There are style icons, and then there is Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. Oh wow.
She is just about the most fantastic thing I’ve seen in years. She managed to be my mother’s style icon – and now she’s mine as well.
But let’s be honest. It’s probably more a fascination with her than it is with her style. Because she doesn’t really have one. Call it über-minimalism, or whatever you like. In my world it’s a bit like painting your walls white and then telling everyone it’s your “unique interior design”. You could say she plays it safe every single time.
So what is it that works anyway? First of all, it certainly helps when you’re 1.78 metres tall, slim, long-haired and impeccably groomed. But the real magic lies in delivering the absolute minimum in terms of style, yet doing it so exquisitely that you leave everyone wanting more (including JFK Jr.). As my old boss used to say: the one who does nothing makes no mistakes.
So should you copy her style? The “style” is obviously easy enough to replicate. There’s just one problem. You’re not her – and the clothes don’t stand particularly well on their own. If you put on one of her looks from the series, namely a black high-waisted skirt and a white men’s shirt – which Calvin Klein in the series responds to with “What are you wearing? It looks fabulous” – there’s a fair chance people will start ordering food and drinks from you, assuming you’re the waitress. But do give it a try.
And if you were hoping that the return of minimalism was already on its way out, you might as well settle in for a very long nap. The internet’s rediscovery of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy is the perfect collision between Succession’s “quiet luxury” and Millennials’ and Gen Z’s almost manic glorification of the 90s and early 2000s. It’s like a denial of the era we actually live in. I predict a lot of oval sunglasses this summer.
What am I doing myself? Well, I may or may not have ordered a pair of oval Tom Ford sunglasses. One is, after all, just a generic girl from Copenhagen.
Adieu.
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Der er stilikoner, og så er der Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. Oh wow.
Hun er noget nær det mest fantastiske, som jeg har set i årevis. Hun formåede at være min mors stilikon - og nu også mit.
But let's be honest. Det er nok mere en betagelse af hende, end det er hendes stil. For hun har ikke rigtig nogen stil. Kald det überminimalisme, eller hvad du ellers har lyst til. I min verden svarer det lidt til at male dine vægge hvide og så fortælle alle folk, at det er din "unikke indretning". Man kan sige, at hun spiller sikkert hver gang.
Så hvad er det, der alligevel virker? Først og fremmest starter det godt ud, når man er 1,78 m høj, slank, langhåret og velsoigneret. Magien ligger dog i at levere det absolut minimale stilmæssigt, men at gøre det så raffineret, at man gør alle sultne på mere (inklusiv JFK jr.). Som min gamle chef sagde: Den, som ikke laver noget, laver ikke fejl.
Skal du så kopiere hendes stil? "Stilen" er tydeligvis let kopierbar. Der er bare ét problem. Du er ikke hende - og tøjet står dårligt alene. Hvis du iklæder dig et af hendes looks fra serien, nemlig en sort højtaljet nederdel og en hvid herreskjorte, som Calvin Klein i serien reagerer på med "What are you wearing? It looks fabulous" så er der stor chance for, at du vil have den fabulous oplevelse, at folk vil bestille mad og drikkevarer fra dig, når du går ud. Men prøv det af.
Så hvis du gik og håbede på, at genkomsten af minimalismen var ved at være på tilbagetog, så kan du nok godt tage dig en lang lur, for internettets genopdagelse af Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy er den perfekte eksplosion af Successions "Quiet Luxury" til Millennials og Gen Z's nærmest maniske forherligelse af 90'erne og 00'erne. Det er som en fornægtelse af den tidsalder, vi faktisk lever i. Jeg forudser mange ovale solbriller denne sommer.
Hvad gør jeg selv? Well, jeg har måske bestilt mig et par ovale Tom Ford solbriller. Man er vel bare en generisk pige fra København. Adjø.