A Thousand Days of Magic: Dressing Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House [Hardcover]

Oleg Cassini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1995

There are moments in history where events converge to create something rare and special. Jacqueline Kennedy's selection of Oleg Cassini to design her personal wardrobe as First Lady was one of those moments, not only in fashion history, but political history as well. As creator of the "Jackie look," Cassini made the First Lady one of the best-dressed women in the world and a glamourous icon of the Kennedy era.

During the thousand days of the Kennedy administration, Cassini designed over 300 outfits for Jackie Kennedy--coats, dresses, evening gowns, suits, and day wear. He coordinated every aspect of her wardrobe, from shoes and hats to gloves and handbags.

For the first time, Oleg Cassini offers a fascinating and comprehensive view of his role as Jackie's personal couturier. His international background allowed him to fit comfortably into the Kennedy poltical dynasty, and offered him unprecedented access to both Jackie and John Kennedy as a designer and a trusted friend. From the details of his long-standing friendship with the Kennedy family to his first meetings with the First lady to his thoughts on Jackie's clothes and their legacy, Cassini's recollections are far-ranging and informative.

Cassini's original sketches are accompanied by 200 color and black-and-white photographs of the First Lady as she tours India, France, England, and Italy, shows off the White House, and hosts state dinners and family gatherings. Public moments as well as private ones capture the great elegance and charm of one of the most admired and emulated women in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

No other First Lady has come close to Jacqueline Kennedy in epitomizing a fresh American style. The magic and excitement she stirred as the wife of the president stemmed not only from her youth and beauty but also from her elegantly simple clothes. In this lavishly illustrated memoir, Cassini, who designed over 300 outfits as the First Lady's personal couturier, recalls how he created the "Jackie look"-from her famous pill box hats (he doesn't mention that Halston also claimed credit) and widely imitated suits to her elegant and daring strapless evening gowns. Especially fascinating and revealing are Jackie's letters: "Just make sure no one has exactly the same dress I do ... I want all mine to be original and no fat little women hopping around in the same dress ...." This woman knew how to be a star. While Cassini's cream-puff prose is superficially pleasant (weak on the politics but strong on fashion), it's his original design sketches and the 200 color and black-and-white photographs that highlight Jackie's extraordinary charisma. Whether at a state function or a private party, she simply outshone every woman present. For popular fashion and Kennedy collections.
Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

One of the world's foremost fashion designers, Oleg Cassini continues to run his international business from New York City. Born a count in Czarist Russia, Cassini was raised in Italy and later came to America, where he worked as a costume designer in Hollywood. He lived a glamorous, jet-set life as part of the extravagant Hollywood elite while maintaining his position as a member of European society. Once married to actress Gene Tierney, he was later engaged to marry Grace Kelly.

In the 1950's Cassini began his own successful fashion business, but his greatest achievement was being selected as Jacqueline Kennedy's personal and exclusive designer in 1960. As the couturier to the First Lady, Cassini had a worldwide impact on fashion.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (September 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847819000
• ISBN-13: 978-0847819003
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 1 x 11.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( O ) > Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Combination that Works, July 3, 2000

By 

Stacey M Jones (Conway, Ark.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Thousand Days of Magic: Dressing Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House (Hardcover)

This lovely volume combines Cassini's memoirs of working closely with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis during her brief White House years, his fashion philosophies and ideas, and the iconography of the early 1960s style and vigor of the Kennedy years. Each piece plays the right part in the book as a whole, illustrating what must have been an enchanted time for Cassini. If one is interested in fashion and its technical aspects, the book's sketches and interesting details (letters from Jackie about to whom Cassini should send swatches for hat and glove construction for each dress), his memories of Jackie along with excerpts of her letters (photographic and in text, reproduced verbatim) along with the requisite, but lovely photographs of Jackie is his creations. It brings couture to the United States in a grand way and makes this French sensibilitiy part of our own Americana.

With all of the Jackie Kennedy products on the market, it was lovely to read such a heartfelt memoir from the man who helped to position her in our nation's consciousness as a precious and dear woman.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Top Jackie Fashion Book !, September 24, 2001

By 

JackieNUT (Ogden, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thousand Days of Magic: Dressing Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House (Hardcover)

As far as I am concerned this is THE top book about Jackie's Fashions and I have either read, bought, or extensively reviewed all of them. This big coffee table book written by Oleg Cassini contains more information, better pictures and sketches than any other book about Jackie's fashions. In fact,I would say in some ways it is almost a biography of Jackie albeit a heavily illustrated one. Do not let the new influx of books about Jackie's fashions deter you from buying this book. The new books that came out around the time of the exhibit of her fashions at the Met are all ok . And Hamish Bowles book about the exhibit was the best of the three released during this timeframe. However none of these books match the lushness of Cassini's book!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exquisite Book Capturing an Exquisite Woman, April 25, 2004

By 

Barbara Rose (BornToInspire.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Thousand Days of Magic: Dressing Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House (Hardcover)

I bought this book in 1995 when it first came out, it has held up beautifully, and is one of my all time favorite books about Jackie.

A large, coffee table book that is filled with exquisite photos from Jackie's wedding day to President Kennedy through her time as First Lady, and her later years.

Jackie has always been one of my favorite role models, and Oleg Cassini did one fantastic job in showing the sketches of clothing illustrations, as well as when and where Jackie wore them. He gives wonderful and detailed paragraphs of information that are respectful of Jackie. The book also has clear copies of the many letters of gratitude Jackie has written, as well as the many activities she was involved in.

It is a true and dignified portrait of Jackie's greatest 1,000 days, and is a timeless treasure, showing the class, dignity, heart, and soul of a woman who will forever remain eternal.
HIGHLY Recommended for the beautiful and dignified manner with which it is presented.