“American Love Story” Fumbles Styling of Carolyn Bessette
“American Love Story,” coming to FX and Hulu on Valentine’s week of 2026, is a series following the story of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. Ryan Murphy’s production company specializes in these kinds of biographical series, winning Emmys from “Monster” and “American Crime Story,” so chances are the show will be successful – perhaps there will be the usual controversy over the story’s accuracy, as they intentionally like to show multiple sides or throw things in that are only speculations – but successful nonetheless. Despite this show about the it-couple of the 90s being a guaranteed hit, there’s one large complaint that has already started after first-look photos of the series were shared: The costuming department has missed the mark with the styling of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.
The most glaring mistakes that can be seen by any fan of hers, or anyone who’s simply sifted through photos of her, are the hair and the tailoring of her clothing. While the actress, Sarah Pidgeon, has a beautiful and classy look that will be perfect for portraying Bessette-Kennedy, the shade of blonde she’s given is just flat out wrong. Her hair colorist Brad Johns even spoke with Page Six about how they messed it up. “I love Ryan Murphy. I mean, I live for him. But there must be some kind of glitch with the costume people or the hair people, because it’s not right — it’s all white and burnt.” He said. “Carolyn’s hair was darker at the bottom, the mid was medium blond and the front was all brilliant gold pieces. Gold makes women look beautiful. Ash makes you look dead, unless you’re wearing a ton of makeup, and who wears a ton of makeup? It’s just wrong. Everything.” Then the camel coat she’s wearing in the same photos is ill-fitting, nothing like the impeccable tailoring seen in any street photo of her in a jacket.
For most TV shows, these details wouldn’t matter. Just hearing the complaints about this styling might make one say it’s nitpicking, or that it’s not that serious. But for the portrayal of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in “American Love Story,” fashion is that serious. Bessette-Kennedy was one of the style icons of the 90s for how classic and timeless her look was. The shade of blonde in her hair does matter, because women across the country were taking photos of her to their hair colorist and saying “I want that.” Her clothes, while simple, should be created with the utmost care, because her style was the exact style that inspired a generation of women.
Featured image by Abdullah Gouiaa via pexels.com