Jackie Kennedy marries John F KennedyShe was a sophisticated debutante and newspaper fashion columnist oozing Uptown elegance. He was a Harvard graduate and newly elected senator bristling with ambition, and a dashing sense of style.
When America's most eligible bachelor Jack (36) announced his engagement to society princess Jackie (24) in 1953, the dress was said to play a pivotal role in John F Kennedy winning his eventual presidency in 1961.
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more Jackie Kennedy marries John F KennedyShe was a sophisticated debutante and newspaper fashion columnist oozing Uptown elegance. He was a Harvard graduate and newly elected senator bristling with ambition, and a dashing sense of style.
When America's most eligible bachelor Jack (36) announced his engagement to society princess Jackie (24) in 1953, the dress was said to play a pivotal role in John F Kennedy winning his eventual presidency in 1961.
It was also the vehicle Jacqueline Bouvier would use to demonstrate her remarkable good taste as a potential First Lady. Created for her by Ann Lowe, an African American dressmaker who made gowns for wealthy and socially prominent families like the Rockefellers and Roosevelts - it would have been considered unpatriotic to rely on Parisian designers as she did later - it took Lowe two months and 45 metres of the finest silk to make.
The dress had a streamlined silhouette but was created using a complicated construction of interwoven ribbons (a distant ancestor of the Herve Leger bandage frock perhaps?). The portrait neckline and short sleeves that fell seductively off the shoulders was balanced by a nipped in waist which flared out dramatically into a ballerina skirt.
Being a willowy 5’8, Jackie was able to pull off the fullness. The lace veil belonged to her grandmother. This coupled with the Tudor cap worn at the crown of her head gave a nod to the couple's Catholic faith. Even the Pope sent his blessing to this wedding.
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