Excerpt from the upcoming book *American Style: The Look and Legacy of JFK Jr* by Jeremy Freed (set to be released on October 30, 2026) posted on Instagram: 

**Did his style evolve after he met Carolyn Bessette?**

**RMT**: It certainly did. In some ways he became more interested in and free with style. Before, he'd just put on whatever tie someone handed him. After, he'd look at two options and go, "*Oh, this one's sharp.*" She also got him a really good tailor. He had these black-and-white gingham pants that were too short, and she said, "*You can't wear those anymore.*" It wasn't a curated, controlling kind of thing, but she pulled him together. She had an influence.

**Where did he get his suits?**

**RMT**: There wasn't one place. It'd be Hugo Boss, Zegna, Armani, sometimes Joseph Abboud. Gucci, Versace. A lot of people sent him things, but he knew good men's clothes. For shopping, Barneys was a big one, Bergdorf's. Zegna had a Madison Avenue shop he'd go to. Those were his places. 

**What influence did Carolyn have on his look?**

**Matt Berman**: Carolyn bought him a lot of clothes and had a big influence on the adult "*John style*" that people remember. She even sent a guy she knew to the office to give him haircut because she didn't like the way it had been cut before. He wasn't afraid to put on anything she bought him. Sometimes he'd wear an elegant outfit mixed with a silly hat-like a ski hat with a pom-pom-just for fun, but he had the physicality and the sense of humor to pull anything off.

**From the JFK Jr biography:**

**Gustavo Paredes**: After John met Carolyn, he became a dresser. Before, it was always some mishmash of stuff. He had absolutely no style—he had a style of no style. He would wear these kind of balloon pants, cotton with some odd stripes, faded T-shirts. He had a great attraction for color, and he spent a good amount of time in Kenya and Africa and India. He never did wear those Cape Cod, Brooks Brothers, prep-style clothing. But he had an idea of colors from these travels. He'd put African and Indian styles together, but better to do all of one or the other, you can't mesh. And he started getting better haircuts, too.

**The first slide shows photos of John’s suits before he was with Carolyn, while the second slide shows his suits after he met her. The biggest difference I notice is that his ties were no longer colorful or patterned. He also began wearing more double-breasted suits and favored darker-colored suits. The tan and silver suits disappeared.** 

John's style and the influence Carolyn had on it.