The Real Story of Jackie Kennedy's Pink Suit — And Why It’s Locked Away Until 2103 (2024)

Jackie Kennedy's pink suit is more than just an outfit — it's a symbol of American history.

The two-piece set — sometimes described as “watermelon pink” or “raspberry pink” — was what the then-first lady was wearing on Nov. 22, 1963 — the fateful day her husband, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.

It was also the outfit she was photographed in next to Lyndon B. Johnson in the immediate aftermath of JFK's death. "They actually had another dress laid out for her to put on and she refused," historian Steve Gillon told PEOPLE in November 2022.

"She went out in her blood-stained suit and stood next to Lyndon Johnson. Despite these horrible circ*mstances, she was willing to stand for a photo because she understood what it meant for the nation to have continuity in government," he said.

Gillon added: "She understood that she had a role to play in helping the nation transition to a new president."

Natalie Portman, who wore a recreation of the suit while playing the book editor in the 2016 biopic Jackie, previously spoke to USA TODAY about its significance, saying, "It's crazy when clothes become symbols, and when you see something so recognizable and iconic. It tells a whole story, just the dress, itself. And then, of course, with the blood on it … [it] has the sort of history of America in it."

Nov. 22 marks 60 years since JFK's assassination, and Jackie's blood-soaked suitstill serves as a poignant reminder of the day's devastation — even though it's never been available for public viewing.

From the origin of the design to how it became one of the most important outfits in American history, here's everything to know about Jackie Kennedy's pink suit — including why it's locked away until 2103.

JFK took an interest in Jackie Kennedy's wardrobe choice for the occasion

According to the 2013 book The Death of a President by William Manchester, the couple's trip prompted the president to inquire about his wife's wardrobe for their impending joint Dallas appearance — and to offer a word of advice.

"There are going to be all these rich, Republican women at that lunch wearing mink coats and diamond bracelets," he reportedly told her, per Vanity Fair. "And you've got to look as marvelous as any of them. Be simple — show these Texans what good taste really is."

Jackie Kennedy had worn the suit before

Before selecting the suit for her trip to Texas with the president, Jackie had worn it at least six times before, according to The New York Times, and had even been photographed in it.

Jackie Kennedy was wearing the suit when JFK was shot

Jackie was wearing the pink suit, along with a matching pink pillbox hat, a pair of white gloves and a pair of stockings at the moment when President Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in the back of an open-topped limousine alongside his wife.

Jackie covered his body with her own, as Lady Bird Johnson would later describe in her diary. "As we ground to a halt — we were still the third car … I cast one last look over my shoulder and saw in the President's car a bundle of pink, just like a drift of blossoms, lying in the back seat," she wrote, adding, "It was Mrs. Kennedy lying over the President's body."

In doing so, Jackie's perfect suit was left messy and bloodied. "Mrs. Kennedy's dress was stained with blood," Lady wrote. "One leg was almost entirely covered with it and her right glove was caked, it was caked with blood — her husband's blood."

Jackie Kennedy refused to take the suit off after the president was shot

Jackie remained in the suit from 12:30 p.m. CT, when JFK was shot, until the next morning, including during the swearing-in of President Johnson.

As Lady Bird recalled in her diary, she offered to get someone to help Jackie change, but the first lady refused. "And then, with almost an element of fierceness — if a person that gentle, that dignified, can be said to have such a quality — she said, 'I want them to see what they have done to Jack,' " she wrote.

The effect on Lady Bird — and the rest of the nation — was haunting. "Somehow, that was one of the most poignant sights — that immaculate woman, exquisitely dressed and caked in blood," she added.

In the 2023 docuseries JFK: One Day In America, a journalist who was present at the time reiterated Jackie's insistence on staying in the blood-stained suit.

“Mrs. Kennedy came forward and I can see blood on her dress, where she cradled the President's head in her lap and she said, ‘Let them see what they have done,’ ” he recalled.

