With the recent premiere of Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, all eyes are on newcomer Paul Anthony Kelly—the actor tasked with portraying the debonair John F Kennedy Jr.—and, naturally, his style. Kelly’s taken a slight method-dressing approach to his many press commitments, dipping his toe into the JFK Jr. style playbook (but not exactly diving in head-first à la Timothée Chalamet cosplaying Bob Dylan). He’s donning ’90s nostalgia-laced staples like Wayfarers and slim leather belts. He’s flashing some all-American wares like red-white-and-blue striped ties and homegrown denim. And, perhaps most notably, he’s adopted an envy-inducing rotation of classic jackets.
Earlier this month, Kelly stepped out of 30 Rockefeller in a pair of bright blue, thigh-hugging jeans and a navy knit polo. He topped it with a chocolate-colored, single-breasted blazer cut from buttery-smooth grain leather. The entire look, according to his stylist Warren Alfie Baker, is courtesy of the Italian tailoring heavyweight, Brunello Cucinelli.
The ensemble is one that could’ve easily worked for either a first date, business negronis, or for a day of traveling. As for its ability to blend into a George pitch meeting, some might argue it’s missing JFK Jr.’s signature sprezzatura in the form of a backwards beret or hair-smooshing head wrap. (Granted, the actor doesn’t owe anyone an offscreen JFK Jr. impression.)
Later on, however, Kelly sported a piece of outerwear that felt swiped from the set of Love Story: a rugged leather jacket from Prada, dyed at the edges for a “vintage effect,” per the brand’s website. Collar flipped up, pointing to a head of casual curls, it brought to mind the weathered boxy leather jackets often donned by John-John and the effortless élan with which he wore them.
That same day, the actor was also photographed in a gray double-breasted suit by Paul Smith. And with it came another outstanding example of outerwear: a wool Brioni coat in a slightly cooler gray. (Cut at the GQ-approved below-the-knee length.) It captured the pre-millennium Ivy-grad vibe from a different angle—JFK Jr. is a Brown alum, after all.
Method dressing can so easily slip into parody. But Kelly’s outerwear rotation forges a middle path between homage and Halloween. Instead of cosplaying Camelot, he’s channeling its confidence, polish, and undone charm. If JFK Jr. mastered the art of looking born into it, Kelly seems intent on earning it, one very good jacket at a time.