The Real Story of Jackie Kennedy’s Pink Suit — And Why It’s Locked Away Until 2103

Jackie Kennedy’s pink suit is more than just a garment—it’s a symbol of American history.

The two-piece set – sometimes described as “watermelon pink” or “raspberry pink” – was what the then first lady wore on November 22, 1963 – the fateful day her husband, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated while driving is in a car parade in Dallas, Texas.

It was also the outfit in which she was photographed next to Lyndon B. Johnson shortly after JFK’s death. “They actually had another dress for her to wear and she turned it down,” historian Steve Gillon told PEOPLE in November 2022.

“She came out in her bloody suit and stood next to Lyndon Johnson. Despite these horrible circumstances, she was willing to stand for a photo because she understood what it means to a nation to have continuity in government,” he said.

Gillon added: “She understood that she had a role to play in helping the nation transition to a new president.”

Natalie Portman, who wore a recreation of the suit while playing a book editor in the 2016 biopic. Jackiepreviously spoke to USA TODAY about its significance, saying, “It’s crazy when clothing becomes a symbol and when you see something so recognizable and iconic. It tells a whole story, just the dress itself. And then, of course, with blood on it… [it] it has a kind of American history in it.”

November 22nd marks the 60th anniversary of JFK’s assassination, and Jackie’s bloody suit still serves as a poignant reminder of the devastation that day — though it has never been made available to the public.

From the origins of the design to how it became one of the most important outfits in American history, here’s everything you need to know about Jackie Kennedy’s pink suit — including why it’s locked away until the year 2103.

JFK took an interest in Jackie Kennedy’s choice of wardrobe for the occasion

Art Rickerby/LIFE Image Collection/Getty

According to the 2013 book Death of the President William Manchester, the couple’s trip prompted the president to inquire about his wife’s wardrobe for their upcoming appearance together in Dallas — and to offer some advice.

“There’s going to be all these rich, Republican women at that lunch in mink fur coats and diamond bracelets,” he allegedly told her, according to vanity fair. “And you’ve got to look as gorgeous as any of them. Keep it simple—show these Texans what good taste really is.”

Jackie Kennedy has already worn a suit

The President and Jacqueline Kennedy arrive at Dallass Love Field on November 22, 1963.

Everett/Shutterstock

Before choosing the suit for her trip to Texas with the president, Jackie had worn it at least six times before, according to The The New York Timesand was even photographed in it.

Jackie Kennedy was wearing a suit when JFK was shot

Getty

Jackie was wearing a pink suit, complete with a matching pink hat, a pair of white gloves, and a pair of socks when President Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in the back of an open top limousine with his wife.

Jackie covered his body with hers, as Lady Bird Johnson would later describe in her diary. “As we pulled up – we were still the third car… I took one last look over my shoulder and saw in the presidential car a bunch of pink, just like putty flowers, lying in the back seat,” she wrote. , adding, “It was Mrs. Kennedy lying over the President’s body.”

Meanwhile, Jackie’s perfect suit was left messy and bloody. “Mrs. Kennedy’s dress was stained with blood,” Lady wrote. “One leg was almost entirely covered with it, and her right glove was scorched, scorched with blood—her husband’s blood.”

Jackie Kennedy refused to take off her suit after the president was shot

Lyndon B. Johnson and Jackie Kennedy. Universal History Archive/Getty

Jackie remained in the suit from 12:30 CT, when JFK was shot, until the next morning, including during President Johnson’s swearing-in.

As Lady Bird recalled in her diary, she offered to have someone help Jackie change, but the first lady declined. “And then, with almost an element of fierceness — if so gentle, so dignified a person can be said to have such a quality — she said, ‘I want them to see what they’ve done to Jack,'” she wrote.

The effect on Lady Bird – and the rest of the nation – was dire. “It was kind of one of the most moving scenes – this flawless woman, exquisitely dressed and drenched in blood,” she added.

In documentary series in 2023 JFK: A Day in America, a reporter who was present at the time echoed Jackie’s insistence that she remain in the bloody suit.

“Mrs. Kennedy came forward and I could see blood on her dress, where she held the president’s head in her lap and said, ‘Let them see what they’ve done,'” he recalled.

