Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years : Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum Book

Did the clothes make Jackie, or did Jackie make the clothes? Decide for yourself: Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years is a stunning catalogue of some of Jacqueline Kennedy's most important dresses as worn during her years as First Lady of the United States. As visually sleek and elegant as Mrs Kennedy herself, the books offers a beautiful analysis of the stunning, simple outfits that typified the Jackie style and brought a breath of sleek modernity to the White House after the somewhat frumpy fussiness of previous First Lady Bess Truman. Released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Jacqueline Kennedy's "emergence" as a style icon, the book presents an eclectic selection of suits, evening dresses, daywear and accessories from the John F Kennedy Library and Museum collection. Divided into cities where each item was first worn, the gowns, suits and dresses are first presented alone in a full-page colour photo. Each is accompanied by various photos of Jackie wearing the item, along with detailed design notes and the history and anecdotes behind the outfit. These photos provide wonderful context, as it becomes clearly obvious that Mrs Kennedy's carriage and persona injected life into the clothes (sometimes markedly different from what one might call each item's on-the-rack "personality"). For example, a pale cream embroidered silk Givenchy evening gown looks dull and somewhat dowdy when seen alone, but the accompanying photograph of Jackie wearing it while cuddling a newborn John Kennedy Jr transforms the dress into something feminine and timeless. Or a very simple, innocently pretty, pink shantung evening gown by Guy Douvier becomes arrestingly sexy when Mrs Kennedy wears it with nothing but white gloves and a Palm Beach tan. Contextualising and interpreting Mrs Kennedy's style is an important part of this book. Featured are essays on Jackie and her effect on the world of style by Arthur M Schlesinger Jr, Kennedy friend Rachel Lambert Mellon and the book's author and Vogue editor-at-large, Hamish Bowles. "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years" accompanies an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. --Marisa LencioniRead More