Customer Reviews

Jacqueline Kennedy : The White House Years: Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a "must have" book for anyone who loves the beauty, style and grace of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, fashion and history. The beautiful fashion photography with insightful essays showcases the former First Lady as one of the 20th century's fashion icons. Her clothing, simple and modern, yet classically elegant, created by major designers of the time such as Oleg Cassini and Givenchy, reflects her visionary fashion savvy. This book will make you ask do clothes make a person, or does the inner soul and outer beauty of a person, such as the former First Lady, make the clothes?

When I took this tome out of its mailer & began to turn its pages, I suddenly remembered my own set of formal white cotton gloves - long since discarded - so reverential was the aura emanating from this glossy artbook.

Jacqueline Kennedy kept it simple - most of her clothes were in solid colors with only huge buttons, cockades or discreet stylized bows, scarves, shawls or frogs for detail. In the Travel Chapter we see the simplicity of her wardrobe & her passion for colors.

Combining original & new photographs, this volume presents images we have rarely seen, as well as photos that have become a part of our national consciouness. The final one of the President & First Lady together in the open touring auto needs no words - we all know what happened next.

Certainly a treasure of memories - where we were, what we wore, what we wished we could wear. I never realized how Mrs. Kennedy acquired her wardrobe assuming, incorrectly, that she always wore top-of-the-line haute couture - when in actuality she wore "knock-offs", sometimes chosen by her mother-in-law.

For anyone who cannot make the pilgrimage to the 40th Anniversary Exhibition at the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York & who craves visions of those much-mimicked fashions of yesteryear.

After reading some of the reviews for this book stating it was dull and offered nothing of particular interest except alot of talk about A line dresses and cuts on the bias, I was apprehensive about wasting so much money on it.However having bought nearly every book published on Mrs Onassis I went ahead and ordered it anyway.Upon opening it I was pleasantly surprised. It was well set out,interesting and with many fine photos I had not seen, to illustrate the somewhat dry text.But the most facinating aspect of this book is to actually see what these dresses looked like in colour....after seeing numerous black and white photos of the Kennedy reception at the Elysee Palace and to hear the pink straw dress worn by Mrs kennedy described, it was mesmerizing to actually see it...no wonder she was described as radiant....and the most amazing thing is that Mrs kennedy dresses were sometimes even more interesting when viewed from the back...the intricate drapery and patterns.The photo of her in a backless sundress on the Italian Riveria is a revelation as it was worn in 1962 and was so ahead of its time...this book shows that Jacqueline kennedy had true style and is worthy of the mantle of fashion icon even though she would probably want to be remembered for her more substancial contributions.A very worthwhile addition to any devotee's library

Caution: If you like looking at lots of photographs of early 1960s designer dresses, you will probably like this book. Otherwise, this is probably not the right book for you.

During the presidential election of 1960, Ms. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy made an immense impression on American society. At 31, she was a dramatic contrast with the vice president's wife, Ms. Patricia Nixon, and recent first ladies (Ms. Mame Eisenhower, Ms. Bess Truman, and Ms. Eleanor Roosevelt). She was much younger than these women, was pregnant with her son, John, and seemed like someone who came from another world. Ms. Kennedy was highly cultured, interested in the fine arts, attractive in a way that showed up well in photographs and on television, and wore gorgeous clothes of the sort usually only seen in the best fashion magazines.

Once in the White House, her differences from other first ladies became more apparent. A major effort to redecorate the White House with authentic pieces ensued, Lafayette Square's appearance was conserved, entertaining began to feature people from the world of fine arts, the Rose Garden was redesigned, and the clothes she wore became even more magnificent. A great deal of the sense of Camelot certainly came from Ms. Kennedy.

I was disappointed in the book. For someone who had such a wide and important influence on America, the book barely seemed to scratch the surface. It is almost as though a decision had been made to create a book about her dresses on state occasions, and to mention and show all of the other influences she had as little as possible.

