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Blog post by Salomée Levy
IKE is a popular campaign slogan used in Eisenhower’s campaign based on the nickname he used while serving in the military during World War II. The slogan “I like IKE” became popular through television ads. Disney Studios produced a catchy song for its ads, “You like Ike, I like Ike, everybody likes Ike for President. Bring out the banners, beat the drums, we’ll take Ike to Washington.” However, the slogan was not only shown on television, it was so versatile it appeared in fashion. This eye-catching red and white dress with the phrase “IKE” printed throughout served as more than just a fashion statement. Housed in Olin Library’s Rare and Manuscript Collection and carefully placed in the Susan H. Douglas Political Americana Collection, this dress designed by Jerry Gilden Spectator in 1956 delivers a strong message. The “IKE” dress goes beyond a traditional poster and uses fashion as a way to support Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1956 election. This red and white “IKE” dress stood as a symbol of people of color supporting Dwight D. Eisenhower, but concurrently displayed the continuous neglect towards the people of color that campaigned for and supported him. The red and white scoop neck dress appears to be made of cotton. With its knee length hemline, a red metallic belt, and bright red capital letters, the dress successfully captured peoples’ attention about Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidential campaign during the 1956 election.
However, the 1956 Jerry Gilden Spectator’s red and white IKE dress is not as “revolutionary” as it appears, this dress was not the only form of political clothing in Eisenhower’s campaign, and the 1956 election was not the first time clothing was designed as a political statement. Although the red and white dress remains significant to American history, there were a range of IKE campaign attire shown in LIFE Magazine. During the 1952 election, the dress by an unknown designer, photographed by Nina Leen has off the shoulder sleeves, white cursive font stating “I Like Ike”, the White House, and an image of a donkey, symbolic of the democratic party and an elephant for the republican party boxing each other. This dress was in the media during the 1952 election as it was a catchy campaign slogan shown on the dress, and remains a prominent image today. While Senator Robert Taft challenged Eisenhower for the Republican nomination, Taft attempted to similarly use political fashion using his slogan, “Daft about Taft” in white cursive font on a black dress. While the only identified garment from Taft’s campaign was the black off the shoulder dress, Eisenhower had various garments such as gloves, sunglasses, and blouses with “IKE” or “I Like IKE”. The known IKE red and white dress was not the only garment in Eisenhower’s 1956 election, and it overshadowed other forms of garments that could be worn for daily use to support the candidate during both the 1952 and 1956 presidential election. The unknown designer may have been the designer who brought the idea of adding campaign slogans on fashion. In addition, there is a blue version of the red and white IKE dress designed by Jerry Gilden Spectator as well that is on display at the Tennessee State Museum today. The blue dress uses the same font as the red IKE letters on the white dress; it appears longer with a smaller scoop neck and the blue color may just have been added to match with the IKE pins that came in the red and blue, blue, or just red designs.
Dwight D. Eisenhower mobilized several white women to wear the campaign slogans. Latina women also wore the red and white IKE dress and mobilized the Latino community to support Eisenhower. Correlatively, Eisenhower also gained 36% of the Black vote over his promise for equal rights. Although Eisenhower appointed more women to administrative positions than any other president, the majority of the women were white, there were no Latinas appointed even though they mobilized the Latino vote using the slogan “Me Gusta Ike” and “Yo Quiero Ike” with the promise of justice and opportunity. Although noise was made, Eisenhower in his eight years of office did not make a statement against school segregation, saw no need for antilynching legislation, and only had a 45 minute conversation with activists of color.. After toiling to support Einshower’s campaign, where was the legislation that promised “justice”? Where was the legislation that protected people of color?
While “IKE” on various garments had a significant impact in getting Eisenhower elected in both 1952 and 1956, it is important to recognize the women of color who wore the IKE dress and fought for his election victory but did not receive the same attention on the rights they were fighting for. Even though Eisenhower was a better candidate than his opponent Taft as he supported tradition while also valuing justice, a better economy, and opportunity, the IKE dress serves as a reminder that these promises would only be delivered to the white people, and Latinas who worked endlessly to have their voices heard. People of color were just used as a token and mobilizer to help Eisenhower win a razor thin margin election.
Author’s Bio: Salomée Levy is a current junior studying at Cornell spending a semester at the University of Oxford. She is majoring in Industrial and Labor Relations and contributes to the Dining Section of Cornell Daily Sun. Salomée’s work has been featured on Business Insider, TeenVogue, MetroUK, and TheLily Washington Post.