Two style icons in one woman: the First Lady and Jackie O.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 15 November 2026
What did she wear as First Lady?
As First Lady from 1961 to 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy chose Oleg Cassini as her official designer, partly so she could be seen wearing American fashion rather than the Paris couture she loved. The look was clean and structured: boxy jackets, sleeveless shift dresses, gloves, low heels and strong single colours that photographed well.
Who made the pillbox hat famous?
She did, starting with the inauguration in January 1961, when she wore a fawn pillbox designed by Halston, then a milliner at Bergdorf Goodman. Small enough not to disturb her bouffant hair, it was copied across America.
What is the story of the pink suit?
On 22 November 1963 in Dallas she wore a pink bouclé suit with a matching pillbox, made in New York as an authorised line-for-line copy of a Chanel design. She kept it on, stained, for the rest of that day. The suit is held by the US National Archives and is not expected to be displayed before 2103.
What was the Jackie O look?
After she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968, in a short ivory lace Valentino dress, her style relaxed: oversized sunglasses, silk headscarves, white jeans, trench coats, turtlenecks and flat sandals. Gucci renamed one of her favourite shoulder bags the Jackie. It is still one of the most copied off-duty looks there is.
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