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Red Day Dress
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA
Red Day Dress
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA
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Red Day Dress

Artifact IDMO 2009.3.277a-b
Object Type Dress, Day
Date 1961
Date Worn2/14/62
Date Worn11/3/61
Date Worn10/16/61
Maker (American, est. 1927)
Place MadeNew York, New York, United States
Medium wool boucle
DimensionsOverall (Jacket) L 24 1/2 in x W 23 in (58.4 cm x 62.2 cm )
 Overall (Dress) L 39 1/2 in x W 22 in (55.9 cm x 100.3 cm )
Physical DescriptionA two-piece day dress in dark red wool boucle. This dress (a) has a silk bodice and a wool A-line skirt with a matching jacket (b) with a zipper back closure. Three off-center buttons at side seams tie the jacket to the skirt visually. This dress was reproduced after the fall-winter 1961 dress by Marc Bohan, a French designer for Christian Dior. The dark red boucle is Rodier's wool boucle and the buttons are the buttons of Bohan's original. The dress has a thick chain-stitching outlining both the standaway neckline and the hem of the skirt that was one of Bohan's signatures.
Historical NoteFirst Lady Jacqueline Kennedy wore this suit to the opening of the Tutankhamun exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and to a luncheon in honor of the President of Finland Urho Kekkonen on October 16, 1961. She also wore it during her televised tour of the White House which aired on February 14, 1962.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteItem was part of the personal collection of Jacqueline Kennedy, it was donated to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Inc. by the Estate of Jaqueline Kennedy Onasis in 1996. Ownership was transferred from the John F. Kennedy Foundation to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in 2009.
Credit LineJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA; Gift of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
National Archives Catalog CollectionJohn F. Kennedy Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 1676934)
National Archives Catalog SeriesFirst Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Collection (National Archives Identifier 76055728)
Use Restriction StatusRestricted - FullyUse Restriction NotePlease contact the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for permission to use this image.
In Collection(s)
Not on view
Related Links
You Tube Televised CBS tour of the White House: "Museum Collection – CBS White House Tour with Jacqueline Kennedy"  
Archives Folder First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attends opening at National Gallery of Art: "Archives Collection – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attends opening of Tutankhamun Exhibit"  
Archives Folder First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attends luncheon in hour of President of Finland: "Archives Collection – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attends luncheon for President of Finland"