I had something to admit: I was wrong. I wrote a blog post on my now defunct 90s blog (#toomanyhobbiestoolittletime) wherein I claimed that Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (CBK) wore a Patagonia chore coat while boating with John F. Kennedy Jr. and his family. And friends, I was wrong. How did I find out I was wrong? Well, a popular CBK social media account reposted my content about a year ago (without citing me) and some really interesting things were pointed out about said sailing coat. It was not a barn coat, I was wrong.
As my penance, I come before you today to correct this inaccuracy! (If you can’t tell, this is “comedy.”)
Here’s some of the comments from said post pointing out that CBK was, in fact, not wearing a barn coat, but may have been wearing a Brown’s beach jacket. The key differences are the cut and type of fabric. Barn coats are primarily made of twill fabric canvas fabric whereas the Brown’s beach jacket is made of boiled wool.
A very brief history of the Brown’s beach jacket
What is a Brown’s beach jacket? Well, it’s not a chore coat, now I know that! According to this article from Bidstitch, the jacket dates back to 1898 and was originally created by William W. Brown, hence the name. The jacket was made of 70% recycled wool and 30% cotton. The fabric featured a knit exterior and fleece interior, perfect for the frigid and damn climate. The style was favored by fishermen, loggers, and hunters.
The jacket pre-dated the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote that Carolyn carried by about 50 years, but they were of the same outdoorsy New England genre. I’d like to think she may have known the history of both and paired them together intentionally.
I wish I could point readers to a jacket that’s similar enough to the original Brown’s beach jacket, but truth be told, there’s not much that’s reliably similar on the market. There are vintage Brown’s beach jackets that can be found on Grailed or eBay, and it’ll set you back anywhere between $300 and $1000.
