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The Signature Look of Each Presidential Candidate

Clay Masters (Clinton, Cruz, Trump); John Pemble (Sanders); Alex Hanson (Kasich)
Hillary Clinton; Bernie Sanders; John Kasich; Ted Cruz; Donald Trump

While presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is asked about hair, clothes, and makeup more than her male counterparts, she isn't the only candidate spending time thinking about her appearance.

“Most people don’t realize quite how much goes into any politician or candidate's face or clothing,” says beauty consultant Rachel Weingarten

Weingarten regularly provides beauty consultations for politicians, and during this Talk of Iowa segment, Charity Nebbe talks with her about how each 2016 presidential candidate's "signature look" impacts the way they are viewed on the campaign trail.

Credit Gage Skidmore

HILLARY CLINTON: “She’s no longer the sidekick…”

“…or the ornamental wife-of, where you expect something like, ‘OK she will delight us - Jackie O did.’ I think she’s proven herself as far as being her own entity,” Weingarten says, explaining why Clinton hasn’t gotten as much criticism for what she wears, compared to past campaigns.

“She has a body of work and she has her own reputation. So we’re not just trying to figure out what’s behind that hairband and that button down shirt – we know some of what’s there.”

Credit Gage Skidmore

BERNIE SANDERS: “The brand - slightly disheveled, lumpy suit, middle seat on a plane in coach.”

“By him not allowing any brand consultant to make him over - that’s the strongest statement ever. ‘I am exactly what you see – there’s nothing hidden under this façade, there is no façade,’” Weingarten says.

“It looks like it’s not calculated, but keeping it this way, make no mistake about it, it’s as calculated as they come.”

DONALD TRUMP: “Initially, it was probably the comb over that grew and took over.”

“As someone who has worked in the beauty and consulting industry for so long, I cannot fathom why anybody would choose that look,” she says.

“I think it says more about the man, his intransigence in changing when everybody is looking and laughing. I would almost think he has, to himself, reinvented what they say about him. You know, ‘Oh ha-ha-ha they’re laughing… It’s because they want to be me.’”

TED CRUZ: “He’s traditional…”

“…but he’s also borrowed heavily from other generations. You can look at his hair and say it’s inspired by Ronald Reagan, you can even jump back a bit further and say it’s inspired by those known as 'the greatest generation,'” Weingarten says.

“I think he’s trying to present a certain image, so that when people say, ‘Well you’re so far in one direction,’ it’s more of, ‘No look at me, I represent values and those values that were in this country in the last mid-century.’”

Credit Michael Vadon

JOHN KASICH: “He kind of reminds me of Mr. Rogers.”

“He doesn’t set himself apart in any real way,” she says. “He hasn’t branded his look. I don’t see anything really particularly distinguished in the way he appears.”

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Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa