ABSTRACT
The Marilyke look was a fixture in many US clothing stores during the mid-1950s. It enabled potential customers to select dresses worthy of bearing a tag proclaiming them fit for a Roman Catholic girl. Each tag, which cost retailers three cents "to cover the cost of shipping and mailing", was illustrated with a picture of the Virgin Mary, the trade name "Marilyke", and the motto, "Whatever our Blessed Mother approves". Also included were a list of specifications for Marilyke dresses, including: full coverage for the bodice, chest, shoulders, back, and arms; no cutouts lower than two inches below the neckline; no transparent or flesh-colored materials to give the impression of nudity. Kunkel founded an organization named the Party Crusaders of Mary Immaculate, and in 1953 began the Marilyke tagging system. By then, a factory in Bartelso was manufacturing Marilyke clothes as well. Other priests took up the Marilyke program, most notably the Rev. Charles Varga.
