How a wedding slip dress inspired a new generation

When Carolyn Bessette married JFK Jr. in a private ceremony in 1996, she wore a bias-cut silk crepe Narciso Rodriguez slip dress and sheer gloves

- Sarah Lyon

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. at their private wedding ceremony in 1996.

While planning her June 2023 nuptials, Nicole Kramer Bader knew that she wanted her wedding dress to mirror the style worn by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy when she married John F. Kennedy Jr. nearly 27 years prior.

"She was just kind of a guiding light for me," said Kramer Bader, 31, who lives in Los Angeles and is the events and partnerships manager for fashion brand Frank & Eileen.

When Bessette Kennedy married Kennedy in a private ceremony on September 21, 1996, she wore a bias-cut silk crepe Narciso Rodriguez slip dress and sheer gloves. The look was spare, sensual and strikingly modern.

Carole Radziwill, a friend of the couple and the author of The Voice of Reason on Substack, attended the wedding with her late husband, Anthony Radziwill, who was Kennedy's first cousin.

"When Carolyn walked in, she looked almost ethereal," Radziwill wrote in an email.

Kramer Bader chose Danielle Frankel's Charlie dress for her celebration in Fort Worth, Texas; like Bessette Kennedy's dress, the wool-silk gown, which retails for $4,990, is sleeveless with a bias cut. Kramer Bader didn't want to feel pressured to incorporate multiple dress changes, the way many brides do today.

"I had to remind myself that Carolyn wore her dress the entire night," she said.