Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's Nineties Blonde Has An Enduring Appeal
From her ahead-of-its-time minimalist wardrobe to her elegant-meets-effortless wedding bun, the late American publicist and John F. Kennedy Jr.'s wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy has been an enduring style icon since the Nineties.
Her signature bright blonde has retained a timelessness that has allowed her to grace hair mood boards everywhere since she first arrived on the fashion scene thirty years ago, and the arrival of creative director Sunita Kumar Nair's coffee table book, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion, last year has only solidified her status as a beauty icon.
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'Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's sunny warm blonde colour continues to be admired and relevant due to the versatility of the tone,' says Cetera Lamb, Senior Colourist at John Frieda Salons. 'It can be worn through every season looking polished and expensive.'
The key to replicating Bessette-Kennedy's signature gilded tresses is to ask for a golden shade with warmth, and a brightness around the face that is not too dissimilar to that of Scandinavian hairstyles. Think soft but thick money pieces and an extreme glossy finish.
'Achieving this colour will depend on many different factors – hair health, condition and your natural base colour,' she says. 'Darker browns will need a few visits to the salon to build the colour in. If you’re a natural blonde, lightening may be quicker and less stressful on the hair. Prepping the hair with bonding treatments will allow that extra lift and cleaner results.'
Of course, this chic statement hair colour will require ample maintenance with regular trips to the salon to touch up the roots (the coveted smudge that allows for effortless regrowth is nowhere to be seen here) and glossing treatments to top-up your shine.
'Let your stylist use a toner,' says Sam Burnett, owner of Hare & Bone salon. 'It will significantly extend the longevity of your colour. Make sure to use home care specifically designed for lightened hair too, as they will even out the porosity and condition allowing the tone from the colour to last longer; Davines Heart of Glass designed specifically for blondes and actually locks in your colour for longer. If you’re a global bleach blonde I would suggest having a colour enhancing shampoo and conditioner at home to keep your toner topped up.'
Take styling into account, too. During a decade where voluminous blow-drys and exaggerated shapes were all the rage, Bessette-Kennedy was making a convincing case for sleek, straight styles; the original 'clean girl', if you will. Leave heated tools at home and invest in a blow-dry brush that will add uniformity and shine to this ultra-simple look.
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