16 Style Lessons to Learn from Jackie Kennedy

Culottes are currently in, but the shin-grazing length was once popularized by this original street style star. Instead of neutrals or soft shades, Jackie struck bold with a siren-red pair that she color-blocked with a navy shirt (with sleeves haphazardly scrunched up) and styled with a studded wide belt and block-heel sandals.

Jackie's look is made up of wardrobe fundamentals, but there's nothing basic about it. She was the epitome of effortlessly chic in a ribbed henley shirt, no-frills denim, and round shades (clutched in her grip).

How modern is this?! Jackie gave a couple of her classics—a navy trench and knee-high boots—a nice pop of color with her striped cherry-red turtleneck layered underneath.

A gown for a black-tie affair? Please. Jackie pieced together a stunning look, color-blocking with a black square-neck top, a sweeping marigold yellow ball skirt, and white bicep-high opera gloves.

Just when you thought you had the former First Lady's style figured out, she threw a fast one on us and surprised with a playful white-and-black zig-zag cocktail dress that she paired with a pair of black snub-nose ballet flats. Lesson to learn here: Let loose and have fun (YOLO and all that). 

Jackie offset the masculinity of her suit separates with a substantial bow affixed at the collar of her shirt, which not only offered a nice boost in femininity, but also evoked an arty-cool intellectual vibe that's so very now (think: Gucci under Alessandro Michele's direction).

They may be coordinated separates, but Jackie must have known that a boxy cropped jacket would give her slim pencil skirt an extra dose of interest.

A headscarf (bonus if it's Hermes) + square shades = the perfect look if you're planning to go incognito (or if you're suffering from a bad hair day). 

Consider this the fail-safe way to make a statement during the colder months—a leopard-print coat that's both fiercely cool and classic. 

Simple black layers got the patented Jackie Kennedy spin when she styled them with some of her signatures, like her square shades, her white gloves, and loafers.

A basic white tee is a closet staple for a reason—it's so versatile that it can be dressed down or in Jackie's case, up, when styled with a leather mini, a croc chain-strap purse, a chic headscarf, and buckled flats.

The off-the-shoulder silhouette is a trend that's going strong, but it was Jackie who showed us that this was the most demure, yet the most alluring way to expose skin. Her collarbone game = strong.

Jackie dialed up the contrast when she styled her pale tailored separates with dark, saturated extras, including a belt that nipped in the waist, a darling mini purse, and a black pillbox hat.

Chic ahoy! For a day out on the water, Jackie mastered monochromatism and lightened up in head-to-toe white, from her headscarf and shades right down to her sandals.

Accentuate and draw attention to your waist simultaneously by throwing on an exquisitely ornate belt. Plus, it helps break up too much of one color. 

Jackie celebrated her 40th in 1969 in the most current way possible: with '70s fashion. She partied it up in a printed A-line dress that she accessorized with a strand of double-wrapped pearls and disco drop earrings.