Soon after Jacqueline’s husband was elected President of the United States in 1960, she confessed, “I feel as though I had just turned into a piece of public property”, And yet, however daunting the prospect of becoming a national icon, Mrs. Kennedy embraced her role with winning enthusiasm and supreme political savvy.
Throughout her husband’s political career, Jackie proved his perfect match in wit and finesse. Early on in his 1960 presidential campaign, her uncommonly chic wardrobe caught the attention of the press, all but eclipsing her less stylish rival, Pat Nixon. In response to a particularly sensational article claiming that she spent $30,000 a year to support her addiction to Parisian Couture, Mrs. Kennedy quipped, “I couldn’t spend that much unless I wore sable underwear”.
