Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that really strikes me when I look at old photos of Carolyn, both before and after she started dating John, is what her upkeep for her appearance must have cost. Her hair alone would have been in the thousands every year -- she had one of the most perfect blondes ever, the kind that requires one of the really skilled master colorists. I bet women must have been walking into salons with her photo for years looking for that color and tone. Better than Gwyneth's and GOOP was definitely a NY blonde icon at that time.

But it's not just the hair. Obviously she worked in fashion so her clothes are impeccable but it's the details. I don't think people appreciate how hard it is to achieve that aesthetic, where it looks so basic and simple but it's perfect. Perfect red lip. Perfect accessories. Every piece of clothing tailored -- I think she likely got t shirts and jeans tailored even. For a non-celeb without a trust fund to accomplish that is frankly really impressive. And she did it while working a fairly demanding job -- fashion PR is long hours and a lot of travel.

It seems superficial, because it is, but it also demonstrates the lengths she was willing to go to in order to achieve what she wanted. It shows real discipline, eye for detail, restraint.

Based on her look alone, it doesn't surprise me she wound up marrying the most eligible bachelor of the decade.

This is an interesting post. What do we know about CBK’a background? I don’t think she’s old money or even really new money in a significant sense. She was raised by a single mother and lived a modest life in not a very nice town until her mother married an Orthopedic Surgeon. Afterwards the family did relocate to Greenwich Connecticut. It seems her stepfather was quite rich and was able to provide them with a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle.

Carolyn’s style definitely is not stuffy or old money but rather, NYC fashion girlie cool vibes.

I do wonder if she always planned on marrying rich, even if it wasn’t America’s Prince.

Yes, she did. Every man she dated, going back to college, was very wealthy or at least somewhat famous.

Interesting that she hated the press and being famous then.

NYC is apparently full of recognizable people who pretend that a pair of sunglasses is a disguise, & go to all the fashionable places in town & whine when somebody takes their picture.

Anonymous wrote:I dispute the premise of this thread. She could have married a lot better than JFK Jr., even leaving aside that he wound up killing her and her sister. She had a great career and was still on the way up. Her social and professional circles would have been full of wealthy, connected men.

She should have married Chuck Yeager.

Anonymous wrote:Oops, posted too soon--um, can someone explain the appeal of CBK now? I feel the story is sooo dated and regurgitated.

Eh, these things go in cycles. The story is "dated" but has nostalgic appeal. And Carolyn's specific 90s aesthetic feels fresh to people now, so that's part of it. The show is fun with great music, and between that and a lot of the cultural touchstones of the era, it's fun nostalgia for people who were in their teens and 20s at the time (which is why women in their 40s/50s are the target demo for the show). Also Carolyn and JFK Jr. were attractive and tragic, and that's always going to draw interest. It's like how Charles and Di is "sooo dated and regurgitated" but it keeps coming back. And unlike Diana, who was ultimately very open about her life and her thoughts and her struggles, Carolyn remains a bit of a cypher to people, which makes the idea of learning more about her more intriguing.

Anonymous wrote:She was very beautiful (obviously) but I think she bagged him by being a b1tch and not giving AF attitude. It’s been well documented over the years that she cheated on him, used a lot of drugs, and was generally a PITA.

Men like who him who grow up with everyone fawning over them cant get enough of confident women who give the vibe that the golden boy is the lucky one to have snagged her, not the other way around.

Ha she's his Anne Boleyn!

Oops, posted too soon--um, can someone explain the appeal of CBK now? I feel the story is sooo dated and regurgitated.

um

She was beautiful in that no hips, super slim, blonde, elegant way that many wealthy, Waspy men want to marry.

I dispute the premise of this thread. She could have married a lot better than JFK Jr., even leaving aside that he wound up killing her and her sister. She had a great career and was still on the way up. Her social and professional circles would have been full of wealthy, connected men.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that really strikes me when I look at old photos of Carolyn, both before and after she started dating John, is what her upkeep for her appearance must have cost. Her hair alone would have been in the thousands every year -- she had one of the most perfect blondes ever, the kind that requires one of the really skilled master colorists. I bet women must have been walking into salons with her photo for years looking for that color and tone. Better than Gwyneth's and GOOP was definitely a NY blonde icon at that time.

