Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s famed Prada coat just sold for $192,000
If watching Ryan Murphy’s Love Story has driven you into an obsessive Carolyn Bessette Kennedy fashion spiral, you’re not alone. Today, the Fashion Auctioneer closed its CBK-themed auction—titled Exceptional Fashion: including items from the wardrobe of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy—and the numbers were remarkable.
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The star of the show was a single-breasted camel Prada coat from 1996, worn by the Calvin Klein publicist throughout 1997 and 1998. (You might recognize it from paparazzi photos of Bessette and John F. Kennedy Jr. walking their dog—with the former in classic blue jeans and a low ponytail, while her beau wore neon athleticwear.)
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The late publicist later gifted the piece to her friend Rosemarie Terenzio, who served as JFK Jr.’s assistant in the ’90s and was a close confidant to the couple in the years before their tragic death. Terenzio later passed the piece onto Michele Ammon, who has had it in her possession ever since.
While the coat was estimated to sell anywhere between $15,000 and $30,000, it ended up going for a grand total of $192,000—over $160k more than anticipated.
In its entirety, the collection featured four pieces from CBK’s own wardrobe—three Prada coats and a black Yohji Yamamoto dress—each gifted to Terenzio. Alongside the authentic pieces of fashion history, an additional 20 vintage offerings, identical to items worn by Bessette, were included in the sale.
This is far from the first time that public interest on the Kennedy family has led to some high-ticket price auction items. In 2024, Staud’s Sarah Staudinger purchased three pieces of CBK’s via Sotheby’s—a Prada coat, a vintage leopard-print coat, and a Yohji Yamamoto jacket—for a combined $177,600.
Several years prior, in 2017, Kim Kardashian shelled out $379,500 for a Cartier watch once owned by Jackie Kennedy. According to TMZ, the Skims founder submitted an anonymous bid for the timepiece, which dated back to February 23, 1963, as well as for a painting.
