The Kennedys projected an image of youth, glamour, and style to the American public and admirers abroad. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s look—trim suits, pillbox hats, and shift dresses—established her as a style icon. Mrs. Kennedy’s style, developed with her favorite designer Oleg Cassini, drew on the American sportswear tradition. Women everywhere adopted the look for themselves. It was a style Cassini summed up as “a new American elegance thanks to Mrs. Kennedy’s beauty, naturalness, understatement, exposure, and symbolism.”
Art and Culture
The Kennedys understood that media and popular culture—from magazines to television, movies, and musicals—were becoming just as important to American life as the “high” culture—such as ballet, opera, and poetry—that they championed. They incorporated popular culture into White House activities and took advantage of all forms of media, both old and new. The Kennedys were frequent subjects of traditional press reports and regularly appeared in the pages of popular magazines and on television.
These appearances made Americans feel that they knew the Kennedys better than any presidential couple before them. “The slick or bombastic orator, pounding the table and ringing the rafters is not as welcome in the family room as he was in the town square or party hall,” wrote Kennedy. By embracing popular culture, the Kennedys were able to project an image of themselves as the glamorous guests in every American’s family room.
Exhibit Highlights
- Historic television appearances by JFK before and during his term as president.
- Games, LPs, and other memorabilia of the Kennedys celebrated in popular culture.
- Video of Kennedy Center programs on the national stage, such as the Honors and Mark Twain Prize.
Women wearing Oleg Cassini suits and pillbox hats like Mrs. Kennedy, 1961.
Yale Joel, The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
In 1959 Kennedy wrote, “Whether TV improves or worsens our political system… whether it gives us better or poorer candidates… the answers are all up to you, the viewing public.” He understood that television and new forms of documentary film let him speak directly to Americans, and that Americans, in turn, would judge politicians by what they saw on their TV sets.
Kennedy allowed innovative filmmaker Robert Drew to follow him in real time during the Democratic primary campaign. Using a small, inconspicuous camera, Drew created an up-close, intimate portrait of Kennedy.
These appearances allowed Kennedy to show a side of himself that appealed to the American public—one that was funny and self-deprecating, but also smart, optimistic, and serious about America’s future.
President Kennedy with CBS producers Fred Friendly and Don Hewitt during the filming of “After Two Years: A Conversation with the President” at the White House, 1962.
CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy saw the White House as not simply the place where the first family lived, but as a symbol of America. She wanted dignitaries and tourists alike to learn about American history and values when they toured the White House.
Through searching White House closets, off-site storage facilities, and historic records, the restoration project uncovered furniture and decorative arts that had belonged to former presidents or were historically accurate. In February of 1962, Mrs. Kennedy led a televised tour through the restored rooms for eighty million viewers.
Mrs. Kennedy and curator Lorraine Pearce at work on the White House restoration, July 1961.
Ed Clark, The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The Kennedys embraced all forms of popular culture—from magazines to musicals, popular music, TV, and film—and they became icons of popular culture themselves.
Kennedy was the first president to be the subject of a Hollywood movie while he was still in office. The film, PT-109, depicted Kennedy’s heroic service during World War II. The Kennedys were even gently satirized in 1962 by comedian Vaughn Meader in a comedy album called The First Family.
Mrs. Kennedy referenced both the myth of King Arthur and the 1960 Broadway musical Camelot when she told LIFE magazine that, “there will be great presidents again, but there will never be another Camelot.” In the years that followed, “Camelot” came to symbolize Kennedy’s brief time in office.
John and Jacqueline Kennedy mannequins, New York City, 1961.