But it's not just the hair. Obviously she worked in fashion so her clothes are impeccable but it's the details. I don't think people appreciate how hard it is to achieve that aesthetic, where it looks so basic and simple but it's perfect. Perfect red lip. Perfect accessories. Every piece of clothing tailored -- I think she likely got t shirts and jeans tailored even. For a non-celeb without a trust fund to accomplish that is frankly really impressive. And she did it while working a fairly demanding job -- fashion PR is long hours and a lot of travel.

It seems superficial, because it is, but it also demonstrates the lengths she was willing to go to in order to achieve what she wanted. It shows real discipline, eye for detail, restraint.

Based on her look alone, it doesn't surprise me she wound up marrying the most eligible bachelor of the decade.

This is an interesting post. What do we know about CBK’a background? I don’t think she’s old money or even really new money in a significant sense. She was raised by a single mother and lived a modest life in not a very nice town until her mother married an Orthopedic Surgeon. Afterwards the family did relocate to Greenwich Connecticut. It seems her stepfather was quite rich and was able to provide them with a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle.

Carolyn’s style definitely is not stuffy or old money but rather, NYC fashion girlie cool vibes.

I do wonder if she always planned on marrying rich, even if it wasn’t America’s Prince.

Yes, she did. Every man she dated, going back to college, was very wealthy or at least somewhat famous.

Not totally true, since she pretty famously dated Michael Bergin, the Calvin Klein model, before he'd even gotten that job. She did date a few famous and/or wealthy men before JFK Jr. (Stephen Dorff, I believe?) but she wasn't shopping for a husband -- they were mostly short-lived relationships and the more famous guys she dated were part of the same NYC club scene she was in. So it was different than, say, Kate Middleton who clearly planned to marry a specific kind of man while she was young and have a specific kind of aristocratic life. You don't get that sense from Carolyn's history -- she was a partier. She probably dated some men because they'd get her access to good clubs and parties.

She dated a Benetton heir and a star hockey player (later NHL) in college.

To whoever recommended Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed, thank you. It's great as an audiobook alongside Love Story. CBK could have done better; all the Kennedy women could have.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that really strikes me when I look at old photos of Carolyn, both before and after she started dating John, is what her upkeep for her appearance must have cost. Her hair alone would have been in the thousands every year -- she had one of the most perfect blondes ever, the kind that requires one of the really skilled master colorists. I bet women must have been walking into salons with her photo for years looking for that color and tone. Better than Gwyneth's and GOOP was definitely a NY blonde icon at that time.

But it's not just the hair. Obviously she worked in fashion so her clothes are impeccable but it's the details. I don't think people appreciate how hard it is to achieve that aesthetic, where it looks so basic and simple but it's perfect. Perfect red lip. Perfect accessories. Every piece of clothing tailored -- I think she likely got t shirts and jeans tailored even. For a non-celeb without a trust fund to accomplish that is frankly really impressive. And she did it while working a fairly demanding job -- fashion PR is long hours and a lot of travel.

It seems superficial, because it is, but it also demonstrates the lengths she was willing to go to in order to achieve what she wanted. It shows real discipline, eye for detail, restraint.

Based on her look alone, it doesn't surprise me she wound up marrying the most eligible bachelor of the decade.

This is an interesting post. What do we know about CBK’a background? I don’t think she’s old money or even really new money in a significant sense. She was raised by a single mother and lived a modest life in not a very nice town until her mother married an Orthopedic Surgeon. Afterwards the family did relocate to Greenwich Connecticut. It seems her stepfather was quite rich and was able to provide them with a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle.

Carolyn’s style definitely is not stuffy or old money but rather, NYC fashion girlie cool vibes.

I do wonder if she always planned on marrying rich, even if it wasn’t America’s Prince.

She grew up upper middle class. White plains is a “city” within Westchester and there are middle class parts and then upscale upper middle class/upper class parts with large homes on large properties. Carolyn grew up in the latter. The public schools are fine but a lot of people planning to use private schools live in white plains because Westchester has notoriously high property taxes and the “cities” in Westchester (including white plains) have slightly lower property taxes and less stellar schools than some of the smaller, tonier and less diverse towns and villages like Scarsdale, etc.

Not Kennedy money, but UMC like everyone else on DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that really strikes me when I look at old photos of Carolyn, both before and after she started dating John, is what her upkeep for her appearance must have cost. Her hair alone would have been in the thousands every year -- she had one of the most perfect blondes ever, the kind that requires one of the really skilled master colorists. I bet women must have been walking into salons with her photo for years looking for that color and tone. Better than Gwyneth's and GOOP was definitely a NY blonde icon at that time.

