Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Is TikTok's Quiet-Luxury Fashion Icon - Steal Her Style

If you've been paying close attention to your TikTok and Instagram feeds, you may have noticed that Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy is the latest quiet-luxury fashion icon. The late publicist tragically died in 1999 at age 33 when the plane her husband, John F. Kennedy Jr., was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Despite her untimely death, she left a legacy in the fashion world with her elegant, clean-cut style, and it's actually easy to emulate.

Bessette-Kennedy was a pioneer with her minimalistic approach to style (even at her wedding!), and her fashion-forward choices began long before she married into the Kennedy family. In fact, Jackie O's daughter-in-law entered the extravagant world of fashion shortly after high school. At the time, she was spotted on the street by a Calvin Klein executive and was offered a job as a sales clerk at the brand's Boston outlet. A year later, Bessette-Kennedy moved to New York, where she was tasked with selling the brand to A-list clientele. Soon after, her fashion taste landed her a job as a Calvin Klein's publicist. Her ability to pick up on trends and present herself as the epitome of unassuming and unpretentious elegance made her a walking billboard for the brand. 

Even after entering high society, the queen of quiet luxury remained true to her subtle fashion sense. "She didn't have a stylist.... She was dressing like that pretty much before she even met JFK," Sunita Kuma Nair, author of "CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion," explained to ParisianVibe in a YouTube interview. Here's how you can dress just like her.

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was a fervent advocate of "less is more" and championed quiet luxury by not advertising the brands she wore. Unlike "stealth wealth" supporters, she opted for understated elegance and refused to turn herself into a spokesperson for famous fashion houses. Although she loved high-end fashion, you couldn't often tell which designers she wore, especially because she didn't hastily follow every new fashion trend. She also often combined designers in the same ensemble, creating extra intrigue.

As an advocate of the clean-cut aesthetic, Bessette-Kennendy didn't own a massive wardrobe. Instead, she had a perfect capsule wardrobe of pieces that fit her well, and she stayed true to her fashion sense. "She adhered to her signature timeless style rather than adopting the latest fashion trends and valued wearing structured silhouettes that worked for her body. She dressed for herself and did what made her happy," fashion stylist and style expert Naina Singla told InStyle.

Take a cue from the iconic Bessette-Kennedy and stay clear of the stealth-wealth aesthetic. We're not saying you can't wear branded clothing — just embrace the quiet-luxury aesthetic instead. And just because designers dictate certain trends (say, the hottest colors for summer 2024) doesn't mean you should always follow them. Stay true to your style, and if something isn't "you," then either adjust it or don't adopt it at all. Basically, invest in your own perfect capsule wardrobe with tailored, timeless pieces that can be worn up or down depending on the occasion.

The Calvin Klein publicist loved quality materials and had a soft spot for black maxi coats. Prada was her go-to favorite for her staple winter outerwear. She loved the way the coats fit and the feel of the premium materials, but she also loved black because of the color's aristocratic and elegant appeal. In fact, her advice to those who couldn't afford expensive fabrics and deigns was simply to opt for black ensembles. 

If you want to copy her style, then opt for a floor-length coat. Although we love vibrant colors for cooler weather, we should take a cue from the fashion icon and embrace the understated elegance of the black coat. Additionally, the black coat's adaptability is what makes it a perfect capsule wardrobe piece. Wear it over your favorite LBD for a night out or over preppy pants for work. If you want to copy the fashion icon's style to a T, then choose a tailored coat that cinches at the waist. It doesn't matter if it buttons or ties around your waist — it will still give that ultra-feminine appeal to your ensemble. If you want to kick it up a notch, pair your tailored coat with the sensual lingerie aesthetic of the slip dress that Bessette-Kennedy loved. After all, she did turn the Narciso Rodriguez white silk slip dress into her instantly recognizable wedding gown!

The quiet-luxury fashion icon owned the white-shirt trend like no one else. At the time, she revolutionized the white shirt by making it a staple sartorial choice for both formal and casual affairs. In fact, she had an undeniable talent for turning something basic into formal attire. With her minimalistic, quiet-luxury approach to fashion, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy wanted to divert attention from her, but her effortless style did the exact opposite — both then and now. "Carolyn is being rediscovered by a new generation of young women who need a style icon who is not ostentatious or flashy," Moda Operandi co-founder Lauren Santo Domingo told Elle. 

Want to copy Bessette-Kennedy's style? All you need to do is invest in a tailored white shirt made from premium material. Think smooth, glossy satin for the perfect pairing with your work pants or luxurious silk to give your maxi pencil skirt an elegant flair. You can even kick the trend up a notch and embrace a shirt made of sheer chiffon with tulle ruffles to strike the perfect balance between Bessette-Kennedy's white-shirt style and the micro-ruffles that are taking over 2024 fashion trends. Admittedly, it takes some practice — and confidence — to pull off this effortless look, but she wore the white shirt to so many different occasions that you shouldn't have a hard time emulating her style no matter where you're going.

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was certainly the perfect daughter-in-law for the chic Jackie O. A champion of heritage colors (those typically found in old-school architecture), Bessette-Kennedy would often be seen wearing black, beige, or white monochromatic ensembles. On the rare occasion she wore patterns, she ensured she never mixed them. "I like very classic colors, black, navy, gray and white. If I want to add some impact, I'll do it with texture," she told Glamour in the '90s, according to "CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion."

To copy her style, stick to a classic color palette to hone your silhouettes. Black maxi satin skirts; beige, cream, or taupe pencil skirts paired with knee-high black boots; luxurious cashmere knitwear with charcoal gray pants; and, of course, the classic white shirt. In fact, many designers are embracing "the Carolyn effect," today. For instance, Richard Kemp, a designer for the Danish brand Rabens Saloner, uses Bessette-Kennedy's clean-cut, elegant silhouettes and heritage color options as an inspiration. "Everyone wanted to have that effortless chic that she had. It's always going to resonate. It's always going to be something that's there," Kemp told Elle. 

Ultimately, copying her style really isn't that difficult. Stick to classic colors and avoid loud hues, even when they're in style. After all, if you want to be like Bessette-Kennedy, you need to own your style. So, if fluorescent yellow is in fashion now, don't rush to buy it — just stick with basic colors that maintain their timeless allure. 

Carolyn Besstte-Kennedy may have married into a dynasty, but she didn't let that intimidate her. She always seemed to be comfortable in her skin, which is perhaps her biggest style secret: confidence. "Carolyn created her looks so simply, but without her confidence and inner strength I feel like they would have been nothing," celebrity stylist Wayne Scott Lukas, who knew her when she was still working for Calvin Klein, told Sunita Kuma Nair in "CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion." Lukas added, "She dressed from the inside out, and that's what made her different."

"I'm not comfortable in anything ornate. I like clean and understated looks," the former Calvin Klein publicist famously told Glamour in the '90s. Indeed, the champion of quiet luxury didn't over-accessorize. She rarely wore jewelry — not even during her own secret wedding ceremony.She opted for a sleek hairdo and bright red lipstick, all sans accessories.

So, if you want to steal her quiet-luxury style, we're sorry to break it to you, but you'll, unfortunately, have to part ways with this year's XXL jewelry trend. Keep things simple, embrace unpretentious elegance, and a style that doesn't cry out for attention. In doing so, we're willing to bet that you will indeed make heads turn much like the queen of quiet luxury did.