CBK Never Wore Color, But Made an Exception for This Coat

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. attend a formal event in NYC

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 21 November 2025

If you follow me on TikTok, you know I've been talking about Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's style long before Ryan Murphy started filming his new television series about her and her husband. In fact, one of my videos from 2023 racked up over four million views and nearly 2100 comments. The topic: things CBK never wore. I discussed how the Calvin Klein executive, for instance, shied away from colorful clothing. Instead, she built a minimalist wardrobe consisting largely of black, brown, tan, beige, and white.

Now that winter is upon us, however, I'm reminded of one exception she made when it came to wearing non-neutrals. Photographed in New York City with John F. Kennedy Jr. and their dog in January 1997, Bessette Kennedy wore a tomato-red Prada coat. She completed her winter outfit with pared-down pieces, including a simple beanie, turtleneck, and boots, all in black, and dark-wash bootcut jeans. If a coat trend was good enough for CBK to break her own style rules for, it's certainly good enough for me. Scroll down to shop coats inspired by the original NYC influencer.

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy wears a red coat winter outfit

On Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: Prada coat

Shop Tomato-Red Coats Inspired by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy

COS

Oversized Double-Breasted Wool Coat

Lands' End

Wool Wrap Long Coat

The Great

The Trapunto Trench Coat

J.Crew

Long Toscana Coat in Italian Stadium-Cloth Wool Blend

H&M

Oversized Jacket

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Erin got her start as a Who What Wear intern in 2011—back when the site only published a single story per day. (We have since increased that number twentyfold.) She graduated magna cum laude from USC and lives in Los Angeles. In college, she also interned at Refinery29, where she was promoted to editorial assistant and then assistant editor. After nearly three years at R29, she came back to WWW in 2015, where she is now the Associate Director of Fashion News. From the Oscars to the Met Gala, she leads the site's entire red carpet coverage strategy. She specializes in celebrity and fashion news but also enjoys writing travel features and runway reports. She frequently contributes to WWW's social accounts and has a sizable following on her personal TikTok.