In the 1990s, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy could have worn anything. She worked in fashion, she was photographed every time she stepped out of her Tribeca apartment, and every luxury house in the world would have been happy to dress her. Yet one of the accessories she is most remembered for did not come from a designer boutique. It came from a pharmacy in Greenwich Village, and you can still buy it there today.
A pharmacy older than the Civil War
C.O. Bigelow opened in 1838, when Dr. Galen Hunter founded The Village Apothecary Shop in Greenwich Village. Today it stands at 414 Sixth Avenue and is known as the oldest surviving apothecary pharmacy in the United States. For decades, it has been a quiet favorite of New Yorkers in the know, who come for its old-fashioned shelves of creams, brushes and hair accessories as much as for the prescriptions.
The headband in the famous photo
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was one of those regulars. According to a Bigelow representative, she was “a frequent shopper” at the store, and the tortoise-shell headband she wore with her sleek blonde hair came from the pharmacy’s own in-house line, as the store explains on its own blog. The style comes in two widths: a thick, classic version, the one seen in her most famous photograph, and a thinner one.
The price is part of the appeal. Where a designer headband can easily cost several hundred dollars, Bigelow’s version sells for well under $50. It is exactly the kind of choice that defined her style: simple, precise and never trying too hard.
JOHN F KENNEDY JNR WITH WIFE CAROLYN BESSETTE
JOHN F KENNEDY JNR AND WIFE CAROLYN BESSETTE ENJOY A BREAK AT MARTHAS VINYARD, AMERICA, 1997.
Why everyone wants it again
The headband never really disappeared, but 2026 has turned it into a bestseller again. After FX’s series Love Story, created by Ryan Murphy and centered on her romance with John F. Kennedy Jr., fans started showing up at the store asking for it by name. Demand was so high that one shipment reportedly sold out within five hours, and staff now simply call it the “CBK” headband.
It is the same phenomenon that keeps certain pieces alive for decades: once an icon adopts them, they stop being trends and become references. Princess Diana did it with the Tod’s bag that was eventually named after her, and Audrey Hepburn with ballet flats that are still made today.
How to wear it like Carolyn
- Keep the hair sleek. She wore it with straight, pushed-back hair, never with volume at the crown.
- Go for real tortoise shades. Warm brown and amber look softer than black against the face.
- Pair it with minimal clothes. A black turtleneck, a white shirt or a camel coat, nothing more.
- Skip the other accessories. Small earrings at most. The headband is the statement.
- Choose your width. The thick version is the most recognizable; the thinner one is easier to wear every day.
The bottom line
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s style still feels modern because it was built on a few perfect basics rather than on logos. Her headband is the best proof: no Chanel, no Prada, just a tortoise-shell band from a 188-year-old pharmacy on Sixth Avenue. Nearly thirty years later, New Yorkers are lining up for it again.
