The Suit Sealed Until 2103: 7 Haunting Facts About Jackie Kennedy's Blood-Stained Pink Ensemble

Few garments in history carry the weight of a nation's tragedy quite like Jacqueline Kennedy's pink suit. The raspberry-colored, double-breasted ensemble, famously worn on November 22, 1963, transformed in a matter of minutes from a symbol of American glamour and the youthful optimism of "Camelot" to a visceral, unforgettable relic of the John F. Kennedy assassination. This suit, which remains uncleaned and blood-stained to this day, is a historical artifact so sensitive that its viewing is restricted for another 78 years, making it one of the most powerful and inaccessible pieces of American history.

The story of the suit—its design, its role on that fateful day in Dallas, Texas, and its current, climate-controlled seclusion—continues to captivate historians and the public. As of December 2025, the garment rests in a secure, windowless vault, a silent, poignant witness to the moment innocence was lost. Its fate, sealed by the Kennedy family, ensures that its haunting power remains undiminished and unseen for generations to come.

Jacqueline Kennedy: A Brief Biography and The Suit’s Origin

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, and photographer who became the First Lady of the United States during the presidency of her husband, John F. Kennedy, from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. She was a global fashion icon, known for her impeccable style, which blended French couture with an American sensibility. Her signature look often included pillbox hats, tailored suits, and a simple elegance that defined the early 1960s.

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• Born: Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, Southampton, New York
• Parents: John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III and Janet Norton Lee
• Education: Miss Porter's School, Vassar College, George Washington University (B.A. in French Literature)
• First Marriage: John F. Kennedy (1953–1963)
• Children: Caroline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr.
• Second Marriage: Aristotle Onassis (1968–1975)
• Career Highlights: First Lady of the United States, book editor, fashion icon.

The infamous pink suit was part of her carefully curated First Lady wardrobe. While she adored French designers like Coco Chanel, she was under pressure to promote American fashion. The solution was the "line-for-line" system: the suit was a copy of a Chanel design from the 1961 autumn/winter collection, made by the high-end New York boutique Chez Ninon using authentic Chanel materials, including the distinctive wool bouclé fabric, trim, and gold buttons, which were shipped directly from Paris. The color, often described as strawberry or bubblegum pink, was technically a shade of raspberry.

The Refusal to Change: “Let Them See What They’ve Done”

The suit became an artifact of profound historical importance on November 22, 1963, in Dallas. President Kennedy, who considered the pink suit one of his favorites, had specifically asked his wife to wear it for the trip to Texas.

As the presidential motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza, the First Lady was sitting directly beside her husband in the open-top limousine. When Lee Harvey Oswald’s shots rang out, President Kennedy’s blood and brain matter splattered across the right side of the suit, covering the fabric, her stockings, and her right glove.

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In the immediate aftermath, as she traveled back to Washington, D.C., on Air Force One, aides repeatedly urged her to change out of the gruesome ensemble. The newly sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird Johnson, recorded the scene in her diary, noting the "immaculate woman, exquisitely dressed, and caked in blood."

Jacqueline Kennedy’s famous and chilling response was a defiant refusal: “No, I want them to see what they’ve done.” She wore the suit as she stood beside Vice President Johnson during his swearing-in ceremony on the plane, ensuring that the image of her grief and the horror of the event would be indelibly etched into the American consciousness.

The 2103 Ultimatum: Why the Suit is Locked Away for a Century

Upon returning to the White House, the suit was finally removed and placed in a bag by her maid, Providencia Paredes. It was never cleaned. Sometime before July 1964, the suit, along with its accessories, was sent to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in College Park, Maryland. It arrived in a simple box with an unsigned note on her mother’s stationery that read: “Jackie’s suit and bag—worn November 22, 1963.”

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While the National Archives has held the suit since 1964, the legal ownership remained with the Kennedy family. In 2003, Jackie’s sole surviving heir, her daughter Caroline Kennedy, formally gifted the suit and its accompanying pieces to the Archives. This deed of gift came with a crucial, non-negotiable stipulation: the suit must not be made available for public viewing, research, or any other use that could "dishonor the memory of Mrs. Kennedy or President Kennedy or cause any grief or suffering to members of their family."

This provision means the blood-stained pink suit, a crucial piece of evidence and a tragic symbol of American history, is sealed in a secure, climate-controlled vault for a full 100 years from the date of the gift. It will not be seen by the public until at least October 2103. At that time, the Kennedy family descendants will have the opportunity to renegotiate the matter and decide its ultimate fate.

The Current State of the Artifact: What is Preserved?

The National Archives goes to great lengths to preserve the suit in its original, uncleaned, and blood-stained condition. It is stored in a custom-made, acid-free container within a vault where the temperature and humidity are strictly controlled to prevent decay and degradation. The air is changed multiple times an hour to ensure its preservation for the next century.

The following items from the assassination day are currently preserved in the NARA vault:

• The pink wool bouclé suit jacket and skirt.
• The navy silk shell blouse.
• The navy shoes.
• The navy handbag with a gold buckle and chain handle.
• The stockings.

The two famous accessories that completed the iconic look, the matching pink pillbox hat and the white kid gloves, are notably absent. They were lost in the chaos of the day. The last person known to have the hat was a Secret Service agent, but its current whereabouts remain unknown, adding another layer of mystery to this powerful historical ensemble.

The suit’s long-term seclusion has led to it being described as a "sacred relic of a nightmare," a garment that is more than just clothing—it is a tangible symbol of a shattered dream and the enduring grief of a nation. The decision to keep it locked away reflects a desire to protect the Kennedy legacy from sensationalism, ensuring that the suit remains a powerful, if unseen, monument to the end of the "Camelot" era.