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President Kennedy with First Lady Jackie, in fur-trimmed suit designed by Oleg Cassini, at his inauguration.
Seventeen letters from Jackie Kennedy to her personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman are to go on sale as part of a three-day auction of Kennedy memorabilia.
The letters were written by the former First Lady to Marita O’Connor and reveal intimately the specific requests she made when it came to developing her style.
John McInnis Auctioneers
Jackie Kennedy’s Pappagallo Shoes
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“She knew exactly what she wanted,” said Dan Meader, an appraiser for the auction house John McInnes Auctioneers where the sale is going ahead on November 22, to mark the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination.
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Jackie Kennedy sent to Marita O’Connor Oleg Cassini sketched of various outfits she wished to order. These working fashion pencil sketches of outfits for Jacqueline Kennedy are annotated “2 pc. suit”, “2 pc wool suit”, “chicken wire veil” (with a green swatch attached by a pin), “Sheer wool 3 pc suit Lemon silk blouse” and “#3 OK” with two swatches attached by pins.
“To see her own words, her own design of herself. . . to me it marks a monumental change in American fashion.”
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John McInnis Auctioneers
In this letter, Jackie Kennedy sent Marita O’Connor a clipping showing her a beret she was interested in.
The letters were written in the early 1960s and reveal the attention paid to detail by Kennedy when it came to items such as hats and shoes.
In one letter she even drew a picture of “timeless” shoes she needed for the Presidential inauguration in January 1961.
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Typewritten note on “From the Desk of Leonard Hankin” note paper to Miss Frankau, Miss Marita and Miss Neff concerning Jackie Kennedy’s inaugural gown.
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In another she reveals her distaste for a pair of shoes, which “have that vamp which I do not like.”
John McInnis Auctioneers
Here Jackie Kennedy discusses her Inaugural outfit. “Your shoes arrived today,” she writes, “and I am sorry to say that I do not really like any of them. They have that vamp which I do not like.”
Also revealing is her note to O’Connor telling her to urge a shoemaker to hurry up with his work.
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John McInnis Auctioneers
Jackie Kennedy would sketch out what she was talking about at times in her letters to Marita O’Connor.
“Tell [MARIO]I want them in the same model as my black faille evening pumps and impress on that rather disorganized Italian that they simply must be ready in time,” she writes.
Others show detailed illustrations by Kennedy as well as pictures torn from magazines, reports the Boston Globe. She also reveals how she “feels absurd” in hats.
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Jackie Kennedy wrote Marita O’Connor to requesting a bow and an organdy rose for her hats.
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“She’d look at the magazine, tear out a page, and write ‘Marita, this is what I’m looking for, this is what I want.’ It’s pretty telling,”said Meader.
John McInnis Auctioneers
Jackie Kennedy asked Marita O’Connor in this letter to try to get her alligator shoes quickly for the inauguration.
The letters are expected to have a starting price of $ 2,000 but could fetch much more.
John McInnis Auctioneers
Jackie Kennedy dropped a line to Marita O’Connor regarding a tailored coat she ordered – saying that she now needed a hat to match.
Alongside the letters are others items such as photographs, letters, doodles and even clothes belonging to JFK and Jackie Kennedy.
John McInnis Auctioneers
Jackie Kennedy wrote this letter to Marita O’Connor of the Bergdorf Goodman Custom Hat Dept. asking her to be her personal shopper.
