You can finally get a piece of her New York City It Girl fashion.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was known for her elevated street wear, sophisticated silhouettes, and super-chic jacket collection. Good news for fashion, history, and CBK fans: you can know buy the ’90s style icon’s actual clothes.
On November 27, three of Bessette-Kennedy’s most memorable coats will be up for auction at Sotheby’s, according to WSJ Magazine. The items for sale will include a faux-leopard coat, a black trench from Prada, and a Yohji Yamamoto jacket, all worn by the fashion darling to various events, including Bill Clinton’s 1997 inauguration, and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal event, per Marie Claire. Additionally, the clothes will also be on display in New York City starting on December 5. The auction closes on December 17.
The pieces are being consigned by RoseMarie Terenzio, Bessette-Kennedy’s husband John F. Kennedy Jr.’s former assistant, who was gifted with the jackets by a fashion publicist. According to WSJ Magazine, Bessette-Kennedy specifically lent the leopard-print outerwear to Terenzio for a date before encouraging her to keep the item.
“There is no greater expression of someone’s life than their clothes," Sotheby's fashion specialist Lucy Bishop said in a statement, per Marie Claire. "Countless articles have been written about Carolyn’s life and era-defining minimalist style, yet relatively little exists on public record of her own voice. These garments speak volumes about her tragically short but remarkable life. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy understood the power of dressing well, and this belief is forever reflected in these clothes."
Bishop adds that the three pieces for sale reflect Bessette-Kennedy's functional approach to fashion as a New York City businesswoman and socialite.
"These are the clothes of a woman rushing through the bustling streets of New York and attending exclusive evening affairs," she said. "Her choices were practical, but she always looked polished. She understood the power that fashion can hold in the everyday life of a woman. That’s the secret behind why her style remains so widely admired and emulated by women around the world today."