Get Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s look with this discerning but affordable bag …
In addition to Cartier Tanks, Calvin Klein black dresses and Hermès Birkin totes, another much-loved possession of style icon Carolyn Bessette Kennedy was far more affordable. In fact, it’s an under €100 bag that’s still available today. The bag in question is the Boat and Tote by LL Bean, a roomy carry-all in heavy canvas with reinforced handles and elegant contrast stitching. Originally released in 1944 and made in Maine, the bag has long been synonymous with a WASPy, nautical aesthetic (though it was first designed for carrying ice). Nowadays you’re more likely to spot it being used as a book bag, for carrying shopping or, for fans of Bessette Kennedy’s minimal style, as an unfussy everyday bag.
Instagram @ladybugvintage.
With Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette streaming now on Disney+, all eyes are on Carolyn’s style which – in addition to being present on every fashion girl’s moodboard right now – has a surprisingly accessible strand. Bessette-Kennedy’s leopard print coat was vintage, her favoured bootcut jeans were Levi’s 517s; she was frequently photographed in an acetate tortoiseshell hairband you can pick up at a chemist. We’ve long had a Boat and Tote on our wish-list and this might be the nudge we need to click buy.
White Boat and Tote large canvas bag, €60; www.llbean.com.
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