The Untold Story of Jackie Kennedy's Wedding Dress

Ann Lowe (R) was widely regarded as a talented, barrier-breaking designer, who worked on dresses for some of the country's most wealthiest families, including the Rockefellers, du Ponts, and Roosevelts, according to Elle. Despite her brilliance and success, as a Black seamstress, Ann faced racism and discrimination in her career. It's been reported that when the press asked Jackie who had made her wedding dress, the late first lady allegedly responded, "a colored dressmaker did it." The White House attempted to retract the article and Jackie's secretary explained to Ann that she didn't know she would be referred to as this in the article. By 1964, however, Ann had told the Saturday Evening Post how “sweet” Jackie had been to her.

Unfortunately, Jackie's first dress got destroyed in an unexpected flood when a pipe burst in Ann's New York City studio, ruining Jackie's dress and the bridesmaid dresses. Jackie's first dress had taken eight weeks to make, and, to make matters worse, the incident occurred a mere 10 days before the ceremony. And so, Ann recruited a few staff members, and after working night and day constantly, ended up recreating the gorgeous gown by the time Jackie's big day had arrived.

According to a post on the National Museum of American History, Ann was expecting to bring in a $700 profit for creating Jackie's gown. But the unfortunate flood cost her lots of money in labor and replacement fabric — as a result, she ended up losing $2,200 in the process. Ann allegedly never told the Kennedys what had happened.

Despite the unexpected accident, Ann's last-minute hard work paid off in spades. The end result was a gown with a fitted bodice and a bouffant skirt embellished with 50 yards of flounces. To complement the gown, Jackie donned a choker full of pearls and a diamond bracelet, and carried a bouquet of pink and white spray orchids and gardenias. The look would go on to become one of the most notable bridal ensembles in modern history.

Though Jackie's gown takes center stage, she accessorized her bridal look with a rosepoint lace veil, which her grandmother wore when she got married. The veil was placed over a tiara made of lace and orange blossoms, per The JFK Presidential Library website.

The dress, while stunning, wasn't actually what Jackie had in mind when she first started looking for a wedding gown. According to what Julia Faye Smith, author of Ann Lowe's biography, Something to Prove, told Elle, Jackie had been inspired by the looks she had seen in Paris at the time and yearned for something much sleeker and simpler. In the end though, her husband-to-be's father, Joe Kennedy, did not approve of Jackie's initial plan. But when he saw Ann's proposal, he liked her more traditional design.

According to Time, the then-24-year-old bride was actually a bit self-conscious about her dress, thinking she "looked like a lampshade" in it. That said, Julia maintains that although the bride had a different vision in mind, "Jackie probably had some say in the design of her own gown."