Jackie Kennedy: The Lady in White



There are the oversized sunglasses. The prim suits with pillbox hats. But nothing captures the simple elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis quite like those pearls. She sported the understated stunners all through her life—from state dinners as first lady to luncheons as an editor at Random House. “As a fashion icon, she appealed to every woman—not just the very wealthy,” says Joyce Jonas, president emeritus of the American Society of Jewelry Historians. “If Jackie could do it, they could do it.” And boy, could they! Jackie had numerous sets of her signature staple, but she purchased this faux triple strand for about $35 from Bergdorf Goodman in the 1950s. While that may seem like a bargain, consider this: The very same neck­lace sold for (gulp!) $211,500 at Sotheby’s in 1996. It is now on display at the Smithsonian.

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