The real reason Jackie O had class

Jackie Kennedy visiting Venezuela in 1961.
Credit: U. S. Department of State [Public domain]

‘We gossiped about mutual friends and even fashion. Jackie was one of the twentieth century’s iconic trendsetters. My friends and some in the press had kibbitzed about my clothes, my hair and my makeup since the day Bill announced he would run. When I asked her if I should just turn myself over to a team of famous consultants as some in the media had recommended, she looked horrified. “You have to be you,” she said. “You’ll end up wearing someone else’s idea of who you are and how you should look. Concentrate instead on what’s important to you.” Her words were a relief’

– Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History (2003) Headline, London, p138

I bought a second-hand copy of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s memoirs a few weeks ago, and every now and again I dip into them. Sheʼs a formidable woman and I admire her greatly – not least because I remember the extent to which her appearance was dissected and criticised when her husband Bill Clinton was first elected US President in the early 1990s.

If I thought about the issue at all at the time, I guess I would have reasoned that this pressure to fit in with a certain template of what a woman in public life should look like would peter out in time. It was some sort of hangover from the 1950s, right? And within a few years, that mindset would be as outdated as the Bakelite phone…

In any case, I can understand Hillary asking Jackie for advice in this meeting in the early days of Billʼs presidency. Hillary is almost 30 years older than me and even to women of my generation, the effects of Jackie’s influence were palpable. 

Personally, I love the simple lines of the Christian Dior dress Jackie wore when she led TV cameras on a tour of the White House in 1961. The pared-down shift dresses that became synonymous with her. The verve with which she wore something as simple as a pair of slacks and a turtleneck sweater. 

So it’s interesting to note that when Hillary turned to Jackie, the older woman was firm: Hillary shouldn’t give herself over to a raft of stylists and image advisers. 

Hillary Rodham Clinton in 1995
Credit: Maggie Hallahan [CC BY-SA]

‘You have to be you!... You’ll end up wearing someone else’s idea of who you are and how you should look.’

I love pretty much everything about Jackie Kennedy’s style – but I really love that when she was approached by a woman who was finding her feet in a new and challenging job, she tried to build her up and reminded her to focus on what really mattered to her, not the extraneous nonsense that surrounded the role.

Jackie Kennedy: queen of 20th-century style, epitome of grace... and supportive older figure for younger women. That’s quite a legacy.