But it's not just the hair. Obviously she worked in fashion so her clothes are impeccable but it's the details. I don't think people appreciate how hard it is to achieve that aesthetic, where it looks so basic and simple but it's perfect. Perfect red lip. Perfect accessories. Every piece of clothing tailored -- I think she likely got t shirts and jeans tailored even. For a non-celeb without a trust fund to accomplish that is frankly really impressive. And she did it while working a fairly demanding job -- fashion PR is long hours and a lot of travel.

It seems superficial, because it is, but it also demonstrates the lengths she was willing to go to in order to achieve what she wanted. It shows real discipline, eye for detail, restraint.

Based on her look alone, it doesn't surprise me she wound up marrying the most eligible bachelor of the decade.

This is an interesting post. What do we know about CBK’a background? I don’t think she’s old money or even really new money in a significant sense. She was raised by a single mother and lived a modest life in not a very nice town until her mother married an Orthopedic Surgeon. Afterwards the family did relocate to Greenwich Connecticut. It seems her stepfather was quite rich and was able to provide them with a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle.

Carolyn’s style definitely is not stuffy or old money but rather, NYC fashion girlie cool vibes.

I do wonder if she always planned on marrying rich, even if it wasn’t America’s Prince.

Yes, she did. Every man she dated, going back to college, was very wealthy or at least somewhat famous.

Not totally true, since she pretty famously dated Michael Bergin, the Calvin Klein model, before he'd even gotten that job. She did date a few famous and/or wealthy men before JFK Jr. (Stephen Dorff, I believe?) but she wasn't shopping for a husband -- they were mostly short-lived relationships and the more famous guys she dated were part of the same NYC club scene she was in. So it was different than, say, Kate Middleton who clearly planned to marry a specific kind of man while she was young and have a specific kind of aristocratic life. You don't get that sense from Carolyn's history -- she was a partier. She probably dated some men because they'd get her access to good clubs and parties.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that really strikes me when I look at old photos of Carolyn, both before and after she started dating John, is what her upkeep for her appearance must have cost. Her hair alone would have been in the thousands every year -- she had one of the most perfect blondes ever, the kind that requires one of the really skilled master colorists. I bet women must have been walking into salons with her photo for years looking for that color and tone. Better than Gwyneth's and GOOP was definitely a NY blonde icon at that time.

But it's not just the hair. Obviously she worked in fashion so her clothes are impeccable but it's the details. I don't think people appreciate how hard it is to achieve that aesthetic, where it looks so basic and simple but it's perfect. Perfect red lip. Perfect accessories. Every piece of clothing tailored -- I think she likely got t shirts and jeans tailored even. For a non-celeb without a trust fund to accomplish that is frankly really impressive. And she did it while working a fairly demanding job -- fashion PR is long hours and a lot of travel.

It seems superficial, because it is, but it also demonstrates the lengths she was willing to go to in order to achieve what she wanted. It shows real discipline, eye for detail, restraint.

Based on her look alone, it doesn't surprise me she wound up marrying the most eligible bachelor of the decade.

This is an interesting post. What do we know about CBK’a background? I don’t think she’s old money or even really new money in a significant sense. She was raised by a single mother and lived a modest life in not a very nice town until her mother married an Orthopedic Surgeon. Afterwards the family did relocate to Greenwich Connecticut. It seems her stepfather was quite rich and was able to provide them with a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle.

Carolyn’s style definitely is not stuffy or old money but rather, NYC fashion girlie cool vibes.

I do wonder if she always planned on marrying rich, even if it wasn’t America’s Prince.

Yes, she did. Every man she dated, going back to college, was very wealthy or at least somewhat famous.

Interesting that she hated the press and being famous then.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that really strikes me when I look at old photos of Carolyn, both before and after she started dating John, is what her upkeep for her appearance must have cost. Her hair alone would have been in the thousands every year -- she had one of the most perfect blondes ever, the kind that requires one of the really skilled master colorists. I bet women must have been walking into salons with her photo for years looking for that color and tone. Better than Gwyneth's and GOOP was definitely a NY blonde icon at that time.

