Many remember Jacqueline Kennedy as the most stylish First Lady in American history. But no one can forget the pink suit. May 19 marked 30 years since the death of Mrs.
Kennedy, whose tasteful attire was the talk of the nation throughout the “Camelot” years. Most Americans, though, remember just one outfit – the pink suit, with matching pink pillbox hat, that she wore on the day her husband was assassinated. The suit is now in the National Archives, where almost no one alive today will ever have the chance to see it.
The pillbox hat, however, has been lost to history. Jacqueline Kennedy was always on the cutting edge of fashion, down to the color. Pink was fairly new to women’s fashion, as few had worn it until the 1950s.
That was the color of the suit she selected, with the help of her husband, for the Kennedys’ trip to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Though the color is commonly referred to as pink, the hue was given as raspberry.
The suit featured a double-breasted coat with six gold buttons, with two additional gold buttons on each sleeve. More prominent, though, was the navy trim, particularly on the wide collar. The pillbox hat also had navy trim and was held in place with a regular hatpin.
Rounding out the look were navy blue low heels, with white gloves. Many sources note that Americans who watched the news footage on the day of the assassination would not have seen the color, since most networks broadcast in black and white. A week later, a commemorative issue by .
