Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
Like Lainey, like so many of you, I cannot get enough Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. Any time her photo comes up on a blog, in my social media feed, in a story or anywhere, I stop to admire the outfit. The taste. The singularness IT of who she was.
And it’s not like we didn’t know it. I was in my early 20s when Carolyn passed and I remember the obsession over her every move. Invasive, very 90s but damn did she command awe and respect.
The allure of Carolyn is not just who she was but who she didn’t get to become. That’s the mystery and the tragedy of dying young. She was a fully realized woman but also had many chapters ahead of her. Would she have been an elusive philanthropic socialite? Would she have embraced social media and transitioned her influence to the masses? Already experienced in the fashion world, would she have worked on her own brand? No one knows. And as much as we saw her photographs, we didn’t know her. At all. After her death, their friends (REAL friends) didn’t speak to the media. Now, if anyone wants to talk about JFK Jr. and Carolyn to the media, I immediately question the motive. I dread the day that TikTok discovers her and tries to distill her style into “quiet luxury” or “coastal grandma” or something.
Lainey linked to a book being written about Carolyn’s style and one a reader wrote in looking for one of Carolyn’s pieces. Now, this was decades ago so I can’t find the pants but the reader sourced them as Helmut Lang. Carolyn wore a lot of American designers like Ralph Lauren and of course the Narciso Rodriguez wedding dress (hands down the best “celebrity” wedding dress ever worn – no contest). He worked with her at Calvin Klein. I could read an entire book about this dress!
OK back to the cords. Cords are tricky, right? I’ve tried them with not a lot of success. The reader is looking for straight leg brown cords with front pockets, so these are the closest I was able to find.
Patagonia: Not an expected pick but the colour is close. Cut isn’t as chic as Carolyn but that’s a given.
Mavi: wrong colour, right cut.
Rag & Bone: good colour and cut but doesn’t have the wide front pockets. I feel these are closest in spirit to Carolyn’s.
Gap wide-leg cords: Missing the wide front pockets and added buttons.
Frank & Oak: Close in colour, again missing those wide front pockets.
And there you have it. Carolyn: often imitated, never duplicated. (Thanks Jean!)
Gwyneth Paltrow’s sneakers
Gwyneth is hustling hard right now for her Target line of “masstige” (mass market x prestige) line. As Lainey mentioned this morning, she's on the cover of PEOPLE Magazine trying to get the mass part of the equation nailed down. Here she is in front of a Target (do you think she actually went in? lol) wearing a pair of JW Anderson sneakers. (Thanks Lily!)
JVN – again!
I recently wrote about Jonathan Van Ness and I’m back because their style game has been strong for a long time but lately, it’s extra in all the best ways. They are wearing a dandelion cape and there’s a certain kind of person who will be obsessed with this cape and I am one of them. I love it! It’s from Loewe and I haven’t seen it for sale online. (Thanks Grace!)
Gracie Abrams's perfect fall jacket
In every great rom-com, the protagonist has a solid group of girlfriends who hype her up and give it to her straight. Taylor hasn’t slowed down on her work obligations or spending time with friends, combining both with Gracie Abrams. I was asked about her jacket and again, a fan account did the heavy lifting. I would consider this a bomber jacket, I think?, and I love the high neck. It’s the Papas Jacket from Sandie Liang. (Thanks, J!)
