A Style History of “Nerd Prom”: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Did you know that one of the most famous and widely circulated photos of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy was taken at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner? Back in 1999, months before their tragic deaths, JFK Jr. and CBK, as they’re known by the zillennials who consider them their style oracles, attended the yearly dinner. Carolyn wore a Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture frock from that very same year’s spring collection—its been endlessly mood-boarded and reshared as fashion inspiration. The dinner is not quite as much of a sartorial touchpoint as the Met Gala, which follows it by days, but it has, over the years, delivered its fair share of fashion catnip. As the fashion world anticipates the arrival of the first Monday in May, politicos in Washington, DC, are expecting Donald Trump and Melania to appear at the dinner for the first time since the former became president. This year’s Met Gala is being sponsored, in part, by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. We’re in for a tale of two …