This book minimally and partially captures the impact she had on our national consciousness. The best essay is found in the foreword by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. who provides a good overview of the influence of Ms. Kennedy (as described above) and her husband, the president, more broadly on the arts (including efforts that helped lead to the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and providing a temple from Egypt to the Metropolitan Museum in New York). Most of the book is visually devoted to her clothing during state occasions, with notes about those who created the clothes. A typical section has color photographs of the clothing on mannequins, Ms. Kennedy wearing the clothes at an event, and a black-and-white image of how she appeared in the context of the whole event.

The clothing captures what was called at the time, the Jackie look. Most of the dresses are by Oleg Cassini, Givenchy, Chez Ninon, and Gustave Tassell. There are also lots of examples of her hats (often pillboxes by Halston). The outfits are usually as simple and conservative as possible in solid colors, made special by perhaps one elegant bow or sash. Unfortunately, these sections have little material about Ms. Kennedy's views on these apparel, designs for the clothing, or thoughts about how to coordinate them with shoes and accessories.

What was most impressive to me was the success with which she selected outfits that fit in with the nations she was visiting. In France, the elegance of Givenchy enveloped her. In India, bright pastel shades made her look like part of the jungle flora. I'm sure the host nations were delighted to see their specialness magnified in her efforts to be an attractively dressed guest.

But these clothes are unremarkable without Ms. Kennedy. Like a well-known fashion model, she enhanced the clothes enormously with her youth, vitality, personality, and trim figure. So, for me, the book's real value was in seeing the many photographs of Ms. Kennedy. I especially liked the candid photographs, either talking with guests or playing with her children.

How can we recapture a sense of uniquely American style and good taste in ways that will bring approval?

What are the ways that the president and first spouse should set a good example for the rest of us?

I found this book to be an excellent fashion text book. Not only did I not find the pictures of JBKO's clothes on manniquins sterile, I found them to be most illuminating as to the garments' drape and design. This book was not designed to be a history of JBKO, rather it is a text on an important icon in the history of fashion. To critize it as lacking in other areas is to not understand the book's purpose. I highly recommend it to students of history and design.

Mrs. Onassis was indeed, an icon of style, (as the exquisite Richard Avedon photograph of Mrs. Onassis wearing the beautiful Cassini gown she would have preferred wearing to the Inaugural ball in 1961, on the catalogue's cover bears witness) no question nor dispute. She was intelligent, well-read, well-educated, beautiful, enticing, elegant, private, and as her daughter, Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg has emphasized recently an American "Patriot". Mrs. Onassis, contrary to what some historians, such as Mr. Carl S. Anthony, have attempted to put-forth, may well have been annoyed during her tenure in The White House by all of the many fashion stories focused upon her, however, this catalogue (for the exhibition mounted by the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in conjunction with the John F. Kennedy Library) clearly and unequivocally addresses the question once and for all, if, one is really left pondering the issue of the priority she gave to high fashion, at all, rest easy...she did!!! She was very aware of her position and role as the wife of a President of the United States, particularly, John F. Kennedy, whom shared her love of history, and was simultaneously proud and stunned by such a position. She lavished much attention and care to the consideration and realization of her wardrobe and the message it conveyed to the world. In the years post-White House she remained committed to the Legacy of John. F. Kennedy, and to this end, for example, as a woman of great style, of which fashion was but one aspect, she made certain that any discussion of her style, especially fashion, was severely limited to the three (3) years she was in The White House. If, one wishes to view the balance of her fashion sense, it is made a difficult task, due to the fact that she gave anonymously to the Costume Institute many, if not all of her Valentino haute couture creations created for her by this master over a twenty (20) year period from 1964-1984. While this present window into the American haute couture created (unusual initself as haute couture is largely absent from the American landscape) for her by Mr. Oleg Cassini ( tribute as much to her as to his mastery in cut, construction, shared vision, and use of sublime color) is important, I find it incomplete, as it shines little to no light on her style both in her life prior and post White House. And while I also understand the ghoulishness of even considering to display, of which I am certain there was none, the pink suit she wore in Dallas at the moment of the President's assassination, I believe at the very least, a photograph of her in that suit that day should have been included where also the lingering question as to it being a genuine Chanel or a good copy from Chez Ninon, might finally be put to rest. The essay's by Arthur Schlesinger, Mrs. Paul Mellon(a great friend, mentor, and influence of Mrs. Onassis, yet, chose to turn-in the most tedious and empty of essays, almost as if she was too bothered to be associated?), and Hamish Bowles, are not the best, but passable, almost as if they each thought no one would really read them and just concentrate on the images. And while the images are a plenty, I would have welcomed more views of each creation, a peek at a few linings, and inclusion of a few more of her more recognized creations, as well...a certain evening gown she wore in 1962 for a state dinner honoring the Shah and Empress of Iran, for example. Given that Mrs. Onassis was proud to be an American, I must admit I am completely appalled, insulted, and disgusted that Caroline kenndy-Schlossberg and the Met were unable to locate an American Curator responsible for what many would consider to be a celebration of the quintessential American. Was there no American capable of writing objectively about Mrs. Onassis? Mr. Bowles insultful lack of respect toward Mr. Cassini, a master on par with any European couturier, is just plain nasty, and it is hoped Mr. Cassini himself will attempt to right this before the exhibition moves to Washington, D.C. However, Mr. Bowles does make a case for what appear to be astute copies of certain models from the French collections not to mention those creations actually created by other couturier's for which Mr. Cassini takes full-credit, such as the red suit she wore to Canada in 1961, to name but one, which is attributed to Pierre Cardin, and acquired in 1957. For reasons of historical accuracy, I for one would like the answers to such questions.