But it's not just the hair. Obviously she worked in fashion so her clothes are impeccable but it's the details. I don't think people appreciate how hard it is to achieve that aesthetic, where it looks so basic and simple but it's perfect. Perfect red lip. Perfect accessories. Every piece of clothing tailored -- I think she likely got t shirts and jeans tailored even. For a non-celeb without a trust fund to accomplish that is frankly really impressive. And she did it while working a fairly demanding job -- fashion PR is long hours and a lot of travel.

It seems superficial, because it is, but it also demonstrates the lengths she was willing to go to in order to achieve what she wanted. It shows real discipline, eye for detail, restraint.

Based on her look alone, it doesn't surprise me she wound up marrying the most eligible bachelor of the decade.

This is an interesting post. What do we know about CBK’a background? I don’t think she’s old money or even really new money in a significant sense. She was raised by a single mother and lived a modest life in not a very nice town until her mother married an Orthopedic Surgeon. Afterwards the family did relocate to Greenwich Connecticut. It seems her stepfather was quite rich and was able to provide them with a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle.

Carolyn’s style definitely is not stuffy or old money but rather, NYC fashion girlie cool vibes.

I do wonder if she always planned on marrying rich, even if it wasn’t America’s Prince.

I think she always planned on having money, and that if she married, it would be someone rich and successful (or, as with JFK Jr, so rich and famous he didn't really have to be "successful"). But I don't think she was just biding her time in fashion until she could marry up, quit her job, and become a socialite. I think she liked her job, was very good at it, and it's actually kind of a bummer that she wound up quitting after marrying John because the scrutiny was too much, because she could absolutely have had a great and financially rewarding career. There's a reason she went from working in a CK store in the burbs to director of the brand's fashion shows in like 5 years. It wasn't because she was just scouting rooms for rich husbands.

I can imagine a different life for Carolyn where she never marries at all, but still winds up rich and connected, and has a long and impressive career. Instead of helping to launch Narciso Rodriguez's career by wearing a wedding dress he designed, she could have run his brand for him instead. It's easy to imagine her opening her own fashion PR shop or winding up high up at LVHM or something. Or working at magazines.

So yes, I think she assumed if she married, it would be someone rich and successful. But I don't think it was her specific goal. I think she had high aspirations but they were more for herself and not for her future husband. I don't think she ever wanted to be someone's supporting character. And I also think that's part of why their relationship was so volatile and why they likely would have divorced if they hadn't died so tragically. I'm not even sure Carolyn would have had kids with him. There's not much indication that she was dying to settle down as a mom. She liked partying, working, travel, fashion. She liked living glamorously. I just don't see how kids, especially not "Kennedy Grandchildren" fit into that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that really strikes me when I look at old photos of Carolyn, both before and after she started dating John, is what her upkeep for her appearance must have cost. Her hair alone would have been in the thousands every year -- she had one of the most perfect blondes ever, the kind that requires one of the really skilled master colorists. I bet women must have been walking into salons with her photo for years looking for that color and tone. Better than Gwyneth's and GOOP was definitely a NY blonde icon at that time.

But it's not just the hair. Obviously she worked in fashion so her clothes are impeccable but it's the details. I don't think people appreciate how hard it is to achieve that aesthetic, where it looks so basic and simple but it's perfect. Perfect red lip. Perfect accessories. Every piece of clothing tailored -- I think she likely got t shirts and jeans tailored even. For a non-celeb without a trust fund to accomplish that is frankly really impressive. And she did it while working a fairly demanding job -- fashion PR is long hours and a lot of travel.

It seems superficial, because it is, but it also demonstrates the lengths she was willing to go to in order to achieve what she wanted. It shows real discipline, eye for detail, restraint.

Based on her look alone, it doesn't surprise me she wound up marrying the most eligible bachelor of the decade.

This is an interesting post. What do we know about CBK’a background? I don’t think she’s old money or even really new money in a significant sense. She was raised by a single mother and lived a modest life in not a very nice town until her mother married an Orthopedic Surgeon. Afterwards the family did relocate to Greenwich Connecticut. It seems her stepfather was quite rich and was able to provide them with a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle.

Carolyn’s style definitely is not stuffy or old money but rather, NYC fashion girlie cool vibes.

I do wonder if she always planned on marrying rich, even if it wasn’t America’s Prince.

Yes, she did. Every man she dated, going back to college, was very wealthy or at least somewhat famous.