Jackie Kennedy's Original Wedding Dress Was Destroyed in a Flood 10 Days Before the Big Day—Here's How Her Designer Fixed It

When Jackie Kennedy Onassis wed her first husband, former president John F. Kennedy, on September 12, 1953, in Newport, Rhode Island, she wore a classic gown with a portrait-neckline that inspired countless other brides-to-be. Even though her gown was—and still is—heralded as one of the most iconic wedding dresses to date, it wasn’t the original getup her designer, Ann Lowe, created. After spending two months tirelessly constructing the initial ensemble, a pipe burst in Lowe’s New York City studio, which ruined the bride’s gown and nine of the 15 bridesmaids’ dresses. Worst of all, it happened just 10 days before the big day. 

With a little over a week until the celebration, Lowe had to start from scratch and quickly design and execute 10 new dresses—all without saying a word to the Kennedy family. According to SheKnows, she ended up losing $2,200 (which is equivalent to $21,000 today) because she had to pay out of pocket for the repairs, but she managed to pull out all of the stops. The final product was an ivory tissue-silk dress with a portrait neckline and a bouffant skirt featuring wax flowers, complete with an heirloom rose-point lace veil and pearls. Lowe also made nine new dresses for the bridesmaids: pink taffeta A-line gowns tied with sashes around the waistband. 

In the book What Jackie Taught Us: Lessons from the Remarkable Live of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Tina Santi Flaherty, the bride wasn’t ecstatic about the gown because she had envisioned a simpler design. “Even though it’s a beautiful dress, it was not what she wanted, and she actually compared it to a lampshade,” fashion historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell revealed. John F. Kennedy’s father, Joseph Kennedy, was the one who insisted that the bride had an ornate ensemble for the special day. “It was chosen by her father-in-law-to-be, who wanted to create an American royalty moment and really set up his son as the heir to the family dynasty,” Chrisman-Campbell explained.

However, author Julia Faye Smith who wrote Anne Lowe’s biography, Something to Prove, told Elle that Jackie probably played a part in choosing the look of her dress. “Ann did like to please her clients though, and I know she would have wanted to bride to be happy with her gown,” Smith explains. “Ann reported conferring with the bride on the design and the colors for others in the wedding party, so Jackie probably had some say in the design of her own gown.”

Although Jackie’s wedding dress quickly made headlines, Lowe didn’t receive any recognition for the piece. SheKnows reports that JFK’s father was in charge of the press that day, and he never credited Lowe as the one responsible for the bride’s getup. In fact, when reporters asked who made the dress, Joseph answered, “A colored dressmaker did it.” Lowe had already had an established career, customizing high-end pieces for elite clients, such as the Rockefellers, the Roosevelt, and the Auchinclosses (Jackies family), but she probably could have enjoyed even more success following the Kennedy wedding if she were given the proper credit. 

According to Nancy Davis, curator at the National History Museum, Lowe wasn’t looking for fame but instead just wanted to design clothes. “Sewing was her lifeblood,” Davis said. “It was her gift but also her being. She just wanted to sew. She just wanted to make beautiful dresses that gave her clients joy.” Lowe went on to design for retailers, like Neiman Marcus and Henri Bendel. She even opened up three salons in Florida and New York: Annie Cohen, Anne Lowe’s Gowns, and Ann Lowe’s Originals. However, in 1963, she declared bankruptcy, and it’s rumored that a Kennedy might have paid off her debts. By the time she retired in 1972, she didn’t have a penny to her name, CNN reported. After her death, many people took an interest in the designer and shared her truth through books and collections.