Icon Of The Week: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Growing up, I watched my mum shop and dress with decisions made by asking the question, "What would Jackie do". So I'm honestly going to put it out there and say that I'm writing this with much bias because I was raised to idolize Jacqueline Bouvier not only as a style icon, but also as the epitome of a woman of strength and independence.
Before I carry on any further, I'm going to clarify that I'll be referring to our Icon Of The Week as 'Onassis' in this post, since it was her last surname. This decision was a hard one to make, considering she's renowned for all her surnames - Onassis, Kennedy, and Bouvier!
Onassis first burst into the limelight and onto the media target as the wife of John F. Kennedy. They were married in 1953 at a ceremony that was considered the social event of the year, with Onassis sporting a gorgeous dress created by Ann Lowe.
After the wedding pictures were published all over the globe, Onassis sealed her deal as a trendsetter.
Even after John Kennedy's death and her role as First Lady, Onassis continued to cultivate a legendary image of America as an exemplar of good taste, grace, and substance. Her media representations took America out of their stagnant conservativeness in the '50s, setting the standards for women to strive toward, behave and become.
And make no mistake, this was no hyped fluke. Onassis has regularly been described as someone who liked to know how things began, worked and evolved. Her intelligence was the foundation of her legendary public persona, and is evident even in her style. Her wardrobe choices were a nod to the classics, while embracing the modern; the perfect coagulation of a timeless icon.
Onassis favoured single-colour schemes, a neutral hue which was a cross between gray and beige (some call it greige), ankle skimming pants, boat, turtle and v-necks, and of course those big oversized shades we now affectionately term as Jackie O sunglasses.
And like any style icon, her casual would've probably made our dressed up look embarrassingly dressed down. The way she carried off even simplistic outfits with utmost grace and eloquence like no other is precisely the reason why most deem Onassis as the last American royal.
After becoming the wife of Aristotle Onassis, she went completely boho chic, without compromising any sophistication.
In her later years as a Doubleday editor, she wore crisp designs with a soft, feminine edge. And believe it or not, along with Chanel, Pucci and Valentino; she also loved shopping at Lacoste and Gap! Not only that, she liked shopping at the latter to pair its T-shirts with designer bottoms. She also loved wearing jeans before they were even popular!
A lot of people have been saying Michelle Obama is our generation's Jackie Onassis, going as far as comparing their fashion tastes. Well, personally I think Obama has nothing on Onassis in that department!
But is that just me being biased? What do you think? What do you think about Jackie O's style, about her iconic status and whether it's well deserved or not, or about her being compared to Michelle O?
[Photo Credits: Aim2Buzz, InfoDome, LimeLife, Culture24, Life, Bohos In Paradise, All Things Capitol, InstantBeauty, Vintage Culture, The Fashion Spot, Hangbag, Marie Claire]