Jackie Kennedy never had the suit cleaned

The day after the assassination, Jackie returned to the White House and finally removed the suit to bathe. Per the Los Angeles Times, her maid Providencia Paredes placed the outfit in a bag — but did not have it cleaned.

While it's not clear where exactly the suit went next, it was sent in its bloodied condition to the National Archives sometime before July 1964, where it remains to this day. It was accompanied by an unsigned note on the stationary of Jackie's mother, Janet Auchincloss, which read: "Jackie's suite and bag — worn November 22, 1963."

The suit was reportedly an approved Chanel copy

Though the suit was first shown in Coco Chanel’s 1961 fall/winter collection,the fashion house did not create the exact look Jackie wore on that fateful day. Rather, the outfit was a line-for-line copy from the New York shop Chez Ninon, which was approved by Chanel in France, according to Justine Picardie’s 2010 biography of Chanel.

The store used fabrics, buttons and trim shipped directly from Chanel in Paris to recreate the look.

"The garments were not fake or pirated, but made to order using materials supplied by Chanel in Paris," Picardie wrote in Chanel, Her Life, per Vogue UK. "Thus it was, that [Jackie] came to be wearing a vivid pink Chanel suit ... on 22nd November 1963, accompanying her husband to Dallas."

Natalie Portman was filmed in a recreation of the suit in 2016

For 2016's Jackie, French costume designer Madeline Fontaine was tasked with recreating Jackie's iconic ensemble for its star, Natalie Portman.

Fontaine spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the process of getting the shade of pink just right.

"For the pink dress we made it as a copy of the one everybody knows," she explained. "We had first to settle with Pablo and Stéphane Fontaine, the [director of photography], on the right color according to the choices of the different cameras (for the shooting and the continuity of the footage)."

The designer continued: "Then I made film tests of different colors to get the pink. And then made five of them. … We had to be convinced! We had to be sure to have this be as close as possible [to] the original one. We needed this to be as historically correct as possible."

The result? Per Fontaine, "Impressive to see Natalie in it for the first time on set."

The suit is still locked away at the National Archives

Today, the suit is kept at the National Archives and Records Administration's College Park facility, where it is held in a custom-made, acid-free box with temperature and humidity control. Although it had been at the National Archives since 1964, it still legally belonged to Jackie's daughter and surviving heir, Caroline Kennedy, until 2003, when a deed of gift was secured from Caroline — though it came with some stipulations.

Per Caroline's request, the suit won’t be available for viewing until at least the year 2103, when, according to the National Archives, the Kennedy family will reconsider whether there will ever be any sort of public access.

"The family further desires to ensure that the materials never be subject to public display, research, or any other use that would in any way dishonor the memory of Mrs. Kennedy or President Kennedy, or cause any grief or suffering to members of their family," Caroline's request read.

Jackie Kennedy's matching pillbox and white gloves were lost in the fray

In addition to Jackie's pink suit, her shoes, handbag and stockings, which were reportedly "blood-covered and folded in a towel," per The New York Times, are also preserved at the National Archives.

The whereabouts of her famous white gloves and pink pillow box hat, however, are unknown. "The hat apparently goes to the Secret Service initially and the Secret Service turns it over to Mrs. Kennedy's private secretary, and then it disappears. It has not been seen since," A Cruel and Shocking act author Philip Shenon told CNN in 2013.

Two years earlier, however, the Los Angeles Times posed a different theory, stating that the hat was last seen with her personal secretary, Mary Gallagher. In her 1969 memoir My Life with Jacqueline Kennedy, Gallagher confirmed she had been in possession of the hat at some point while in the hospital with Jackie.

“While standing there I was handed Jackie’s pillbox hat and couldn’t help noticing the strands of her hair beneath the hat pin. I could almost visualize her yanking it from her head,” she wrote.

However, when the L.A. Times reached Gallagher by phone in 2011, she refused to discuss the missing hat. Gallagher died in 2022 at age 95 — meaning the whereabouts of the famous pillbox hat might never be known.