Jacqueline Kennedy Coat Worn at Swearing In Ceremony

While recuperating from John's birth, Jacqueline Kennedy and designer Oleg Cassini conspired to create an outfit that would really stand out at President Kennedy's swearing in ceremony. Cassini later said "she knew that most of the ladies would be wearing fur coats and didn't want to blend in." They also felt wearing a fabric coat would be more youthful and au courant. By the way, the official color for this coat was "greige," which would later become one of Jacqueline Kennedy's favorite hues--a mix of grey and beige.

Jackie did indeed capture the nations' attention by donning a greige wool dress with matching coat. The coat had a small sable fur collar, and a matching sable fur muff was chosen to help keep the First Lady's hands warm during the ceremony. She wore the muff over long kidskin gloves and, on her feet, wore black heels which she later changed to fur trimmed boots better suited for walking in the snow on that bitterly cold day-- a -7 wind chill was reported at the time of the ceremony. A woman who saw this outfit in the exhibit "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years," reported that what surprised her the most was how thin the material on the coat was when she saw it on display, saying "she must have been freezing!"