Love Story’s CBK Isn’t Actually Wearing CBK’s Sunglasses
You know the photo by now: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy with her dyed-blonde hair in a ponytail that’s topped with a tortoiseshell headband from C.O. Bigelow and those Aldo sunglasses by Selima Salaun (who opened the first Selima Optique boutique in Soho in 1993) over her eyes. And while the costume department of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette went to the trouble of sourcing ’90s Calvin Klein for Sarah Pidgeon’s Carolyn Bessette, we couldn’t help but notice that the sunglasses in stills from the next few episodes weren’t exactly the same as the real CBK’s. Something about the size seemed off.
It turns out that — as Selima Optique confirmed on its Instagram account — it’s indeed not the Aldo sunglasses in Love Story but the Carolyn sunglasses, which were named after CBK herself. The Carolyn came after the “requests of many Aldo fans asking for a slightly larger frame,” according to the product page. There’s not a huge difference in the frames’ measurements — the Carolyn lenses are 48 millimeters, whereas the Aldo’s are 42 millimeters — but I can’t stop thinking it’s a bit symbolic. Try as many (and I mean many) might to look like Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, there was only one. Though that doesn’t mean you can’t get her sunglasses (there’s a reason she wore them so much)— or even her (rumored) preferred lipstick.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Grace Coddington once complimented stylist Doria Santlofer on her pair of Carolyns while they were in line at a bakery.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“The frame of choice of the ‘ultimate beautiful person,’ as she was voted by her high-school classmates,” so the copy says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
And larger than both the Aldo or the Carolyn is the CBK.
Some more tiny ’90s-esque sunglasses…
More From The Strategist
- Hark, the Advent Calendars Arrived (Very) Early This Year
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- 63 Things You Should Never Buy Full Price
- The Strategist Fall 100
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
