Entertainment

Natalie Portman Totally Channels Jackie Kennedy With These 7 Iconic Looks

EntertainmentPublished Dec 2, 2016
By Jacqueline Burt Cote
featured-img-of-post-202092Stephanie Branchu/Twentieth Century Fox

As the title character in Jackie, Natalie Portman is playing the role of a lifetime as one nation's most beloved first ladies during the most tragic and critical point in her life. Early reviews are calling Acadamy Award winner Portman's portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy (directly following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy) a success, but does the biopic manage to capture the fashion icon's timeless sense of style and grace?

We took a look at some of Jackie's most unforgettable ensembles, along with several of Natalie Portman's costumes, to see whether the movie wardrobe lives up to the real thing. (Spoiler alert: The designer did a pretty amazing job!)

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IRL: Ready for Her Close Up-placeholder
IRL: Ready for Her Close Up
CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

IRL: Ready for Her Close Up

Jackie was the picture of poise in her signature pearls and a red wool Dior dress, worn while filming the CBS News Special program A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy in January 1962.

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On-Screen: Lady in Red
Pablo Larraín/Twentieth Century Fox

On-Screen: Lady in Red

French costume designer Madeline Fontaine (known for her work on Amélie) was called in to re-create the famous Dior look. A pink version was also made for the black-and-white scenes, as the red fabric appeared too dark on film!

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IRL: Perfectly on Point-placeholder
IRL: Perfectly on Point
National Archive/Newsmakers

IRL: Perfectly on Point

As First Lady, Jackie Kennedy always looked perfectly appropriate for every occasion -- like when she slipped on a pair of gloves and a shimmering sleeveless gown for a White House ceremony in June 1961.

More from CafeMom: Fashion Flashback: 20 Styles From 'Clueless' We Want to Bring Back (PHOTOS)

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On-Screen: Center Stage-placeholder
On-Screen: Center Stage
Pablo Larrain/Twentieth Century Fox

On-Screen: Center Stage

Natalie Portman's gown-and-gloves combo in this scene captures the grace and style Jackie herself brought to every occasion. According to Madeline Fontaine, the designer and her team drew inspiration from "an incredibly large quantity of pictures and footage."

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IRL: All Buttoned Up-placeholder
IRL: All Buttoned Up
Morgan Collection/Getty Images

IRL: All Buttoned Up

Well before JFK's death, Jackie was all smiles while posing in the back of a car in Palm Beach, Florida in 1961 (must have been a chilly day in the Sunshine State!).

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On-Screen: A Neutral Palette-placeholder
On-Screen: A Neutral Palette
William Gray. © 2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

On-Screen: A Neutral Palette

The style and color of Natalie Portman's outfit in this tense-looking scene with Billy Crudup echoes Jackie's continued classic pieces and preference for interesting collars.

More from CafeMom: 13 '90s Stars in Movie Scenes That Gave Us Serious #StyleGoals

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IRL: A Love for Gloves-placeholder
IRL: A Love for Gloves
Kennedy Library Archives/Newsmakers/GettyImages

IRL: A Love for Gloves

Jackie was elegance personified in a pink satin gown at a dinner 1962 dinner held in honor of Andre Malroux, the Minister of State for Cultural Affairs of France. Looks like she absolutely lit up the room!

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On-Screen: May I Have This Dance?
Stephanie Branchu/Twentieth Century Fox

On-Screen: May I Have This Dance?

Designer Madeline Fontaine honored Jackie's theme of long gloves and longer gowns for formal events in this scene. While the more famous outfits that appear in the film were made in-house, the designer also sourced pieces from rental houses in France and Los Angeles.

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IRL: Feeling Fuchsia
Fotosearch/Getty Images

IRL: Feeling Fuchsia

This undated photo from the '60s shows Jackie surrounded by admirers in one of her trademark colorful shift dresses.

More from CafeMom: 20 Celebs Who Started Major Fashion and Beauty Trends (PHOTOS)

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On-Screen: Blue Period
Stephanie Branchu/Twentieth Century Fox

On-Screen: Blue Period

As Natalie Portman proves in this scene, Jackie always knew how to use color to make an unforgettable statement. "Each period has is own colors and lines," said designer Madeline Fontaine.

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IRL: The Darkest Day
Keystone/Getty Images

IRL: The Darkest Day

Legend has it the black Givenchy gown she wore to JFK's funeral -- one of Jackie's unfortunately most memorable outfits -- was flown in from Paris on short notice.

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On-Screen: Grace Under Fire
William Gray/Twentieth Century Fox

On-Screen: Grace Under Fire

Jackie's funeral suit was one of the ensembles Madeline Fontaine re-created from scratch for the film. Her team had just 10 weeks before shooting to prepare some of these iconic looks.

More from CafeMom: 16 Celebs Who Could Pass IRL as the Characters They Played on Screen

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IRL: Pretty in Pink

The iconic pink suit Jackie wore the day JFK was assassinated was not, in fact, a Coco Chanel original -- it was an American knockoff. It's now locked away from public view in the National Archives building in Maryland and has not been seen since that fateful day. (Years after her mother's 2003 death, Caroline Kennedy donated suit as a gift under the condition that it would not be put on display until 2103. It has never been cleaned.)

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On-Screen: Fashion History-placeholder
On-Screen: Fashion History
William Gray/Twentieth Century Fox

On-Screen: Fashion History

Fontaine produced five versions of the tweed suit, all of which needed to be hand-dyed to re-create the exact right shade of pink. She did, though, get some help from Chanel in getting the buttons just right. Jackie historically refused to remove the blood-spattered suit in the hours following JFK's death, saying, "Let them see what they've done..."

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