Blog post by Serena Wang ’25

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Upon first glance, the outfit in Figures 1 and 2 may seem insignificant, like any other 1950s shirtwaist dress and parasol. However, there is one significant difference from other dresses of this period: the word “IKE” is emblazoned in bright red all over the fabrics. One can’t help but wonder why: is the design merely cheesy, with its repetition and varying placement of the word “IKE”? Or do these recurring three letters serve to draw attention to broader cultural, political, and historical shifts?

This shirtwaist dress and parasol is part of the Susan H. Douglas Political Americana collection in Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections (#127214). Thousands of “Ike Girls” would don identical Ike dresses during President Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower’s 1956 presidential reelection campaign [7]. Silk screen printing, a technique where a woven mesh is used to create a stencil to transfer ink onto a fabric in pattern, was used to print the bold, red letters onto white dresses and parasols. The high color and value contrast between the red letters and white fabric made the message clear: these women were in resounding support of President Eisenhower.

In keeping with the popular “New Look” style that Christian Dior pioneered after WWII, the Ike dress features a cinched waist and full skirt [5]. The Ike dresses and parasols were made from cotton, which is lightweight and breathable, and therefore a common fabric used for day dresses and house dresses. The functionality of cotton allowed women to remain fashionable and comfortable while distributing buttons and leaflets, participating in bandwagon parades, and engaging in other outdoor campaigning activities to support President Eisenhower’s reelection [7]. The parasol was also an essential accessory in the 1950s, which further emphasizes the campaigner’s sense of style. The visual appeal of the Ike Girls struck a chord with the general public and most definitely helped promote their message to vote for Eisenhower.

But why exactly were so many women in support of Eisenhower, including those enthusiastically campaigning in Ike dresses for the 34th president? First, women preferred his candidacy over the two Democratic nominees in 1952 and 1956 because Ike stressed the issues that were important to them at the time, including education, inflation, and ending the war in Korea [1]. Second, writer Walter Davenport, who interviewed women of various political stripes before the 1956 presidential election, gathered from these conversations that women had a particular fondness for ticket splitting; in other words, women of that era enjoyed talking things over and could leap party lines [1]. These factors enabled Eisenhower to make political strides with independent voters and some solidly Democratic voters. More importantly, Ike’s campaign recognized the growing role of women involved in state, local, and national affairs, especially after the recent adoption of women’s suffrage, and made extensive use of female campaign workers [1, 2, 9]. Thus, the Ike dress and parasol in Figures 1 and 2 materialize these politically and civically engaged women and demonstrate the power and influence of the women’s vote.

Both the landslide victories of 1952 and 1956 showcased the impact and importance of the women’s vote [3]. In the 1952 presidential election, there was an unprecedented turnout, with almost 17.6 million women voting for Eisenhower out of the nearly 34 million votes cast in his favor [7]. That made his voting coalition more than half female. Figure 3 shows a photo of Ike surrounded by a sea of female supporters with large buttons displaying catchy slogans such as “The tide’s with Ike” and “We like Ike” at the 1952 Republican National Convention.

In keeping with his campaign promise and in response to the overwhelming support he had received from women, Ike nominated more women to fill administration positions than any of his predecessors [7]. Out of the 42 women in high-level positions, Oveta Culp Hobby and Clare Boothe Luce were two such figures. The former was the first Secretary of the newly created Health, Education, and Welfare Agency (HEW) and second female cabinet member, while the latter was the US Ambassador to Italy and first woman to be assigned to a major ambassadorial position abroad.

Stereotypical of 1950s America, one might assume that the archival dress and parasol from the Political Americana collection was almost exclusively owned by a white, suburban housewife whose image frequented women’s magazines, movies, and on television [9]. However, Eisenhower’s support was not just limited to white, middle and upper class women; he also mobilized women of color, and had greater support among women of varying socioeconomic statuses [7]. Figure 4 shows young Hispanic or Latina campaign workers dressed in the same red and white Ike dress. In Figure 5, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower is shown greeting officers of the National Council of Negro Women in 1953.

In addition, the significance of the Ike dress must be viewed within the context of broader cultural, political, and historical shifts. Eisenhower was president during a crucial moment in American history—a tumultuous time when the American people were deciding whether to uphold white supremacist pillars of the past or make way for more progressive, bold action that sought to advance the civil rights and dignity of people of color. A vote for Ike meant a vote for the desegregation of public schools; the president ordered the 101 Airborne soldiers to escort nine African American students into an Arkansas high school during the wake of the Little Rock Crisis [4, 8]. President Eisenhower also met with civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. and A. Philip Randolph (Figure 6).

Despite conservative backlash, a vote for Ike also meant preserving Social Security, labor laws, and unions, while advocating for economic growth [8]. These ladies that donned the Ike dress represented such ideals. And while there were countless grievances and injustices unaddressed during the 1950s, Ike Girls played their role in the integrationist movement. The modest hemline of the Ike dress, reaching below the knee, conforms to societal expectations of feminine dress. Such conformity in length, yet boldness in text, perhaps reflects the steady process of radicalization these women chose to take [6].

For all these reasons, the Ike dress and parasol are transformed into much more than just cloth; they are symbolic of the women’s vote and an embracing of a more inclusive future.

 

Serena Wang ’25 is a Cornell University College of Human Ecology student from Northern Virginia. She is majoring in Policy Analysis and Management, with minors in Fashion Studies and Law & Society.

 

References

[1] Davenport, Walter. “Where Men Go Wrong About Women Voters.” History Matters | The U.S. Survey Course on the Web, George Mason University, 14 Sept. 1956, http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6563/.

[2] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “United States Presidential Election of 1952.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 Oct. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1952.

[3] Pach, Chester J. “Dwight D. Eisenhower: Campaigns and Elections.” Miller Center, University of Virginia, 16 June 2020, https://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower/campaigns-and-elections.

[4] Pipes, Kasey S. “Eisenhower Was Key Desegregation Figure.” Politico, Politico, 18 Sept. 2007, https://www.politico.com/story/2007/09/eisenhower-was-key-desegregation-figure-005885.

[5] Reddy, Karina. “1950-1959.” Fashion History Timeline, The Fashion Institute of Technology, 2 June 2019, https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1950-1959/.

[6] Stefani, Anne. “White Women and the Fight for Equality in the Southern United States (1920-1964).” Amnis, OpenEdition Journals, 1 Sept. 2008, https://doi.org/10.4000/amnis.646.

[7] US National Archives. “Women Unite For Ike!” Google Arts & Culture, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/women-unite-for-ike-u-s-national-archives/fgIyMpribfV4KQ?hl=en.

[8] Williamson, Kevin D. “Why Like Ike.” I Like Ike, National Review, 2 Sept. 2013, https://www.nationalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/20130902-3.pdf.

[9] “Women in the 1950s.” Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, & Boyhood Home, National Archives, https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/women-1950s.