Probably one of my favourite visits ever by the Kennedys was the state visit to France. In this trip, the Kennedys earned France as a new nation and showed the other side of the world, their elegance and how they could capture a nation in a day.
Jackie was anxious for the trip to go well. And Cassini was under pressure too. Knowing Jackie's passion for Chanel, Givenchy and all things French, he had to come up with a wardrobe that would show her French taste and would be suitable, for the lady he recalled as 'the Queen of America'. He outdid himself.
Using the most luxurious and expensive materials and classic designs, he came up with a wardrobe that would match the French couture and could show Jackie's style and grace. Just like she did her whole time in the White House, Jackie matched up her Cassini outfits for France with accessories and pieces from Chanel, Givenchy and Chez Ninon.
She also picked out some pieces from her new wardrobe to wear to France. For example, her Chez Ninon blue-gray suit was worn by her for a visit to Malmaison.
For Jackie the France trip would be like a fashion show and she knew it. There would be bigger stakes at hand. At the time, JFK wasn't well known in Europe. To European leaders such as de Gaulle and Kruschev (who he'd meet in Vienna after France), JFK was a rich man's son with a good haircut and had managed to get into the White House.
However JFK was determined to turn that around. Using Jackie's capability to speak French and her love for French fashion and culture, he managed to get France under his wing.
The state visit to France would be big. This time it would captured on film for the whole world to see! Not just the First family. Air Force One, motorcades, cheering crowds, visits to the most famous landmarks in Paris.
The trip was spectacular. On the first night, the Kennedys dined with President and Madame de Gaulle at the Elysee Palace. Jackie wore a pink and white lace dress, Oleg had made for her. It wasn't the start of the big praise for them both but it was the start of the French people's love for Jackie.
The next morning, Jackie visited Notre Dame before joining her husband at the Elysee again for lunch with the de Gaulles. She wore a pastel yellow, Alaskine silk, wool suit Oleg had designed for her. Later in the day, Jackie attended a reception at which she received a gold watch and then finally her husband and herself dined at the Palace of Versailles at a state dinner.
Jackie arrived dressed in Givenchy, much to the delight of the French people. For the First Lady to wear non-American clothes was unheard of before. Jackie had started something new. Oleg Cassini's job was to take French designs but make the clothes in America, However this piece, Jackie had bought from France.
For the state dinner at Versailles, Jackie wore an ivory embroidered evening dress made from ziberline, silk floss, silk ribbon and seed pearls.
The trip to France was a great success for the Kennedys. Jackie was praised more than her husband. At the dinner in Versailles, to prove this, JFK made this famous statement in his speech, "I do not think it altogether inappropriate to introduce myself... I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris and I have enjoyed it".
