CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion

Great book, arrived in perfect condition.

I found this to be a very well-written book showcasing the timeless yet minimalist style of CBK. There was a good balance between the visuals and the text with insightful commentary from the author. I especially liked the way the author compartmentalised the essential fashion elements of CBK’s wardrobe and how this might provide inspiration for readers.Contributions from notable people such as Gabriela Hearst and Edward Enninful highlight how iconic CBK’s style was. I found there to be some great artwork in there and the testimonials from friends and admirers was a nice touch.The look and feel of the book was very high quality and it would look at home on any stylish coffee table. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I’m glad a book like this exists and it’s better than nothing BUT it feels like a huge missed opportunity. I will add that I can see some other reviews have criticised the book for not providing more of a personal insight (e.g. more 'biography' type content), and for using already seen photos. I don't think it's necessarily fair to criticise on those points as this book is not a biography, it is a look at her style/fashion not her as a person (although they are linked but it's not the same). I also think it's fair and understandable most of the pictures aren't new, I was totally expecting to see photos I had seen before but presented in hard copy format with relevant information etc. So my criticisms aren’t based on those issues but purely on what they did/didn’t include on CBK’s style.What I am critical about is given how few pictures there are of CBK (pre digital photography) and how few outfits she was actually pictured in it’s a shame they’re not “all” in this book - this would have been very doable particularly grouping them into themes (as this book does) or evolution so we could see her fashion evolution from more casual street style to polished chic. This frustration is compounded when we have random photographs or paintings/“art” that have nothing to do with CBK or clothes she wore - why if they had to be so selective with images have they included things that add nothing at the expense of more photos of CBK? These additions often detract as we know they are replacing something that could have been more relevant and interesting!The book has 9 chapters1. The shirt (white shirts)2. The beige3. The coat4. The dress5. The wedding dress6. The casual7. The then: New York8. The now9. The essentialsEach is essentially an essay of the “theme” (I assume written by the author), then a mix of photos of CBK, interviews/quotes from designers/photographers and then also some random fashion photographs or 'art' trying to depict said item/theme.If you want more detail read on but the above is summary!What the book got 'wrong' (in my opinion):I can accept the interviews/quotes from fashion people are sometimes interesting (particularly designers who Carolyn wore like Yohji Yamamoto). But I really don't know what the selection process of 'interviewees' were as we have photographers or fashion people who didn’t know her or weren’t known by her providing interviews/quotes. E.g. a quote from Wes Gordon (creative director at Carolina Herrara) and Mark Borthwick (a photographer who I’ve not heard of and has no connection to CBK)…well we don’t know why these people were selected and what their thoughts add! The book should have stuck to designers who knew Carolyn, or at least designers who designed pieces she wore like Yohji. Narcisco Rodriguez, Miuccia Prada, Comme des Garcons etc - I guess maybe they couldn't get interviews with these people but then follow CBK's principle of less is more and don't 'pad out' with names that aren't relevant to Carolyn personally or professionally.Similarly I don't think the addition of random fashion photography (not of Carolyn) adds much. I find it interesting to see runway shots of pieces she wore (sadly there aren't any shots of the clothes themselves on mannequins so we can see the detail/construction more) as it shows how CBK took pieces off runway and styled them differently. But I don't need a random picture of Lily Rose Depp or Amber Valletta in a Prada dress that CBK didn't wear (it would maybe be acceptable if CBK had worn it). There are also some random paintings/art of CBK (I'm not sure if these were commissioned or if they are 'fan art') which again feels like it isn't adding much.The fact the author had all the shots (unpublished) of the only sort of fashion shoot CBK did with Bruce Weber (used for Vanity Fair) and they used only one shot on the cover (unpublished), but no photos inside the book at all and certainly no unpublished ones is such an incredible waste and frustration to me - the author clearly worked hard to connect with these people and get all these unseen things that would be so lovely to see but not share…this epitomises what is wrong about the book! Yes less is more but not in this context - lots of pointless text and poor pictures could be cut and no one would care but you don’t give us unpublished CBK by Bruce Weber shots???In addition to the above, sometimes the design of the book feels a little bit amateur and unclear, and frankly irritating. One example is you have a quote from designer Ann Demeulemeester talking about a leather skirt CBK wears, there’s even a picture of the skirt on the runway. Great. But where is the photo Ann is talking about of CBK wearing the skirt. Is it on the page opposite? No. The page before/after? No. Anywhere in the book…no! (I flicked through it twice, perhaps I’m missing it somewhere but the point remains…) Why have a whole page dedicated to talking about a particular item and then not show CBK wearing it! And what’s the fantastic picture they used instead on the opposite page? It’s not even a picture of CBK it’s literally a brushstroke of beige paint (it’s a “painting” it’s “art” whatever!). How frustrating.Pictures of CBK are generally credited with a location/event and date, but not credited with who she’s wearing. I understand this might not be possible all the time but when it’s known why not add in the clothing credit?Another example going to book design and selection of images, there is an Irving Penn close-up photo of red lips and a cigarette opposite a photo of Jackie Kennedy smoking. But there are no captions at all on these photos (I recognised Jackie and at the back of the book the photo credit is Penn). Firstly, the lack of captions would make you think perhaps the lips are CBK's when they're not. Secondly, why include a picture of Jackie Kennedy? Jackie is also not Carolyn, I don't believe they ever met and obviously they are connected through JFK Jr but if you wanted to make a point that CBK was inspired by Jackie then you need more evidence (there's another