The Classic Couple is Back

I remember the day when I heard JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (and Carolyn's sister) died in a plane crash. It was the summer of 1999. I was in my early twenties, and this couple had been in the tabloids and news for the past several years. Hearing about them regularly was normal, though they themselves were not normal. They were American royalty.

I didn't know much about the family then (I do now, with my love of the '60s, and Jackie Kennedy's style, and thanks to my vintage life that helps to feed this love). I recall it being serious, that this was a big deal, and words like "Kennedy Curse" floated about the news.

The latest series on FX and Hulu called Love Story has reintroduced the world to this classic couple. He, JFK Jr., and his thick head of hair, hat on backwards, cycling to and from work in New York City, she, Carolyn, with her perfectly minimalist style - a pair of class boot cut 517 Levi's, a crisp white shirt, and her oval sunglasses and straight long blond hair - this was a style I lived through and loved, and I'm glad it's having another moment.

I'm only a few episodes into the new series, and while it's a bit overly dramatized in some areas, there are definite heart-tugging moments; things about this couple we never knew, and things I wish people had known at the time. But life in the '90s wasn't like it is today. Truth wasn't as honest as it can be today with social media, so we, as an audience, are only as informed as the media would tell us.

Can you imagine Carolyn with Instagram today? The things - truthful things - she could've posted? What about JFK Jr.? He would've been inspired, I think. Social media would have been an outlet for him to say what he wanted America to hear; he may not have felt as constrained by the Kennedy name.

Who knows, though. It's all my speculation. 

But as a vintage lover, I am enthralled with the series, seeing what she wore. The costume designers were able to find true vintage duplicates of the things she wore, and for the items they couldn't find, they made them! I'm truly impressed. And would like a few more pairs of the vintage Levi's 517s for myself.

All that to say, while the series isn't perfect, I am fascinated by it, and glad to see the world is once again reminded of how beautiful this couple was, the struggles they went through. I'm also reminded of a few things: that life is fragile, that we should tell those whom we love that we love them, and that we should create our own style and be ourselves.