Jackie Kennedy

The person that I chose that I think as my hero is Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis or better known as Jackie Kennedy and the First Lady who was married to John. F. Kennedy. Jackie Kennedy was born in Southampton, New York on July 28, 1929 and was the oldest of her three siblings. I choose Jackie Kennedy because of her sense of style that is still admired because so many women looked up to her, and her work with restoring the White House and preserving DC and even New York's Grand Central Terminal.

Jackie Kennedy was influential on being a less-traditional woman during her husband's term. She cared a lot about historic preservation, especially of Lafayette Square which is now a seven-acre public park located near the White House. Lafayette Square became a National Historic Landmark District in 1970 because of Jackie Kennedy's love for preserving history and surrounding buildings in DC. Jackie Kennedy also restored the White House and it was one of her biggest projects and accomplishments where she preserved the historical aspects. Jackie Kennedy's preservation went further with the preserving of Lafayette Square where she not only helped preserve the old historic buildings in the area but to also build modern buildings with modern and helpful uses. She cared so much about preserving the history around her own neighborhood because it was threatened much by the building of skyscrapers. Jackie Kennedy's preservation of historic buildings and sites is one reason she is my hero today. Since growing up in DC and around it I see these places quite often and without her ambition to save these sites they would be replaces with large modern buildings when DC is a very historic place.

Jackie Kennedy not only helped preserve DC, but New York with her work on saving the very famous Grand Central train stop. Grand Central was almost torn down to become a tall office building. Jackie Kennedy did not want to see what happened to Penn Station. Penn Station was torn down and became Madison Square Garden which is a very modern simplistic building that holds concerts and events. Jackie Kennedy's work and preservation of Grand Central is heroic to me because New York is a place I love visiting and it's historic importance is often looked over because of the skyscrapers and overwhelming glass buildings that are now New York City.

The one thing I adore most about Jackie Kennedy is her style. Her style is still very iconic and one I and many others look up to because of her importance in the White House and to the United States at the time. I, of course was not born to experience her style and see it when it was happening but the legacy she still has says it all. Brands like Lilly Pulitzer and Jack Rodgers are a few of the "preppier" brands she made very famous. Jackie Kennedy's style, also known as the "Jackie Look" became a lifestyle. Many American women were looking up to her with her fashion especially when she was pregnant during John F. Kennedy's term with their second son. Jackie Kennedy often loved dressing her children in either complimenting or matching clothes that she wore. One trend in particular that she started up was the "Pillbox Hat" which she wore on JFK's Inauguration Day and her pink pillbox hat and matching suit she wore on the day of her husband's assassination. Other trends that Jackie Kennedy started were wearing oversized sunglasses, wearing monochromatic clothes like white on white which is usually looked down upon, and also wearing a lot of bows on dresses or other accessories. Jackie Kennedy is my hero because of her style and the way she was a traditional women but went outside of the norm and became a style icon I look up too.

Not only was her fashion a lifestyle that many adored but her posture and the way she personified glamour and style with the events she held and planned. Jackie Kennedy would often promote culture and the arts by inviting artists, poets, writers, and musicians to the White House. She promoted historical and artistic culture by having the politicians and government men and women talk and socialize with the artists. Jackie Kennedy had many influences through her husband's politics and used that to her advantage. Overall, Jackie Kennedy is my hero because of her ambition towards historical preservation and restoration in and around DC and in New York, her fashion and style that is still admired and the way she carried herself as a First Lady that I and many others still look up to.