This book is the bomb for Jackie Lovers- the clothes are fantastic and the stories behind them bring them to life. You realise that they are quite severe and plain ( altho beautiful) and how she really brought them to alive and made them sparkle. My favourite clothing book EVER.

A few reviewers have complained that this book reads like the catalog for a museum exhibit--which is exactly what it is. It was prepared for the traveling exhibit of artifacts--the vast majority of which were items of clothing--belonging to Jacqueline Kennedy during the years her husband was campaigning for the presidency and served in the White House. That exhibit was absolutely breathtaking, one of the most impressive I have ever attended. Each display case featured a poster-size enlargement of a photograph of Jackie at some historic event or meeting with such world figures as Nikita Khrushchev, Pope John XXIII or Pablo Casals, next to a dress form with the outfit she was wearing in the photo and an explanation of why she chose that particular ensemble. What made the exhibit so impressive, of course, was that those historic photos were juxtaposed with historic artifacts, the actual clothing she wore at those events; what makes this book unavoidably less impressive is that here the historic photo is juxtaposed with--another photo. The clothes are beautifully photographed and reproduced, but they are still mere photos, nonetheless, without the emotional immediacy of seeing the actual item in person.

The texts displayed in the exhibit are reproduced here, and of course they are as insightful as ever. As the book puts it, Jackie was "a woman of commanding personal style, with an unerring sense of history and of her place in it." What boggles the mind is how brilliantly she chose every detail--fabric, color, design, accessories--not only to look gorgeous or make a fashion statement, but also to make a political statement, however subtle, to reinforce the message of her husband's presidency, always taking into account where she was and who she was with. And yet every look is stunning; never, either here or in the press during her lifetime, did you ever see her in an outfit that made you wonder, "What was she thinking?" She was a First Lady with not only impeccable taste, but also unassailable class and--something lacking in virtually every other First Lady--true star quality. In that this book conveys that message, it is well worth acquiring, even if you didn't get to attend the exhibit. And if you did, you absolutely must have this book. It was sold out by the time I attended, but fortunately it is still available.

A refreshing look at Jackie Kennedy through the White House years when her unique style mesmerized a nation. Oleg Cassini may have helped create the distinctive looks but Jackie did have a knack of making herself her very own style masterpiece. A collage of images that celebrate the colors and clothes of Camelot.

this book is the ultimate coffee table book... and when the seller stated that it was in good condition they really meant it...