Yes it was a Chanel but not entirely. When Jackie became First Lady, her father-in-law told her, to be patriotic, Jackie had to wear American made clothing. This meant, no trips to France to browse away in the boutiques of Paris. This upset Jackie however she eventually discovered her own sort of secret.
At 500 Park Avenue, Jackie found a little shop called Chez Ninon. Chez Ninon helped Jackie take designs for clothes made by Chanel and her favourite French brands and make replicas of them. No this wasn't classed as a rip-off. As when Jackie wanted to get the pink suit, Chanel sent over the fabric and everything needed for the suit and it was made specially for Jackie. It was a French design but made in America.
However the history of the suit didn't begin in Dallas. It has had many happy memories before that fateful day. Jackie wore the suit between 1961-63. She usually wore the jacket buttoned up or she sometimes liked to leave it open and show off her navy blouse and her strand of pearls.
The suit first appeared in the September 1st issue of Life Magazine in 1961. On that same issue it featured Jackie wearing Oleg Cassini and it had the headline: The First Lady. She tells her plans for the White House.
According to the magazine the new collection of suits had:
A more crisply tailored figure-fitting shape with small shoulders and narrow set-in sleeves compared to the soft-shoulder boxier version that was introduced the previous season.
Jackie first wore the suit on November 12th 1961, when she was staying at Camp David with the President and her children. They attended St Stephen's Church, near the country retreat and Jackie wore the suit.
Jackie then wore it two days later at the White House for a Korean gift ceremony. The suit didn't appear again until after Jackie's state visits to India and Pakistand. En-route back to the states, Jackie stayed in London for a few days with her sister Lee. In London she would attend a private luncheon with the Queen. When arriving at Lee's house, Jackie wore the suit.
Jackie then wore the suit in September that same year at the White House again to a meeting about Lafayette Square (which Jackie helped save historic buildings in the square from being demolished).
The suit once again was shown off at several events at the White House. On October 15th 1962, there was a visit from the Prime Minister of Algeria and then on October 23rd there was another visit from Marharaja of Jaipur.
Then the suit appeared in Dallas on November 22nd 1963. It was JFK who asked Jackie to wear the suit. He said she looked ravishing in it and he was proud whenever she wore something gorgeous. It was also supposed to be cool in Dallas so Jackie wore the suit but it turned out to be rather warm.
Aboard Air Force One later in the day, after watching Johnson being sworn in, Jackie's secretary laid out a fresh dress for her to wear. She refused to wear it. "Let them see what they've done" she insisted. Jackie wore the outfit on the flight back to Washington and all the way through her husband's autopsy.
She didn't take it off until 7am the next morning. It was given to Jackie's mother and she put it in her attic. It was given to her mother in a box that had a note on it and it said: "Jackie's suit and bag. November 22nd 1963". Janet sat the box next to the box containing Jackie's so-called "lampshade" wedding dress.
It was eventually given to the National Archives, where it is currently. It is stored in a secret place, where only certain people can view it. It won't be put on public display until 2103, under Kennedy family orders.
The suit will be preserved in American fashion history.
