"Kennedy Girl" Dress and Cummerbund
Artifact IDMO 99.45a-b
Object Type
Dress
Date
1960
Medium
Cotton; felt; metal clasps
Dimensionslength: 40 in. waist: 24 in. shoulder: 14 1/2 in.
Physical Description"Kennedy Girl" campaign dress in red, white and blue hand sewn cotton. Dress has a yolk front and zippered back and A-line pleated skirt. Cummerbund in blue and white felt with back metal closures.
Historical NoteThe topic of John F. Kennedy's private relationships with women has been widely discussed and written about. One of the lesser-known aspects of Kennedy's political career was his recognition of the growing importance of women in American society. The examples of his formidable mother and sisters made him aware of possible roles for women in the political sphere. During Kennedy's campaigns, enthusiastic women supporters were commandeered to stuff envelopes, coordinate fundraising coffees and teas, organize rallies, and act as convention hostesses.
Although no women served in high-level positions in the Kennedy administration, an estimated two-thirds of the White House staff was female. They wrote letters for the president, coordinated media coverage, and some were recruited to help create new government agencies like the Peace Corps. President Kennedy would create the first (and to date, only) Presidential Commission on the Status of Women with Eleanor Roosevelt as commission chair, "to be sure that women are used as effectively as they can to provide a better life for our people." Many of the commission's major recommendations--guaranteed paid maternity leave, subsidized daycare--are yet to be realized.
One of the Kennedy campaign women was Jean Price Lewis, a divorced mother of two from Montgomery, Alabama attempting to carve out a career in a time when there were few options. After working in the office of then-Senator Kennedy for a summer, she was put in charge of logistics for key political events, including the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, where she wore this Kennedy Girl dress. After the presidential election, Lewis became a White House secretarial assistant.
In an interview for WBUR when she was 95, Lewis said of her work, "It was mundane in many ways. For example, eating your lunch out of a machine in the basement because you weren't allowed in the White House mess. But I thought it was always worth it."
Additional DetailsAlthough no women served in high-level positions in the Kennedy administration, an estimated two-thirds of the White House staff was female. They wrote letters for the president, coordinated media coverage, and some were recruited to help create new government agencies like the Peace Corps. President Kennedy would create the first (and to date, only) Presidential Commission on the Status of Women with Eleanor Roosevelt as commission chair, "to be sure that women are used as effectively as they can to provide a better life for our people." Many of the commission's major recommendations--guaranteed paid maternity leave, subsidized daycare--are yet to be realized.
One of the Kennedy campaign women was Jean Price Lewis, a divorced mother of two from Montgomery, Alabama attempting to carve out a career in a time when there were few options. After working in the office of then-Senator Kennedy for a summer, she was put in charge of logistics for key political events, including the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, where she wore this Kennedy Girl dress. After the presidential election, Lewis became a White House secretarial assistant.
In an interview for WBUR when she was 95, Lewis said of her work, "It was mundane in many ways. For example, eating your lunch out of a machine in the basement because you weren't allowed in the White House mess. But I thought it was always worth it."
Custodial History NoteItem was donated to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum by a private citizen who wore it in 1960.
Credit LineJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA; Gift of Jean Lewis
National Archives Catalog CollectionJohn F. Kennedy Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 1676934)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPolitical Memorabilia (National Archives Identifier 1677287)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedUse Restriction NoteReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.In Collection(s)
Not on view
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