Known for her heavily publicized relationship with the heir to American “royalty,” John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette found herself under a scrutinizing spotlight. Having gone from a quiet life to one full of paparazzi flashes, Bessette’s every move was picked apart and either criticized or praised by the masses.
Throughout her journey as the wife of one of America’s most sought after men, one element of Bessette remained constant: her personal style. Often referred to as the blueprint for ’90s minimalism, Bessette left her mark on American fashion, continuing to hold influence 25 years after her untimely passing.
Currently, Bessette’s effortless style has fallen back into the spotlight in the wake of Ryan Murphy’s new series, “American Love Story,” which will showcase the turbulent relationship between JFK Jr. and Bessette. While it is unclear yet whether Murphy will accurately portray their relationship, fans of the couple do not hold high hopes after seeing sneak peeks of the outfits that Sarah Pidgeon (Ryan Murphy’s Bessette) has been seen in during filming.
Her style was characterized by clean lines, structured silhouettes and understated neutrals. Bessette emphasized the importance of having good-quality basics — high quality fabrics and complementary tones — that would stand the test of time.
Bessette’s style is known as “timeless,” as many of her looks can still be worn today and nobody would bat an eye. However, Bessette had the ability to wear clothes, not letting the clothes wear her. She would mix and match funky accessories like shoes or throw on different textures and still make each ensemble flow together seamlessly.
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It is clear from the set photos that Murphy’s team of stylists have not dialed into the interviews done with Bessette’s close friends and coworkers as anybody who has would not have put Pidgeon in a cheap camel-colored satin skirt and high-top Chuck Taylor’s. In a recent interview, Bessette’s hairstylist was picking apart the style choices made on set, coming as far to criticize Pidgeon’s ashy white wig made to replicate Bessette’s signature Bergdorf Blonde.
Some may attribute Bessette’s style to having worked for Calvin Klein during their heyday, but Bessette also had an air about her that has yet to be replicated. Before her rise in pop culture media, Bessette was known in the fashion industry as being a muse for Calvin Klein and other up-and-coming designers of the era such as Narciso Rodriguez and Yohji Yamamoto.
Part of Bessette’s look was her cool-girl “aura” that she carried with her everywhere. All of her clothes were basic and neutral, yet every time she put together an understated outfit to walk the streets of New York City, it was effortlessly chic. The common mistake in trying to replicate Bessette’s style does not (always) come from the pieces that are chosen. Rather, everyone is simply trying too hard.
Murphy’s production unfortunately is trying too hard while also choosing the wrong pieces. Bessette valued quality in her clothes; whether the fabric was heavy or the piece was perfectly tailored, her looks were always clean. At a glance, Murphy’s adaptation of Bessette has Pidgeon looking sloppy and lifeless, not at all comparable to what Bessette looked like in the ’90s.
While the glances from Murphy’s modern adaptation do not do Bessette’s signature style justice, her influence is still used to portray more accurate representations of what her style was actually like. Dubbed the original “clean girl,” Bessette is still a highly coveted icon in women’s fashion decades after her passing.
While she is no longer here to influence the masses, photos of her 25-year-old outfits still live on people’s mood boards. Even though young women in their mother’s pearls do not yet know the genesis of this simple chic style, Bessette still lives on through her style and her ability to influence, even in death.
