Meghan Markle Once Called Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's Wedding Dress 'Everything Goals'

Helen MurphyThu, March 19, 2026 at 1:56 PM UTC

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Meghan Markle praised Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s iconic wedding dress two years before her own wedding to Prince Harry

Meghan’s own 2018 bridal look reflected a similarly simple, sophisticated aesthetic

Interest in Carolyn’s style has surged following the premiere of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

Meghan Markle is a longtime fan of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's iconic style — including her iconic '90s wedding dress — as renewed interest in her fashion grows following the series Love Story, starring Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Kelly.

In a 2016 interview with Glamour, ahead of her Suits character Rachel Zane's onscreen wedding, Meghan opened up about her ideal wedding dress.

“Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Everything goals,” Meghan said when asked to name her favorite celebrity wedding dress.

“Classic and simple is the name of the game," she added, "perhaps with a modern twist. I personally prefer wedding dresses that are whimsical or subtly romantic."

Bessette wore a chic and simple slip dress when she married John F. Kennedy Jr. in September 1996. The now-iconic dress was designed by Narciso Rodriguez, a friend of hers from her days as a publicist at Calvin Klein.

Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette and Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. in 'Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette'.Credit: FX

Meghan also wore a simple yet sophisticated dress for her royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. The dress was created by British designer Clare Waight Keller and featured a sleek open neckline and slight A-line skirt.

Credit: Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images

The Duchess of Sussex's wedding wasn't the only time Meghan referenced Carolyn's style. In 2017, when she stepped out for her first royal outing, she wore an outfit that was almost identical to the one Carolyn wore when she was formally introduced to the press by JFK Jr. in October 1996.

At the time, Carolyn wore a camel pencil skirt and a fitted black top, which she paired with tall boots and a black purse. For her part, Meghan wore a beige, chino-style skirt, a fitted black turtleneck and over-the-knee boots, and also paired the outfit with a black purse.

Credit: Andy Stenning/WPA Pool/Getty Images; Jon Naso/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images

“It was really intriguing and interesting that she wore a very similar outfit to what Carolyn Bessette wore when we first saw her after she married John,” Pamela Keogh, author of Audrey Style and Jackie Style, told PEOPLE at the time.

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“I like that both Carolyn and Meghan have their own style that they had before they met any sort of a public figure, and they’re not afraid to kind of show fresh, young modern style,” Keogh continued. “You don’t get the sense that someone else is dressing them.”

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Meghan also channeled Carolyn's style more recently, in a video posted on her Instagram Stories earlier this week.

In the video, Meghan arranged a vase of flowers while wearing a wide, velvet headband, as well as a black turtleneck — both staples in Carolyn's wardrobe.

Interest in Carolyn's refined, minimalist '90s style has skyrocketed following the recent premiere of the series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.

Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette in 'Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette'.Credit: FX

An earlier episode of Love Story reimagines the famously private wedding of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. In the sixth episode, “The Wedding,” the couple marries on Cumberland Island, Ga., after carefully planning an ultra-secret ceremony. Central to the story is Carolyn’s iconic Narciso Rodriguez gown, which costumer Rudy Mance recreated through extensive research.

In an interview with InStyle, Mance said his team tracked down the original fabric by identifying B&J, the New York store where Rodriguez sourced it. The shop still had the decades-old swatch, allowing them to locate the same European mill to reproduce it in the exact color.

Getting the fit right was just as crucial: Carolyn’s signature bias-cut silhouette was replicated by courtier Anna Light, who constructed the dress in Philadelphia and fit it to actress Sarah Pidgeon. Three versions were made, nodding to recounts of Carolyn's last-minute wardrobe malfunction. (in JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil, it's revealed that Carolyn had to be sewn into the dress before walking down the aisle).

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