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 Age
Died aged 33 in July 1999.
The Look
6' tall, sleek, chic, expensive, pared-down elegance. Worked at Calvin Klein. Sophisticated, well-educated, well-wed, generally privileged. She started out with long-long pin-straight dark-blonde hair which went lighter and lighter after she married. Black clothes (she wore a LOT of Yohji Yamamoto) with the occasional severe white or beige item, or a warm red coat to walk her dog in. Forget jewellery and excessive make-up. A strapless gown is as racey as it needs to get, nothing too tight, nothing see-through,
understated is the key. Don't forget the sleek chignon, Manolo Blahnik stilettos and bright red lipstick.
 Example outfits
Her famous silky sheath wedding dress. Fake fur coat and hat, black leather gloves, red lipstick (perfect). Black tux with nothing underneath. Full-length, long-sleeved white wool Versace dress.
The Attitude
All reports say she was warm, friendly and good fun in private. In public, proper, refined, restrained and dignified, even chilly - although the famous photos of her SCREAMING at JFK Jnr. in Central Park, with her hair flying round her face, revealed her as flesh&blood, blow-your-top gal just like the rest of us.
Unlike the rest of us, Carolyn Bessette's style genius meant that she appeared to place herself firmly IN fashion yet her singular sense of style placed her timelessly OUTSIDE of it. As Elizabeth Wilson says, "anti-fashion is that 'true chic', which used to be defined as the elegance which never draws attention to itself, the simplicity that is 'understated', but which for that very reason stands out so startlingly" (from Adorned in Dreams, 1985).
 How To
We would say marry rich and pare it down. But her sense of style was so innate and just so chic, elegant, and minimalist that it can't be copied. Do your best.
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Carolyn Bessette
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