Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not as comprehensive as it might have been...
Review: Mrs. Onassis was indeed, an icon of style, (as the exquisite Richard Avedon photograph of Mrs. Onassis wearing the beautiful Cassini gown she would have preferred wearing to the Inaugural ball in 1961, on the catalogue's cover bears witness) no question nor dispute. She was intelligent, well-read, well-educated, beautiful, enticing, elegant, private, and as her daughter, Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg has emphasized recently an American "Patriot". Mrs. Onassis, contrary to what some historians, such as Mr. Carl S. Anthony, have attempted to put-forth, may well have been annoyed during her tenure in The White House by all of the many fashion stories focused upon her, however, this catalogue (for the exhibition mounted by the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in conjunction with the John F. Kennedy Library) clearly and unequivocally addresses the question once and for all, if, one is really left pondering the issue of the priority she gave to high fashion, at all, rest easy...she did!!! She was very aware of her position and role as the wife of a President of the United States, particularly, John F. Kennedy, whom shared her love of history, and was simultaneously proud and stunned by such a position. She lavished much attention and care to the consideration and realization of her wardrobe and the message it conveyed to the world. In the years post-White House she remained committed to the Legacy of John. F. Kennedy, and to this end, for example, as a woman of great style, of which fashion was but one aspect, she made certain that any discussion of her style, especially fashion, was severely limited to the three (3) years she was in The White House. If, one wishes to view the balance of her fashion sense, it is made a difficult task, due to the fact that she gave anonymously to the Costume Institute many, if not all of her Valentino haute couture creations created for her by this master over a twenty (20) year period from 1964-1984. While this present window into the American haute couture created (unusual initself as haute couture is largely absent from the American landscape) for her by Mr. Oleg Cassini ( tribute as much to her as to his mastery in cut, construction, shared vision, and use of sublime color) is important, I find it incomplete, as it shines little to no light on her style both in her life prior and post White House. And while I also understand the ghoulishness of even considering to display, of which I am certain there was none, the pink suit she wore in Dallas at the moment of the President's assassination, I believe at the very least, a photograph of her in that suit that day should have been included where also the lingering question as to it being a genuine Chanel or a good copy from Chez Ninon, might finally be put to rest. The essay's by Arthur Schlesinger, Mrs. Paul Mellon(a great friend, mentor, and influence of Mrs. Onassis, yet, chose to turn-in the most tedious and empty of essays, almost as if she was too bothered to be associated?), and Hamish Bowles, are not the best, but passable, almost as if they each thought no one would really read them and just concentrate on the images. And while the images are a plenty, I would have welcomed more views of each creation, a peek at a few linings, and inclusion of a few more of her more recognized creations, as well...a certain evening gown she wore in 1962 for a state dinner honoring the Shah and Empress of Iran, for example. Given that Mrs. Onassis was proud to be an American, I must admit I am completely appalled, insulted, and disgusted that Caroline kenndy-Schlossberg and the Met were unable to locate an American Curator responsible for what many would consider to be a celebration of the quintessential American. Was there no American capable of writing objectively about Mrs. Onassis? Mr. Bowles insultful lack of respect toward Mr. Cassini, a master on par with any European couturier, is just plain nasty, and it is hoped Mr. Cassini himself will attempt to right this before the exhibition moves to Washington, D.C. However, Mr. Bowles does make a case for what appear to be astute copies of certain models from the French collections not to mention those creations actually created by other couturier's for which Mr. Cassini takes full-credit, such as the red suit she wore to Canada in 1961, to name but one, which is attributed to Pierre Cardin, and acquired in 1957. For reasons of historical accuracy, I for one would like the answers to such questions.
Rating:
Summary: sterile is right!
Review: This book leaves so much out and is strangely without charm. Buy the book by Oleg Cassini instead. He actually designed the clothes and his book contains the original sketches and has many, many more anecdotes.
Rating: 
Summary: Jacqueline Chic
Review: This is a "must have" book for anyone who loves the beauty, style and grace of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, fashion and history. The beautiful fashion photography with insightful essays showcases the former First Lady as one of the 20th century's fashion icons. Her clothing, simple and modern, yet classically elegant, created by major designers of the time such as Oleg Cassini and Givenchy, reflects her visionary fashion savvy. This book will make you ask do clothes make a person, or does the inner soul and outer beauty of a person, such as the former First Lady, make the clothes?
Rating:
Summary: Jacqueline Chic
Review: This is a "must have" book for anyone who loves the beauty, style and grace of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, fashion and history. The beautiful fashion photography with insightful essays showcases the former First Lady as one of the 20th century's fashion icons. Her clothing, simple and modern, yet classically elegant, created by major designers of the time such as Oleg Cassini and Givenchy, reflects her visionary fashion savvy. This book will make you ask do clothes make a person, or does the inner soul and outer beauty of a person, such as the former First Lady, make the clothes?
Rating: 
Summary: Nice, but a little dull
Review: This is a nice book about Jackie Kennedy's clothes, but the overall impression it leaves is one of sterility and standoffishness... almost as if everyone is apologizing that she was such a fashion icon...The clothes are presented in a very museum-y way with big photographs of clothes on mannequins and little tiny pictures of Jackie actually in the clothes...after a while, it becomes a little dull to keep reading and reading about pleats and a-lines and technical dressmaking terms when you really want to hear some of the stories behind the clothes...like how much they cost (it must have been a bundle)... The whole thing looks a little like leftovers...it's an odd collection of some hats, some gowns, some dresses, some really old clothes that aren't from the White House years... It's not worth the... I spent on it...
Rating:
Summary: An elegant blast from the past!
Review: When I took this tome out of its mailer & began to turn its pages, I suddenly remembered my own set of formal white cotton gloves - long since discarded - so reverential was the aura emanating from this glossy artbook. Jacqueline Kennedy kept it simple - most of her clothes were in solid colors with only huge buttons, cockades or discreet stylized bows, scarves, shawls or frogs for detail. In the Travel Chapter we see the simplicity of her wardrobe & her passion for colors. Combining original & new photographs, this volume presents images we have rarely seen, as well as photos that have become a part of our national consciouness. The final one of the President & First Lady together in the open touring auto needs no words - we all know what happened next. Certainly a treasure of memories - where we were, what we wore, what we wished we could wear. I never realized how Mrs. Kennedy acquired her wardrobe assuming, incorrectly, that she always wore top-of-the-line haute couture - when in actuality she wore "knock-offs", sometimes chosen by her mother-in-law. For anyone who cannot make the pilgrimage to the 40th Anniversary Exhibition at the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York & who craves visions of those much-mimicked fashions of yesteryear.
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