picture of Jackie and in it Jackie is wearing the tank watch that CBK ends up wearing so I think this is ok to include), but also this feels unnecessary - their style was different and it feels unfair to compare CBK to another woman in a book about her, particularly given she probably had the comparison throughout her life. Thirdly, the fact they have selected a picture of smoking/cigarettes is bizarre. There are some pictures of CBK smoking in the early 90s but she seemed to have quit or at least wasn’t photographed with cigarettes post her marriage - anyway whether she did or not what's it got to do with her style? And that combined with the fact Jackie died of cancer...I genuinely question the decision to include these two pictures as they add nothing to the book and in fact detract from it. Maybe that’s just one example to get hung up on but it shows the overall direction or aim of the book is unclear.And then there's the pictures selected even when they're actually of CBK. Some of the shots selected are terrible quality (incredibly grainy) and it is unclear why given other very similar ones exist. It would have been easy to select other ones or do some (“realistic”) photoshop surely? There's one full page given to a grainy close up picture of hand where we can see she is wearing a wedding ring (and engagement ring?) of some sort but the picture is genuinely so terrible other than two white/grey lines on her hand I have no idea what the rings look like. Why bother including this (and having it take up a full page!). Another picture also taking up a fill double page spread (!) of CBK wearing a black coat outside - the definition is so grainy and poor that despite the size of the poor the coat is little more than a black blob (and CBK is sort of awkwardly squinting so it's not a flattering picture of her either). Another picture is so weird and grainy her lips look like blobs with filler (I am genuinely not kidding).There's also an issue sometimes where it's unclear whose words we're reading. For example there is a section where 'Paul Rowland remembers...' and the text is written in first person with someone talking about their experience working with CBK. Towards the end of the double page spread, we get a subheading 'PRESS' and subtly it appears it's not Paul talking anymore but it's reverted back to the author talking about CBK and press and Jackie and Lee. But this is not obvious and the way it's designed and looks on the page, it could very feasibly still be Paul! It should be made more clear (the easiest way would be to start a new page, otherwise draw a clear segment section line not just a subheading in the same paragraphing format) who is saying what.The only thing I can think was the author didn’t have a clear idea or direction; or was confused by publishers/editors as to what this book should be and tried to cover too many things (insight into CBK as a person/relationship with John Jr, CBK as an “influencer”, CBK’s style in isolation) and so that’s why the book hits elements of all of these but doesn’t cover anything successfully/comprehensively.WHAT’S MISSING/IF I HAD WRITTEN THISWhat I wanted was a comprehensive look at CBK’s style. What I mean by this would be a complete catalogue of each of CBK’s known looks, with as much detail as possible (eg photos of the actual clothes themselves on mannequins so we can see the detail, photos of runway shots so we can see how CBK styled things). As a pure minimum if this was the book and done well with a clear layout I would have been happy. Oh and make the pictures non-grainy and a clear outfit shot (unless it’s impossible to find one for a particular outfit).There’s quite a few looks of hers missing in this book (think the casual look of her in the non Prada red coat with JFK jr at the pay phone), and what about more pictures of her wedding gown (one whole chapter and only one photo!).The next level up from this would be to include some of the “extras” this book has - eg interviews with designers (that CBK actually knew and wore, not randoms) and friends (discussing CBK - this could be from a style angle or personally). And it could perhaps cover things such as CBK’s hair/makeup looks (and products used) as well as accessories (shoes, bags, jewellery, sunglasses) in a cleaner way than the jumbled way the book currently does.Then I would also include a chapter / appendix on some of her modelling photos - so these aren’t clothes CBK chose for herself but fans will know there are some nice photos of her in the late 80s/early 90s which are interesting (partly because it was so different to what CBK in the 90s would wear!). And to not feature the Bruce Weber photos apart from the one photo on the cover is just…a complete waste.Essentially I wanted a one stop shop for all CBK style references with a bit of a behind the scenes/personal touch from designers and those who knew her.To conclude - this book is better than nothing. And to its credit, it did make me think about the style/influence of certain pieces generally (eg white shirts/black dresses/casual wear like trainers etc) - even if it the text was a bit waffly and not CBK related at times. And I’m glad that the book didn’t go too far into being a biography as that opens up a different set of problems (speaking as someone who loves CBK as a style icon but think she has been overly mythologised as a person and was probably quite nice but not some saint or magical).I wanted the book to replace the various instagram accounts that do an excellent job of this so I had a handy “go to” hard copy reference rather than scrolling through instagram. Unfortunately this isn’t comprehensive enough for me to do this so that’s why I can’t give it 5 stars, and given my gripes above it’s maybe lucky to get 4 stars.My concluding thoughts would be if you’re a fan of CBK’s fashion (regardless of her as a person) then this is still a must buy if you want a hard copy book (otherwise stick to the instagram accounts as they do cover everything here). For now anyway, I’m hoping that if there is enough interest in this book someone will do the book I wanted this to be, but appreciate it’s unlikely in the near future!If you’re looking for a generic fashion/style book, or are looking for a more autobiographical take on CBK then it’s probably not what you’re looking for and you’re likely to be disappointed/annoyed so I wouldn’t recommend for you either.

This is a lovely book and will be treasured by any CBK fan

Like so many now who are aware of Carolyn and her influence in fashion and beyond. This book is a lovely tribute to the true 90s clean chic look Carolyn inspired.

Thank you

Gave it to my daughter. She seemed pleased.

great book, I’m really glad I took it, unrelated to the private life of CBK and whose wife she was, she deservedly received a book that presents her as an individual with exquisite taste