Jackie Kennedy's “Unconventional” Valentino Wedding Dress Just Sold at Auction for Triple the Pre-Sale Estimate

It’s been over 50 years since Jackie Kennedy tied the knot with Greek shipping tycoon, Aristotle Onassis—and became the famous “Jackie O.” And while Jackie died in 1994, her attire from that day is still making headlines. The Valentino dress she wore to say “I do” recently sold for $24,320 at auction, coming in at three times its pre-sale estimate. Sold as part of Bonhams’ “Classic Luxury: Style Icons” online sale, the two-piece dress appeared alongside other outfits worn by Jackie’s son, John F. Kennedy Jr., including a Calvin Klein tuxedo, Calvin Klein suit and black tie, and a Giorgio Armani overcoat. Each of these items also sold for more than their original auction prices. 

“The Kennedys are, without question, one of the most prominent families in modern American history,” Marissa Speer, the head of sale for handbags and fashion at Bonhams said in a press release. “Jacqueline Kennedy’s 1968 couture ensemble is not only an important piece of fashion history marking the emergence of one of the most stylish women in the world—Jackie O—but it also showcases an important design in maison Valentino’s history. The eventual selling price of the dress of $24,320 was a testament to the rarity of the piece.”

The dress was previously owned—and put up for auction—by close friends of Jackie and Aristotle. The couple had reportedly helped Jackie pack up her belongings from Aristotle’s yacht, named Christina O, after he died in 1975. 

The couple’s wedding certainly was a fashion-forward occasion. After the Greek tycoon proposed to Jackie with a 40-carat Marquise cut Lesotho III diamond from Harry Winston, the couple hosted their nuptials on October 20, 1968, on the groom’s private Greek island, Skorpios. The duo kept their Greek Orthodox ceremony small and intimate, inviting just 40 guests. After saying “I do,” they migrated to Aristotle’s yacht for their wedding reception.

Jackie wore the knee-length Valentino dress for the nuptials, which featured many 1960s trends, including a mock turtleneck, long sleeves, and a pleated skirt. According to Speer, the two-piece look was also a nontraditional choice that inspired future brides: “Jackie’s wedding dress was groundbreaking for the time, being an unconventional short dress,” she told Vogue. “The dress is a stepping stone in her transition from the Queen of Camelot to Jackie O: style icon, where she was making her own choices and showing her independence through her style.”

The dress was a departure from Jackie’s first wedding dress—an ivory number with a portrait neckline, bouffant skirt, and embellished flowers. The designer of that dress, Ann Lowe (who had previously made custom dresses for Jackie’s mother), created it in just five days after a burst waterline destroyed the first gown she had made for the bride’s nuptials. However, People recently reported that the silk-taffeta dress wasn’t the one that Jackie originally wanted to wear, noting that the bride had originally requested a “simpler, sleeker design” for her gown—much to her future father-in-law’s dismay. 

While the icon’s second wedding dress was the latest item from her collection to be listed at auction, her ring from Aristotle was previously sold by Sotheby’s for $2.58 million in 1996. (It had originally been valued at $600,000.) The diamond was reportedly purchased by Albert and Felice Lippert, the founders of Weight Watchers, on behalf of an unidentified purchaser.