Why Does the Internet Want to be Carolyn Bessette Kennedy?

I noticed recently that my social media has been flooded with photos of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (CBK) for the past few weeks, and people around me can’t stop talking about the new series Love Story, which is about her relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr.

I began to wonder: Why, 26 years after her tragic death, is there such an obsession with Carolyn specifically? Why are people on TikTok trying to dress just like her? But also, why can no one actually achieve her look? Join me as I unpack all of this alongside some of her outfits caught on camera.

Credit: I-d

There are plenty of 90s New York fashion icons to choose from as inspiration, from Jennifer Aniston to Naomi Campbell. But something about CBK feels more effortless and authentic, and this drives the obsession people have with replicating it. It is very hard to wear no jewellery, throw on a plain outfit, leave your hair unbrushed, and instantly be mistaken for CBK. You have to be her and have her presence, and this fuels the internet’s infatuation with her because achieving that is impossible.

Credit: Vogue

Additionally, CBK is the opposite of a curated influencer page you come across in 2026, with a ‘clean girl’ makeup routine and thousands of content videos to scroll through. Instead, CBK is mysterious, unknowable, and genuine in her style. She wasn’t trying to pose for social media, and there are no interviews of her, so in these photos, she is just living her life.

Maybe the internet is so burnt out from the 'influencer style,' that it has gravitated towards CBK. Although she tragically died 26 years ago, she offers us something genuine. Maybe her tangled hair and her bored, irritated attitude towards cameras is refreshing to the internet, and that is why people can’t stop studying her. So, is this fixation on her simply born out of people longing for a time when it was easier to be yourself without comparison to others online?

Credit: Elle

Carolyn wore some classic 90s staples, like slip dresses, light-wash denim, and overall, donned a minimalistic style. She somehow made a basic outfit look extremely stylish. Maybe this is because she was heading in and out of her job at Calvin Klein and running around New York with JFK Junior, and so her style was reflective of her fun and glamorous life. This reinstates how difficult it is to emulate her, because the last thing her look is about is her clothes.

Credit: CBK Lookbook

Moreover, in everything I have seen and read about her, and how enduring her influence is, Carolyn’s style is best described as timeless. She was not following the latest trend or over-consuming, she even liked a fair amount of routine in her clothes, such as the classic tortoiseshell headband she wore a lot, and a pair of tailored jeans. Perhaps overconsumption in the age of influencers is also draining people online, so Carolyn’s lack of logos and constant new items presented in a ‘haul’ is just as uplifting as her ability to be herself.

Credit: Sheri Silver

If you are one of the many people out there that want this effortless confidence CBK radiates, the best way to do this might be to dress in a way that is authentically yourself, wearing what suits your personality best. This is the only way to successfully copy her; she dressed to feel comfortable and confident for her own life. The last thing CBK was trying to do was copy someone else. That said, I understand people’s appreciation of her looks and attitude, and it can’t be disputed, she has most definitely left a legacy that is still unique today.