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There's something endearing about seeing someone in the limelight do menial things. Like when Jay-Z had a natter with an elderly lady on the New York subway on the way to his concert at the Barclay's Center, or when Frank Ocean gets caught cycling around busy city streets.
Nicknamed "America’s Reluctant Prince," the late John F. Kennedy Jr. was one of those people thrust into the limelight with an appreciation for run-of-the-mill encounters.
The son of JFK, his namesake, John F. Kennedy Jr. was in the limelight since childhood. But the attention really peaked during the 80s and 90s when he would be unwillingly photographed taking a crowded train to his job as a lawyer, playing frisbee, going on a bike ride... basically doing anything.
If we're being honest, it was borderline harassment, but one thing that did come out of it is that we have a permanent record of the man's impeccable style.
With his wife Carolyn Bessette, a publicist for Calvin Klein, he had found his match. Someone who was also naturally blessed with stunning looks that helped make even the dreariest of beige-colored late 20th-century outfits look catalog-worthy, and the two pulled out some iconic couples' fashion.
"The thing about John is, when he needed to dress up and put on a tailor-made suit he looked like Superman," Steven M. Gillon, a historian, friend of Kennedy, and author of a book about him, previously told InStyle. "But just everyday… John's clothes, they didn't match, they didn't fit right, he always wore clothes that seemed to be about two sizes two big."
Maybe our thirst for constant nostalgia and the novelty of press photos taken on film are clouding my vision, but that's all part of the charm. It's the typical thing of when someone is not trying to be cool (or stylish) they are the exact epitome of that.
Mismatched and oversized, his style was not what would be expected from someone in his position at the time and we can thank the heavens that he didn't care because those outfits have aged like fine wine.
In his day, Kennedy stepping out in trousers that are a bit too long or randomly adding a waistcoat to casual looks was a similar power play to the wardrobes of Pete Davidson or Justin Bieber. Today, we have coined terms like "scumbro" to describe it, but realistically it's just wearing comfy, slouchy-fitting clothes with confidence and making it work.
If you're anything like me you're probably scratching your head trying to remember how you used to wear anything other than shorts and a t-shirt, digging out jackets and shirts from the back of the wardrobe in an attempt to perfect the dark art of layering. My solution has been to take a page out of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s style book.
