If you’re cool, there are only two ways to properly wear an Eisenhower jacket, with a Mr. Robot patch or without. If your goal is to evoke Christian Slater’s character from the USA series Mr. Robot, you’ve gotta put the patch on it. You also have to get the jacket made by Universal.
Side note: On the off chance, you’ve landed on this blog looking for the Dickies Eisenhower jacket, don’t leave yet.
The Eisenhower jacket a popular style, evidence of the points made herein… AND, Dickies is a popular brand, but their’s is more of a mainstream, modern cut.
If you’re looking for something a little edgier, a little more iconic, like the one worn by Christian Slater in Mr. Robot, you have to consider the Universal version.
If you have no idea what Mr. Robot is, and have never heard of Universal, don’t worry. This blog will effortlessly glide you into the valley of the cool, exactly how you want to arrive like you didn’t even try.
Rest assured, if you’re just looking for an Eisenhower jacket that looks as good as it wears, you can’t go wrong with the Universal version.
What makes the Eisenhower cool is more than it’s hipster, throwback style, but the history that comes in tow.
It doesn’t take more than a high school education to guess the origin story of this jacket’s name. It’s a reference to Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States. He sat in the Oval Office from 1953 to 1961, but that was after he donned his famous jacket.
Eisenhower’s presidency didn’t make him as historically relevant as the time he spent as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (AKA: the good guys) from World War II.
To know the jacket, you have to know the man. It’s all part of being a well-informed hipster-fashionisto.
If nothing else, this blog will give you serious street-cred whenever someone compliments your jacket.
“Oh, this old thing? It’s an Eisenhower jacket. You know, named after the man…”
So, who was Eisenhower?
History remembers him simply as “Ike,” the nickname made popular during his run for the presidency. Originally from Texas, Ike graduated from West Point in 1915.
A year later he married his Valentine, Mamie Doud, and then joined the war effort. Prior to that, his life reads like a classic American tale of “local boy makes good,” raised in a good home with many siblings.
Ike served his country when duty called. He didn’t make it to Europe during the Great War. Instead, he commanded a tank training unit, stateside, building his resume.
When World War Two broke out, a promoted Ike led invasions in parts of northern Africa and the island of Sicily. Those successes were what started to earn him the right sort of attention.
He worked his way up the Army chain of command, serving as the governor of the American zone of occupied Germany after the war until 1945. He even served (of all crazy things) as president of Columbia University in New York City.
Then, in 1951, he ascended to the throne of NATO’s Supreme Commander role. It was in that role that he came up with the idea for Mr. Robot’s costume.
What is an Eisenhower jacket?
The jacket worn by Generals at the time was not as fitted as what the military leaders in Europe wore. Eisenhower saw his chance to make important fashion history.
At the time, they called the stoutly lapeled windbreaker worn by officers in the field a Parson’s field jacket. If you saw someone wearing one today you’d wonder who raided Grandpa’s closet? There was nothing remarkable about the Parson’s field jacket, a fact not overlooked by Eisenhower.
Despite every effort by the Army to upgrade the Parson’s jacket, it didn’t wear as fitted as he preferred. It didn’t look as sharp as the European leadership’s jackets. Standing next to them, he would look like a slob in the Parson’s version, captured on film for all time.
As such, Eisenhower requested a shorter, more fitted version of the Parson’s jacket, cropped only as long as his waist.
On the breast of his version, two flapped pockets made a great place to tuck pens or whatever one needed to stash. He, of course, stuffed nothing in those pockets. It would have stretched them out.
The sleeves of an Eisenhower jacket fit loosely to allow for layering if needed. The cuffs buttoned tightly at the wrists, as did the waist. It gave him a distinguished and considerably unique look.
Although Big Dwight wore the Eisenhower jacket first, he didn’t wear it last. The Army adopted the style for dress and parade wear in later years. Credit where credit is due, the name stuck until fans started calling it the Mr. Robot jacket.
What is a civilian-style Eisenhower jacket?
As is often the case with popular military fashion, civilian fashions march in step, but a few paces back. As such, Eisenhower’s jacket eventually made it into civilian wear, but it was not alone. Many fashions of war enjoy a place in civilian life.
For the record, I submit as evidence camouflage worn by hunters and everybody else.
Over time, those military fashions lose certain elements which stand out, like the lapels in Eisenhower’s original jacket. Most of today’s versions have removed the lapels along with the breast pockets.
Many of the brands we carry have a version of the Eisenhower jacket, Dickies and Carhartt to name a couple of the big companies. Their versions, however, look less like the one worn by Ike, and too far off the one from Mr. Robot.
For example, the Dickies Eisenhower jacket, a fine shell otherwise, is longer than the original.
Not the version made by Universal, though. It retains the exact length, and breast pockets but with a more modern cut. That’s the jacket you see Christian Slater wearing in Mr. Robot.
It features a blended shell, 65 percent polyester, and 35 percent cotton twill. If you enjoy wearing jeans, twill is the backbone of your basic denim textile.
This textile choice is a modern departure from Ike’s design, which was wool serge, an itchy choice by modern standards. His had a liner of course, but not the silky polyester lining of the Universal version.
Surely, were Ike alive today, Ike would have preferred the Universal version of his jacket, in drab olive of course.
Let me see this jacket.
For folks who prefer something even simpler than the one worn by Slater, Universal makes an Eisenhower jacket without breast pockets.
We carry it in navy and charcoal. Sorry, Ike, no drab olive there either.
If your goal is to emulate the fashion of Mr. Robot, this version is not so accurate. But, it does make a sharp jacket, one that Ike himself would have been proud to influence.
The key is in the cut. It’s such a simple jacket to wear.
I’d prefer one without breast pockets.
How do I wear an Eisenhower jacket?
Step one, buy the jacket, preferably from All Seasons Uniforms. You can find a vintage Eisenhower jacket, like at a consignment shop or on eBay, but it will likely be the wool serge version.
Don’t expect anyone to hug you in that hot mess. Not to mention, a vintage jacket won’t look like the one on Mr. Robot wears if that’s the look you’re going for, nor will it cost less than a brand new one from Universal.
Just saying…
Step two, wear it everywhere. Impress anyone who will listen how the Eisenhower jacket came into existence.
Kidding aside, the Eisenhower jacket makes a good shell for semi-formal occasions, where a dinner jacket would be too much. It also dresses up a t-shirt pretty well, creating a fitted look you can dress down by removing the jacket.
If you prefer or need a jacket that doesn’t restrict movement at the waist, this is the cut for you. Twist and bend to your heart’s content.
The Eisenhower always falls back into place when you return to center. This is part of the reason why the jacket became so popular amongst civilians. It’s an easy jacket to wear and it always sits well.
The world lost Ike in 1969 on March 28, to heart failure, but at least one aspect of his time lives on in Christian Slater’s onscreen character.
Dwight D. Eisenhower did many awesome things, but it through his jacket that people stay close to the man.
While it might sound at first like an undercut to his achievements, this cut has entered the realm of the fashion classics. For the foreseeable future, there will be someone rocking Ike’s jacket.
Thanks, Mr. Robot.
About the Author
Nick Warrick
Nick Warrick is the Sales Manager at All Seasons Uniforms. With over 15 years of experience in the work uniform business, he has worked with hundreds of clients across 20 different industries. Holding bachelor’s degrees in both Business Administration and Information Technology, Nick revamped the company’s online presence, offering its customers a new uniform shopping experience.