Year 1953 (1953) Created 1953 | Artist Ann Lowe | |
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Similar Wedding dress of Grace Kelly, Pink Chanel suit of Jacque, Wedding dress of Lady Dia, Wedding dress of Princess, Wedding dress of Princess | ||
The wedding dress of Jacqueline Bouvier was worn by Jacqueline Bouvier (later Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) in her wedding to John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1953. The dress is one of the best-remembered bridal gowns of all time.
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The gown was the creation of African-American fashion designer Ann Lowe. The designer never received credit for her creation. When asked who made her dress, Onassis said it was made by a "colored woman." The dress is now on display at the Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts.
Design
Janet Lee Bouvier, Onassis' mother, hired Lowe to design and make the entire bridal party's outfits. (Lowe had made Bouvier's dress for her wedding to Hugh Auchincloss.)
The bridal gown, of ivory-colored silk taffeta, featured a portrait neckline and huge round skirt. The skirt featured interwoven tucking bands and tiny wax flowers. Onassis' lace veil belonged to her grandmother; a lace-and-orange-blossom tiara tied the veil to her hair. Her bridal bouquet was made of white and pink gardenias and orchids.
Onassis wore little jewelry with the dress, but what she did wear had family significance. The single-strand pearl necklace was a family heirloom; she also wore a diamond pin from her parents and diamond bracelet from her groom, John F. Kennedy.
Onassis' Opinion Of The Dress
The dress was in a very traditional design, per the wishes of the Kennedy family (particularly the skirt), and won worldwide acclaim. On the other hand, Onassis had wanted a simple dress, with firm lines, to complement her tall, slim figure. Onassis later admitted to friends she didn't like the dress' neckline because, she felt, it emphasized her small bust. She also said in her opinion, the skirt looked "like a lampshade."
Dress Nearly Lost
A flood in Lowe's Lexington Avenue workshop 10 days before the wedding ruined Onassis' bridal gown and 9 of the bridal-party dresses. The designer and her staff worked through eight days (originally they spent eight weeks) to reconstruct the gowns and get them delivered on time. Instead of an estimated $700 profit, Lowe lost $2,200 on the project.