Meet Suzanne, the new political power player in Washington. Suzanne is actually a jacket, but you may be familiar with her – half-popped collar, bright colour, inviting – because it’s US senator Elizabeth Warren’s go-to jacket for public appearances. Nina McLemore designed it, a woman who makes suits for “top-level female professionals”, among them politicians, including Hillary Clinton, another fan of McLemore’s designs. Clinton prefers the Retro, which is a little more staid but strikes the same note: TV-friendly, more atypically fashionable – ideal if you’re a powerful woman who wants to streamline her wardrobe à la Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerburg.

If we have learned one thing about how politics works in the past week, it is that we know almost nothing: predictions are meaningless, logic utterly skewed. Except for the clothes. The significance of clothes and hair in the great political bubble is no more prevalent than in US politics. With less than a month before the Democratic and Republican presidential conventions, the latest polls show Donald Trump and Clinton are neck and neck – two candidates who have been as defined by their looks as their policies.

Senator Elizabeth Warren in the Suzanne, in Washington, this month. Photograph: Nick Wass/AP

McLemore, who was an executive at Liz Claiborne for more than a decade, noticed a dearth in smart womenswear that “wasn’t focused on being sexually provocative”, ironic given the number of women in positions of power. So she started designing clothes, most ostensibly power suits, and now her brightly coloured jackets are regularly seen peeking over the top of a desk, TV screen or campaign shot.

Earlier this month, on the Today programme, the Daily Beast’s Tina Brown was pretty damning about Clinton’s “Sgt Pepper trouser suits”, suggesting she needed to update her “pantsuit” look in order to succeed. McLemore is on the fence: “Hillary dresses according to how she wants to be portrayed,” she says. “Does she succeed? To some extent, yes. There is criticism, but what you have to remember is that, because we live in a democracy, you want to relate to the majority, so she’s trying to dress according to that.”



Donald Trump en route to the Late Show With David Letterman. Photograph: Ray Tamarra/FilmMagic

That may be fine for getting women like her onside, but the real risk is that Clinton may fail to inspire the younger voter to vote (one of the many lessons we have recently learned). Young voters might prefer her to Trump, but they need to entertain her as an actual leader: “People want to feel comfortable with how she looks,” McLemore continues, “but also to relate to her ... to appeal to the younger voters, maybe that means dressing a little younger.” Any advice? “I think a white shirt is a good starting point.”

McLemore agrees with the notion that aesthetics play more of a role with women in politics. “If you’re a woman, the press and the people are fixated on your clothes, hair and makeup,” she says. “But with men, in the US certainly, all you do is wear a blue shirt, khakis and maybe cowboy boots.” Trump is a case in point: “He has one suit. It’s his uniform and it appeals to a certain type of voter. He must have a bespoke tailor and they just make him the same thing in different fabrics. Then it’s a white shirt and a red or blue tie. This means, physically, there isn’t much to comment on. Except his hair. I’m just always distracted by his hair.”

Jeremy Corbyn outside his home this week. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Which leads us to Jeremy Corbyn, a man who has been criticised for shunning the Westminster norm. According to McLemore: “On occasion, he looks a bit like a shopkeeper. But, like I said, this is a democracy and if he wants to appeal to the 51% – and assuming most people don’t live and work in the city – this works. He looks relatable.”

The main hurdle, she says, is phase two: “You can wear a suit and look the part and that will give you an advantage initially, but then you have to be able to live up to that.” However, she adds: “I think something that is key in politics or any position of power is having a sense of humour to deflate the pressure. It’s a sort of compromise.”

This is perhaps the danger of characters such as Trump and, until recently, Boris Johnson; the sway that comes with looking and performing like a buffoon. The suggestion, however, is not that Trump and co have got it right but, if McLemore is correct: “You’ll never succeed if you don’t compromise.”