Secrets of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Elegant Style Revealed in New Book

Her clothes whispered rather than shouted elegance, author Sunita Kumar Nair says in the newly released book “CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion.”

Nair eschews the tabloid fascination with her subject and instead reveals the secrets of CBK’s natural, elegant style sense which is just as relevant today as it was in the 90s after she burst on the scene as the girlfriend and then wife of John F. Kennedy Jr.

Through photography and design, the coffee table release from Abrams Books showcases not only Carolyn’s sleek wardrobe and hints on her combo of high end and down market style but also offers never-before-published personal anecdotes from friends and family including fashion leaders Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Manolo Blahnik, Yohji Yamamoto, Tory Burch and the longtime editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter, to name a few.

It appears a few months before the 25th anniversary of the tragic death of John F. Kennedy, Jr., Carolyn and her sister Lauren in a plane piloted by John that crashed in foggy conditions into the waters off of Martha’s Vineyard on July 16th, 1999.

Nair, a fashion creative director for two decades never actually met Carolyn Kennedy in person, but admired her from afar in college.

Nair herself is so understated that she is doing virtually no interviews. One of the rare interviews she did was with Rodeo Drive–The Podcast, in which Nair says while she was a student in California, it was magazine covers featuring Carolyn’s wedding to the heir of Camelot that first caught her eye. Nair said her reaction was: “Wow, who is this and what is she wearing?” She described the newlywed’s look as simple yet powerful. Five years later, Carolyn was no longer with us and Nair had moved to NYC to work at WWD where she came across many fashion magazine articles devoted to the late Mrs. Kennedy and realized her own style mirrored that of the style icon. “I learned that essential wear in America was the foundation of fashion, that investment pieces were really important. Carolyn represented these things.”

Fifteen years later, Nair realized there was no real tribute to CBK and decided to change that with a book that pays homage to the late wife of JFK, Jr. for her timeless, distinguished beauty and legacy. The book’s preface is penned by Edward Enninful, OBE, who at the time of writing was still the Editor-in-Chief of Conde Nast’s British Vogue. The foreword is written by Gabriela Hearst, the Uruguayan-born high end fashion designer for Chole who among other accomplished clients designed the dress First Lady Jill Biden wore to the inaugural ball in 2021.

Up until now, virtually all the book attention has been focused on the son of the 35th president, who was once named People’s “sexiest man alive.” Books about him have become a virtual cottage industry, the subject of countless bestselling books, often written by grieving friends or business partners and even one by a wacky conspiracy peddler who claimed JFK Jr. was assassinated.

The 20th anniversary of their deaths in 2019 saw the publication of “America’s Reluctant Prince: The Life of JFK Jr.” by historian and family friend Steven M. Gillon. Two years after the former D.A.’s death was the short-lived bestseller “American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy Jr.” by Richard Blow (who has since changed his surname to Bradley). He was one of the top editors on George at the time of the tragedy. Kennedy insiders did not like that one much because they felt it was too soon and noted he was not a close enough friend to even included on the tight guest list for John/Carolyn’s September 21, 1996, wedding. The top business partner on the magazine, Matt Berman, wrote “JFK Jr., George and Me a Memoir” on the fifteen year anniversary of the couple’s passing. In 2006, JFK Jr’s personal assistant, Rose Marie Terenzio penned “Fairy Tale Interrupted” another bestseller and in a rarity, it had Carolyn Bessette Kennedy on the cover with John. Terenzio knew more than most about the couples’ sometimes fraught relationship because she had become a friend to both.

And there were also books by the reputed closest ever friends of the late scion including “The Men We Became: My Friendship with JFK Jr.” by Robert T. Littell and “Forever Young: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr.” by his friend William Noonan and co-author Robert Huber. And there is even a widely discredited book by John Koerner entitled “Exploding the Truth” about the purported assassination of JFK Jr.

Nair details how the tall willowy blonde seemed to produce an effortless style with attention to detail and a strict color palette that leaned heavily toward the old money trifecta: black, brown, and beige. They were all signatures of the one-time Calvin Klein publicist who had the best capsule wardrobe of anyone in my adult lifetime. As Nair writes, “Carolyn always looked and felt like herself, ticking the rule number one box and that is something money can’t buy. She didn’t have a stylist or an assistant, and she did her own research, prepping for each event.” A non-clothes horse fashionista if you will who shied away from logos and bold prints. The socialite by marriage told Glamour magazine in 1992: “I’m not comfortable in anything ornate. I like clean and understated looks.”

Carolyn was (and still is) the muse of leading actresses when their roles call for them to look elegant and patrician. Without the help of a publicist or reality show, she was and continues to be a sartorial IT Girl, with over 20 Instagram fan pages.

What was truly ironic though, is that she put designers like Narciso Rodriguez (who made her wedding dress) on the map, yet not all of her looks could not be identified with any particular label. That’s right, it was Carolyn, not Gwyneth, who was the original poster girl for “stealth wealth”–clothes that whisper rather than shout their value.

“But,” you say, “my budget doesn’t allow for rolling in high-end wear.” Well, Carolyn was also the queen of high/low dressing: an expensive skirt with a t-shirt from a low-end chain. She was also a fan of vintage aka flea market fare, which allowed her pieces she wouldn’t see on every other girl on the avenue.

It’s also important to note that Carolyn’s elegance was cultivated from knowing what she liked and what silhouette was best on her, not because she was to the manor born. The girl from Connecticut, who went to Boston University, started her career in sales at a Calvin Klein store in a Massachusetts mall, then joined the designer’s NY store as a personal shopper to celebrities then pivoted into PR. This journey put her in John’s orbit and the rest is Camelot history.

Not only will the style icon remain forever young, but thanks to ”CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion” she will keep inspiring us to be our best selves.

You’ll never wear sweatpants in this town again.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of three novels, including “The Last Single Woman in New York City.”