Jackie Kennedy never had her suit cleaned

Art Rickerby/LIFE Image Collection via Getty

The day after the assassination, Jackie returned to the White House and finally took off her suit to take a bath. According to Los Angeles Timesher maid Providencia Paredes put the clothes in a bag – but did not have them cleaned.

Although it is not clear exactly where the suit went next, it was sent in its bloodstained state to the National Archives sometime before July 1964, where it remains to this day. It was accompanied by an unsigned note on a notepad from Jackie’s mother, Janet Auchincloss, which read: “Jackie’s kit and bag – worn 22 November 1963.”

The suit is reportedly an approved Chanel copy

Bettmann

Although the suit was first shown in Coco Chanel’s Fall/Winter 1961 collection, the fashion house did not create the exact look Jackie wore on that fateful day. Instead, the outfit was a regular copy from the New York store Chez Ninon, which was approved by Chanel in France, according to a 2010 biography of Chanel by Justine Picardie.

The store used fabrics, buttons and trims shipped directly from Chanel in Paris to recreate the look.

“The garments were not counterfeit or pirated, but made to order from materials supplied by Chanel in Paris,” Picardie wrote in Chanel, her life, per Vogue UK. “That’s how it was [Jackie] she came dressed in a vivid pink Chanel suit…on November 22, 1963, following her husband to Dallas.”

Natalie Portman was photographed in a recreation of the suit in 2016

Pablo Larrain/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

For 2016 JackieFrench costume designer Madeline Fontaine was commissioned to recreate Jackie’s iconic ensemble for her star, Natalie Portman.

Fontaine spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the process of getting the right shade of pink.

“For the pink dress, we made it a copy of the one everyone knows,” she explained. “First we had to agree with Pablo and Stéphane Fontaine [director of photography]in the right color according to the choice of different cameras (for recording and recording continuity).”

The designer continued, “Then I did film tests of different colors to get them the pink. And then he made five of them. … We had to see for ourselves! We had to make sure this was as close as possible [to] the original one. We needed this to be as historically accurate as possible.”

The result? Per Fontaine, “Impressive to see Natalie in it for the first time on set.”

The suit is still locked in the State Archives

Bettmann

Today, the suit is kept at the College Park facility of the National Archives and Records Administration, where it is kept in a specially made acid-free, temperature- and humidity-controlled box. Although it had been in the National Archives since 1964, it still legally belonged to Jackie’s daughter and surviving heir, Caroline Kennedy, until 2003, when a deed of gift was secured from Caroline – although it came with some stipulations.

At Caroline’s request, the suit will not be available for viewing until at least 2103, when, according to the National Archives, the Kennedy family will reconsider whether there will ever be any public access.

“The family further wishes to ensure that the materials are never subject to public display, research or any other use that would in any way dishonor the memory of Mrs. Kennedy or President Kennedy or cause any grief or suffering to their family members,” Caroline’s request read. .

Jackie Kennedy’s matching pillbox and white gloves were lost in the fray

Jaqueline Kennedy arrives in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Cecil Stoughton/White House Photographs/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

In addition to Jackie’s pink suit, her shoes, purse and socks, which were reportedly “bloodied and folded into a towel,” according to The New York Times, they are also kept in the State Archives.

However, the whereabouts of her famous white gloves and pink pillowcase hat are unknown. “Apparently the hat initially went to the Secret Service and the Secret Service gave it to Mrs. Kennedy’s private secretary and then it disappeared. It hasn’t been seen since,” Cruel and shocking author Philip Shenon told CNN in 2013.

Two years earlier, however, Los Angeles Times she put forward a different theory, stating that the hat was last seen with her personal secretary, Mary Gallagher. In his memoirs from 1969 My Life with Jacqueline KennedyGallagher confirmed that she had the hat on at some point while she was in the hospital with Jackie.

“As I stood there, he handed me Jackie’s hat and I couldn’t help but notice the strands of her hair under the hat pin. I could almost imagine him ripping it out of my head,” she wrote.

However, when LA Times contacted Gallagher by phone in 2011, she declined to discuss the missing hat. Gallagher died in 2022 at the age of 95 — meaning the whereabouts of the famous hat-box may never be known.

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