular again Her look is seen as the opposite of the flashy logoheavy trends many Gen Z consumers grew up with
2 Who was Carolyn Bessette
She was a fashion publicist who married John F Kennedy Jr in 1996 She was famous for her understated sophisticated and perfectly tailored personal style often in neutral colors like white black and beige
3 What is Quiet Luxury
Its a fashion trend focused on exceptional quality perfect fit and timeless design over obvious branding and logos Its about looking expensive and elegant without shouting about it Carolyn Bessette is considered a timeless icon of this aesthetic
4 Why is her style coming back now
After years of maximalist trends fast fashion and loud branding many people are craving timeless sophisticated and sustainable elegance Her style represents a shift towards valuing quality and subtlety over quantity and hype
5 What are the key pieces of her look
A simple slip dress a perfectly tailored coat cashmere sweaters tailored trousers crisp white shirts minimalist heels and simple gold jewelry
Advanced Practical Questions
6 How is this different from the old money or stealth wealth trend
Its closely related Quiet Luxury and stealth wealth focus on the same principle of understatement Carolyns style is often cited as the authentic effortless inspiration for these trends which have been popularized recently by shows like Succession
7 Isnt this style really expensive How can I achieve it on a budget
The principle is about quality over quantity On a budget focus on Fit Fabric and Simplicity Invest in one great coat or pair of trousers and build around them
8 Whats a common mistake people make when trying to copy this style
The mistake is thinking its just
