Jackie Kennedy’s iconic 1960 election night coat…
Purple reign.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ most well-known “election night look” is about to go under the hammer — and no, it’s not a ballgown.
It’s the violet-colored maternity coat she wore while eight months pregnant, as her husband was announced as the next American president on Nov. 8, 1960.
The purple wool coat that topped a First Lady as a type icon (above) is now bidding for a new proprietor. Sotheby’s
As first reported by WWD, Sotheby’s is rolling out the purple carpet at its new, high-profile Madison Avenue HQ, where the previous first woman’s statement-maker will headline the public sale home’s first-ever Handbags & Fashion showcase.
Bidding for the historic piece — a pop of colour that stood out like a beacon in the sea of drab campaign-season fits — opens forward of the Dec. 15 sale, with estimates between $6,000 and $8,000, the outlet reported.
The coat isn’t just stylish — it’s legendary. It graced the duvet of Life magazine’s particular issue introducing the Kennedys as America’s new First Couple, cementing Jackie’s type legend before she even unpacked at the White House.
And the backstory is just as charming: the merchandise comes from a household intertwined with the Kennedys for generations.
The cozy quantity (that Jackie first wore while carrying John F. Kennedy Jr.) was lovingly loaned around among expectant pals — a variety of trendy fertility sisterhood — before discovering its approach to the public sale block.
Sotheby’s is treating the piece like a couture time capsule — and with good motive, says Morgane Halimi, the public sale home’s global head of purses and fashion.
Iconic, historic, and violet — Jackie O’s well-known coat (as seen right here when supporting her newly-elected husband) could possibly be your next fashion trophy. Yale Joel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
“Few garments so gracefully capture the spirit of a turning point in American history,” Halimi said in a latest assertion, including that Jackie’s election-night ensemble reveals her “singular ability to communicate optimism and modernity through style alone.”
Halimi said the piece “carr[ies] within its seams the quiet power of a woman whose influence far transcended fashion,” calling it a museum-worthy marker of the second America stepped into Camelot.
As for its long-awaited sale, she didn’t mince phrases: the coat “emerges as a rare artifact in which beauty, symbolism and history converge with remarkable clarity” — a once-in-a-blue-moon likelihood for collectors to grab a slice of cultural magic.
Jackie O’s maternity coat isn’t the only showstopper hitting the block — Sotheby’s is unloading enough fashion firepower to outfit a complete runway, according to WWD.
Jackie Kennedy’s violet election-night coat is back in the highlight, and this time it might end up in your closet. Bettmann Archive
The glitzy items will hit the highlight at Sotheby’s New York, where the sale might be on show Dec. 5 through 8.
Front and heart: a witchy-glam Alexander McQueen velvet robe dripping in bugle beads from his fall 2007 “In Memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem 1692” assortment. It’s anticipated to rake in $7,000 to $12,000.
Fashion fanatics can also drool over an Yves Saint Laurent jumpsuit (a cool $1,000 to $5,000) or a blue-and-gold Chanel tweed jacket from Karl Lagerfeld’s pre-fall 2019 lineup ($3,000 to $5,000).
And then there are the luggage — the real bank-breakers. A uncommon ’90s Hermès sterling silver Mini Kelly might fetch $80,000 to $150,000.
Even the child of the bunch — a 2024 black Chevre Chamkila Birkin 20 with glossy palladium {hardware} — is anticipated to command $40,000 to $60,000.
Overall, it’s all about more than a wool coat — it’s a piece of Camelot up for grabs, and only the boldest fashion collectors need apply.
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