The wedding dress of Jacqueline Bouvier was worn by Jacqueline Bouvier

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...

 (later Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) in her wedding to John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 on 12 September 1953. The dress is cited as iconic and one of the best-remembered bridal gowns of all time.

The ball gown was the creation of Ann Lowe

Ann Lowe

Anne Lowe was an African American fashion designer who designed the wedding dress for Jacqueline Bouvier when she married John F. Kennedy....

 made from 15 metres (49.2 ft) of ivory silk taffeta. The veil made of lace, however, was the one worn by her grandmother in her wedding. Anne Lowe, who made the gown and also held the trail (so that it did not get trodden), was not given due credit by name. When Jacqueline was asked a question as to who made the gown, she replied that it was made by a "colored woman."

The wedding dress is now in the possession of the Kennedy Library in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

.

Design

The wedding dress was designed and made by African-American dress maker Ann Lowe

Ann Lowe

Anne Lowe was an African American fashion designer who designed the wedding dress for Jacqueline Bouvier when she married John F. Kennedy....

, a couturier famous for many rich and famous people.

The neckline was described as the portrait type and the skirt

Skirt

A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...

 was a bouffant style. Mini wax flowers decorated the skirt. The lace veil she wore belonged to her grandmother. A tiara

Tiara

A tiara is a form of crown. There are two possible types of crown that this word can refer to.Traditionally, the word "tiara" refers to a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. It was used by the kings and emperors of...

 made of lace, decorated with orange blossoms in the traditional form, was used to tie the veil to her hair. White and pink gardenias and orchids were arranged in the bouquet that Jacqueline carried with the dress. The jewelry, which complemented the wedding dress, were very few but what she wore were of significance; these were the single strand of pearls that belonged to the family heirloom, a diamond leaf pin gifted by her parents, and a diamond bracelet

Bracelet

A bracelet is an article of jewelry which is worn around the wrist. Bracelets can be manufactured from metal, leather, cloth, plastic or other materials and sometimes contain jewels, rocks, wood, and/or shells...

, a present given to her prior to the wedding day by John Kennedy. The matron of honor was Lee Bouvier Canfield, her sister, and Nina Auchincloss acted as her maid of honour and flower girl. There were ten brides maids, apart from attendants. The brides maids were dressed in pink silk faille with Tudor caps.

The wedding gown of ivory silk taffeta, a huge round skirt was made out of 50 yards (45.7 m) of ivory silk taffeta. Interwoven tucking bands and tiny wax flowers were part of the full bouffant skirt.

Retrieved from a mishap

The dress which Ann Lowe had designed and made with silk chiffon taffeta, after nearly two months of toil, was ruined along with nine other dresses (out of a total 15 gowns) in a flooding that occurred in Lowe's Lensington workroom, which occurred 10 days before the wedding. There was a frenzy of activity with the supplier having enough material to replace the entire loss. Enough material of silk chiffon taffeta for the gown and the pink silk faille and red satin for the bridesmaids dresses were provided. Miss Lowe and her staff worked day and night and completed the wedding dress (cutting, sewing and all) in eight days flat (from Thursday to Thursday), compared to eight weeks which she spent on the original dress; they delivered the dress on the due date. However, it is mentioned that instead of making an estimated profit of US$700, Lowe ended up losing US$2,200 on the project.

Not her favorite

The dress was very traditional with the huge bouffant skirt. This invited a remark that “the dress wore Jackie, not the other way round." The design was in deference to the wishes of the Kennedy family, even though the bride's own wish was for a simple dress with firm lines that would have complimented her tall slim figure. Despite the acclaim for the dress around the world, Jacqueline later admitted to friends that she didn't like her wedding dress, because it accentuated her flat chest. She was critical of the dress and also said that it looked "like a lampshade."