Never trying
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's style seems to come straight from the heart. It is exactly what great style should be: an extension of your personality. And your personality cannot be forced. It can be developed and expressed, but it should always flow from your authentic self. The result is a careless, never trying and effortless expression of great taste.
To truly understand and decode the effortless style of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, let's look at the core elements that make up her signature look.
The Calvin Klein way
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's outfits have 90s minimalism written all over them. Something that has greatly influenced her way of dressing is her PR career at Calvin Klein. Before she became a sought after celebrity, she worked as a sales representative, and later a publicist, for Calvin Klein. No wonder her style has such resemblance to the brand that was categorized as a frontrunner of 90s' minimalism. It actually is infuesed all thoughout her wardrobe. Let's take a deep dive into 90s minimalism and how to attain the Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy aesthetic.
Classic Simplicity
Each designer brought a separate aesthetic, but the common theme of 90s fashion is classic simplicity. The strength of the 90s look comes from beauty in its simplest form: a very much architectural approach to fashion. By having a really good eye for detail and form you can create a visually very pleasing look. Straight lines, on-point shapes and silhouettes is what 90s minimalism is all about. To achieve this, you make classy your best friend and adopt a less is more attitude. The only aspect where less is more does not apply is quality: we go all out on the quality.
Dress the occasion
When diving into Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's enchanting looks, we can spot common theme's. There's the day-to-day classy street style look that makes most of her photographed outfits by the papparazzi. It's the supermodel street style look with the perfect blend of comfortable. Jeans balanced with a square toe heel and staple trench.
Timeless wedding elegance
Decades later, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's wedding dress still mesmerizes. This shows how timeless and elegant her style is. The beauty lies in the simplicity and timeless elegance of carefully chosen pieces that are an extension of her personality. This way, pieces you choose to invest in years ago can only become more special and meaningful as the years go on.
For their September 1st, 1996 wedding, which was one of the most anticipated events of all time, the couple choose a small gathering at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island, Georgia. With about 40 guests in attendace, it shows their preference for intimicy over a big spectacle.
The same love for simplicity flows though the choice of her wedding dress. To choose something as simple as a slip dress, was something revolutionary. It was her aesthetic and she turned it into a truly iconic wedding dress moment. Her bold expression of minimalism set the tone for a wave within fashion that is still relevant to this day.
