Style Icon: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
The fascination with high society fashion is nothing new. Americans respond strongly to the fashion and style aesthetics of celebrities and the power elite. A few months ago, I took you on a loving trip through Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry box. We discovered new depths about who Liz was and how deeply she connected with her jewelry. The unique power of jewelry to tell the powerful and personal story of a single life is remarkable. And so now, with the release of a movie honoring her on the horizon, I would like to draw your attention to another of my favorite style icons: Jacqueline Kennedy. The wife of the 35th President of the United States, “Jackie” became a household name, synonymous with style, class, and poise. Her polished and simple elegance inspired many recognizable trends (like the pillbox hat or a multi-strand necklace of pearls).
To further appreciate the woman whose style reached farther than her Camelot (President Kennedy’s presidency was called Camelot, inadvertently for the first time by Jackie herself, who said in an interview, “There will be great presidents again, but there will never be another Camelot.”), I want to open your eyes to the story of her life through her jewelry.
One of Jackie’s most easily recognizable pieces of jewelry is her engagement ring. John F. Kennedy presented Jacqueline Bouvier with a Van Cleef & Arpels (if that name sounds familiar to you, it’s because another of our style icons, Elizabeth Taylor, favored Van Cleef & Arpels) ring with two large stones, a 2.88 carat diamond and a 2.84 carat emerald, which were offset relative to each other. This style of ring should conjure images of the two-stone rings now being advertised. In fact, this style of ring goes back centuries, to Napoleon’s bride, Josephine. Flanking Jackie’s large diamond and emerald were numerous marquis shaped diamonds, fanned out in a floral arc, typical of Van Cleef & Arpels hallmark style. Baguette shaped diamonds finished the look.
What is interesting about Jackie’s ring is that in 1963 (10 years after their wedding in 1953), Jackie had her ring redesigned. This new ring added 2.12 carats of round and marquis shaped diamonds. This brought her total carat weight to over eight carats! The world took notice. Emeralds have persisted in being a popular choice for accent stones in engagement rings (although, due to their relative softness, I wouldn’t recommend them for the center stone). Also in 1963, to commemorate their ten years of marriage, JFK had an eternity band of emeralds made for Jackie. The ring featured 10 emeralds, one for each year they had been married. She wore this anniversary band with her wedding ring. Upon her husband’s passing, Jackie had two stones removed from the ring and made into signet rings for each of her two children. When JFK Jr. and Jackie passed, Jackie’s daughter Caroline received both of their rings, therefore owning all ten of the emeralds from the anniversary band given to her mother by her father.
Another of my favorite pieces was the starburst diamond brooch. According to the Smithsonian,
One of her signature jewelry pieces, this…brooch recalls iconic photographs of Jackie wearing the brooch on the shoulders of overcoats, on dresses, and even in her hair. Jackie discovered the original in a London antique shop. Unprepared for the $50,000 price tag, she secured the seller’s promise to hold the brooch. Returning to the U.S.A., she quietly sold several brooches she had received from Rose and Joe Kennedy to be able to pay for the splendid Sunburst Brooch. Unbeknownst to Rose and Joe, she had costume copies made of their gifts which she wore the rest of her life.
Of all the ways Jackie wore this stunning brooch, my favorite was when she wore it in her hair. Typical of Jackie, her trendsetting fashion ways earned her favored up-do a nickname. Her puffy high bun atop a backcombed nest was called a “brioche,” which is a pastry that bears a striking resemblance to Jackie’s hairdo. Jackie often had this brooch nestled gently in front of the bun of her hairstyle. When she wore this jewel in her hair, she usually paired it with more understated earrings or her signature pearl necklace. She let the brooch carry the weight of her style, a job to which it was more than well suited.
My last favorite piece I want to share with you is really more of a category. Jackie is possibly most well-known for pearls. Jackie had a love affair with pearls. Her most copied look is a three strand pearl necklace, which she had in both a 17” length and a 19” length. There are so many photographs documenting her love for the simple grace of her pearl necklaces. Given the flair and luxury of the other Kennedy jewels we’ve discovered today, it will probably come as quite the shock that Jackie’s three-strand pearl necklaces were in actuality made of simulated pearls. That’s right; they were faux.
What impresses me most about Jackie Kennedy was that she didn’t rely on flash. Sure, she had a jewelry collection that most of us will only ever dream about. But her allegiance to just a handful of those jewels is what really strikes a chord with me. Over and over again, we saw her in multi-strand pearl necklaces and her diamond brooch. The understated elegance of her style is what I find most appealing, probably because it is the exact opposite of me! I’m a more-is-more kind of girl. The clean lines, sharp fashion focus, and loyalty to her most treasured jewels is what makes Jacqueline Kennedy a style icon.
Just loving Jackie,
Rebecca
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