I have a houseguest for three weeks, and another one arriving on Friday from London for the weekend, so the usual Sunday schedule of Farmers' Market, breakfast and Book Thing was thrown off a bit. But I managed to make it to Book Thing before they closed, and they were practically cleaned out!
In April, I wrote about a book I'd found at BT called Kennedy Style: The White House Years. Yesterday, I found a charming little book called Mrs. Kennedy Goes Abroad, which is a slim volume of little watercolour paintings and brief stories of a trip abroad in 1961. Although Mrs. Kennedy did some painting, this book has been illustrated by Jacqueline Duhême, who had a similar style. The Introduction to the book was written by John Kenneth Galbraith, who was the Ambassador to India during that period.
As I read through the book, I realized that some of the gowns referenced in the Kennedy Style book were in the stories in this book. I thought it would be fun to see the gowns and then compare them to the little paintings in Mrs. Kennedy Goes Abroad. Then as I looked through the Kennedy Style book, I noticed that there were a number of illustrations from the Goes Abroad book.
A pale yellow silk and wool Oleg Cassini suit worn by Mrs. Kennedy as she and Mme. de Gualle visited a children's hospital in Paris. 
State dinner at Versailles Palace in another Oleg Cassini, this time a raffia lace gown with stole.
Dress for a lake tour and visit with the new baby elephant which was a gift to the Kennedys.
State dinner with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip in an ice blue silk shantung by Herbert de Givenchy.
Deep pink wool bouclé dress and jacket by Herbert de Givenchy for lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. These two young mothers probably had a lot to talk about.
Deep pink wool bouclé dress and jacket by Herbert de Givenchy for lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. These two young mothers probably had a lot to talk about.
that has to be the chicest children's book ever!
ReplyDeleteI have read this book, also...it is a delight!
ReplyDeleteA charming book indeed! And as usual I'm struck by how chic and lovely Jackie Kennedy was. I especially like the picture of her in the pale orange dress in India.
ReplyDeleteMeg - an absolutely charming post - thanks for a peek inside the book. Delightful.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't me cleaning the place out. I missed the Book Thing entirely this weekend.
ReplyDeleteDear Fellow Baltimorean,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find at the BT! Thank you for posting the gowns with their illustrated counterparts. Peak of Chic just did a similar post with rooms and their paintings by Serebriakoff. You all are so inspired! It is so nice for me, as an overextended mother of 2 young ones, to be able to get a quick dose of inspiration from your blogs.
Emily, I must have been subconsiously inspired by Peak!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Love the book and photos!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun read and great idea for a post. Travel has certainly changed for some of us.
ReplyDeleteMeg -- I love how you put this together. It's one of my favorite books!
ReplyDeleteoh my, we are one the same page... I have this book and One Special Summer, the journal that Jackie and Lee wrote for their parents in 1951 to thank them for their summer abroad - If you have not seen this one, you will love it. I sat on the couch this past Sunday (it was humid and grey up here) and read both of them. Love those KS calendar inserts too - two page week has been my calendar of choice for the last 7 years!!! Ships passing in the night - see july frontispiece
ReplyDeleteI saw those dresses in NYC when they were on display. they are all so simple and elegant. she was just such a icon. just a remarkable woman. sad she died so young. sad really- their whole family is gone except for C.k.S.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find, and a charming book. Jackie O seems so much more chic now, in retrospect, than she did at the time. Maybe it's just my own perspective that has changed. But maybe it's that true class and elegance are so lacking today.
ReplyDelete-Lana
Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
ReplyDeleteHelp, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!
In the picture of the Kennedys and the royals, Jackie's not wearing a Givenchy. That's an Oleg Cassini--featured in his book 'A Thousand Days of Magic'.
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