Hulu’s “Love Story” has been a pop culture sensation since airing this February. But for viewers like Weinberg junior Leila Chavez, the show’s appeal isn’t its trendy ’90s soundtrack or ritzy city life aesthetic — it’s Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s signature, sophisticated style.
From sleek slip dresses and trench coats to thick tortoiseshell headbands and slim oval sunglasses, the Calvin Klein director of publicity was known for her elegant look.
“Everything she wears feels timeless. I think that’s why a lot of girls admire her,” said Chavez, who is watching the series with a group of her sorority sisters. “It’s something we can all recreate with simple pieces in our wardrobe, like blue jeans and a black top.”
The biographical drama series follows the romance of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Bessette Kennedy, up until their deaths in 1999. Bessette Kennedy’s monochromatic, effortlessly elegant outfits may be the show’s draw for viewers.
Anna Brown, a lecturer in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s fashion design department, said it isn’t simply the clothes that have inspired people — it’s the mysterious allure of the woman herself.
“She represents a time before social media, so there’s kind of a fascination with her because we don’t know a lot about her,” Brown said. “She was very downtown New York City in a time when that wasn’t documented. It was lived.”
The buzz around Bessette Kennedy’s look isn’t limited to viewers — fashion and makeup companies have picked up on the hype and are profiting on the show’s popularity.
A quick Google search of Bessette Kennedy yields a laundry list of articles detailing where viewers can shop for her look. In the past month, The Cut, Page Six and Elle all published articles on the same cream-colored rollneck sweater actress Sarah Pidgeon, who portrays Bessette Kennedy, wore in episode five of the series. Vogue, Who What Wear and Glamour each published multiple stories about the show’s costume department, with headlines including “Look of Love Story — Recreate Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Wardrobe.”
The commodification of Bessette Kennedy’s style fits with current trend cycles. In the modern fashion landscape, pop culture creates microtrends that live and die within a few months. With a chic series like “Love Story,” voila — Carolyn Bessette Kennedy-core is born.
Kylee Alexander, a fashion designer and professor at SAIC, said the trend of viewers rushing to purchase pieces inspired by Bessette Kennedy’s look encourages overconsumption.
“If you wear it as a trend, you’re kind of missing out on the whole ethos of her style,” Alexander said.
But Brown said it isn’t that big of a deal that young women are going on shopping sprees to buy their own tortoiseshell headbands and little round sunglasses.
“We happen to be interested in Carolyn Bessette Kennedy now, but it’ll be something else next week,” Brown said. “The industry is always looking for ways to sell a garment. There always has to be a reason to buy a new shade of red lipstick.”
To Alexander, any media push to sell products poses a sustainability issue. She suggests fans of Bessette Kennedy’s outfits consider secondhand shopping or combing through eBay before running to purchase a new trench coat at Zara.
“The pieces she was wearing are still in circulation. You can purchase second-hand and make that the joy of your shopping experience — finding these archival pieces,” Alexander said. “It’s a matter of purchasing with intention to wear, rather than viewing this as a trend and then catapulting to the next thing.”
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