All Concerning the Robe She Wore to Marry JFK

Jackie Kennedy’s basic marriage ceremony costume has withstood the check of time.

The previous first girl and President John F. Kennedy have been launched by their mutual buddy, journalist Charles Bartlett, in 1952 and later wed at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, R.I. on Sept. 12, 1953. The lavish affair was lined by Life journal and featured over 600 visitors for the ceremony and 900 on the close by reception.

For her nuptials, Jackie wore an ivory silk taffeta robe with a portrait neckline and bouffant skirt, which was designed by Ann Lowe. The silhouette of the costume was very conventional, however the elaborations have been on the extra playful aspect and included massive rosettes and wax flowers. As for JFK, he additionally opted for a basic look with a black go well with jacket with tails and pinstripe trousers.

Jackie’s easy fashion of pillbox hats and tailor-made separates continues to affect the style world in the present day and cemented her as a method icon of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Nevertheless, it is her marriage ceremony robe that’s nonetheless thought of one in every of her most iconic appears to be like.

From the designer to her bridal equipment, right here’s every thing to learn about Jackie Kennedy’s marriage ceremony costume.

Jackie’s marriage ceremony costume was designed by Ann Lowe

Lowe, a trailblazing Black designer, created Jackie’s iconic ivory robe. Lowe had beforehand labored with a few of the most elite American households, together with the Roosevelts and the Rockefellers. She had additionally designed attire for Jackie’s mom, Janet Lee Bouvier, who commissioned Lowe to design her daughter’s marriage ceremony robe and bridesmaid attire.

Jackie’s costume rapidly grew to become a well known bridal look, however Lowe was not initially credited for her design. When requested concerning the designer of her marriage ceremony robe within the press, Jackie reportedly responded, “a coloured dressmaker did it,” per Elle.

Nevertheless, Julia Faye Smith, the creator of Lowe’s biography One thing to Show, instructed Elle in 2019 that Lowe later contacted Jackie to specific her disappointment within the remark.

“Inside days Mrs. Kennedy’s secretary known as Ann,” Smith stated. “She defined that Mrs. Kennedy had not seen the ultimate textual content earlier than publication and didn’t know that Ann could be known as she was within the article. The White Home sought retraction, however the publication by no means adopted up on it. Nonetheless, Ann felt no animosity towards the Kennedys.”

Her authentic robe was destroyed by water injury

Every week earlier than the high-profile nuptials, a waterline in Lowe’s studio burst and flooded the house, per the Nationwide Museum of American Historical past. The water broken Jackie’s marriage ceremony robe and 9 of the bridesmaid attire. Lowe selected to not inform the Kennedy household and as an alternative bought new cloth to remake all of the attire that had been destroyed.

Jackie’s authentic marriage ceremony costume had taken practically eight weeks to finish, and Lowe was capable of remake it inside 5 days with the assistance of her workforce. The designer was reportedly anticipated to make a $700 revenue off the robe however as an alternative took a $2,200 loss because of the incident.

The costume featured a pleated bodice and full skirt

The ivory robe that Jackie wore down the aisle was made of fifty yards of silk taffeta, per the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. It featured a portrait neckline, bouffant skirt, pleated bodice, scalloped hem and enormous rosettes. Small wax orange blossoms have been connected to the middle of every rosette, which was a trademark of Lowe’s designs.

“Flowers have been one thing she did over and over and over,” Elizabeth Approach, affiliate curator at The Museum at FIT and creator of Black Designers in American Trend, instructed Vainness Truthful. “She was simply actually nice at nearly sculpting the material and increase into three dimensions from a flat floor.”

Jackie’s robe additionally included a number of hidden particulars. For her “one thing blue,” a blue ribbon was sewn into the underskirt. Moreover, an Ann Lowe label was positioned contained in the waistline of the skirt.

Jackie reportedly didn’t select her costume

Regardless of Jackie’s marriage ceremony robe being some of the iconic bridal appears to be like of all time, she reportedly wished to put on an easier, sleeker design on her large day.

Nevertheless, it was JFK’s father, John Kennedy, who overruled Jackie’s concept and had ultimate approval on the marriage costume design, per Elle. Nevertheless, Smith instructed Elle that “Ann did wish to please her purchasers” and that Jackie “in all probability had some say within the design of her personal robe” as Lowe consulted along with her on the design and colours of the bridal occasion attire.

She accomplished her look with sentimental equipment

Jackie integrated her “one thing borrowed” into her bridal equipment. She paired her robe with a tiara and a rosepoint lace veil with orange blossoms, which was initially worn by her grandmother Margaret Lee.

As for jewellery, Jackie wore two items from her husband-to-be: a pearl choker and a diamond bracelet. She additionally carried a bouquet of pink and white spray orchids and gardenias to finish her basic bridal look.

Her silk taffeta robe is simply too fragile to be displayed

Jackie’s marriage ceremony costume is part of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum’s everlasting assortment and was final on show in 2003 to have a good time the pair’s fiftieth marriage ceremony anniversary. The robe has since grow to be too fragile to showcase and doesn’t depart the museum.

Nevertheless, the long-lasting costume has been recreated on a number of events for reveals. In 2013, Marshall Area’s Division Retailer donated a paper duplicate to the museum and put it on show in honor of Jackie and JFK’s sixtieth marriage ceremony anniversary. The ivory robe was additionally replicated in 2023 for the exhibit “Ann Lowe: American Couturier” on the Winterthur Museum, Backyard & Library.