It is perhaps the most famous second marriage in modern history, and the clothes Jackie Kennedy wore to wed Aristotle Onassis are to be sold in Los Angeles later this month.
The outfit being sold in the September 26 auction is a Valentino ensemble from the Sfilata Bianca collection of 1968.
The dress was considered modern and personally symbolic when worn by Jackie in 1968.
It is a cream silk crepe pleated sleeveless dress and a chiffon and lace overlay shell.
It comes to sale at Bonhams via staff on the Onassis yacht Christina, who were gifted the dress.
At the time the outfit was cutting edge, Marissa Speer of Bonhams told Vogue.
“Jackie’s wedding dress was groundbreaking for the time, being an unconventional short dress.
“The dress is a stepping stone in her transition from the Queen of Camelot to Jackie O: style icon, where she was making her own choices and showing her independence through her style.”
The dress is being sold with other Kennedy items owned by John F Kennedy Jr.
It carries an estimate of $12,000, but if Kim Kardashian, who is known to own a Jackie Kennedy watch, bids then it could go much higher.
Jackie Kennedy became Jackie Onassis (popularly Jackie O) on October 20, 1968 on the island of Skorpios in the Ionian Sea.
She had survived the assassination of her husband, US President John, in Dallas in 1963.
She subsequently became close with John’s brother, Robert. He sought her blessing to run for president in 1968, a campaign during which he too was gunned down.
Just four months later, she married Onassis, a shipping magnate.
She remained a public figure and a focus of press attention throughout her life. “Jackie O” was a nickname given to her by the paparazzi who shadowed her in public.
Onassis died in 1975. Kennedy in 1994 aged just 64. She was buried alongside her first husband.
John F Kennedy’s short life and public (and still disputed) death have made him among the most collectible American presidents, the only 20th century POTUS to achieve that status so far. The Kennedy family remain a fascination in the US, and still have some political clout. Robert F Kennedy Jr became the fifth member of the family to run for President (only John won) this year.
