The way U.S. presidential candidates and presidents dress may not be decisive in determining who wins. But perhaps it’s not inconsequential either. Maybe it shapes public opinion in a subtle way. KNPR's State of Nevada talked with Deirdre Clemente, who teaches history at UNLV, about what a candidate's or a president's clothing says about him or her. Her area is 20th Century American culture with a focus on fashion and clothing. She is also the author of "Dress Casual: How College Students Redefined American Style."

Dressing for success apparently has taken on a whole new meaning for politicians. History Professor Deirdre Clemente of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, says rather than adopting the formal dress of the past, presidents are trying to appear as regular guys to make the connection with voters.

For more than a century, Levi’s 501s, the original blue jeans that launched the company in 1890, have only been made in one kind of denim—thick-woven “shrink-to-fit” cotton, dyed an indigo that fades and softens the fabric with each wash.

Fashion week is on in New York and the Burkini ban is off in one French town - with more likely to follow. A high court found no proof that the full-cover swimsuit favored by some Muslim women does not pose a security threat. Today, the long history of women's bodies - and fashion - as political battleground.

It’s been a tough summer for many Muslim women in France who want to go to the beach. Even though France’s highest court ruled that beaches couldn’t ban women from wearing burkinis—the full-body swimsuits designed to adhere to some Muslim standards for covering the body—some local authorities have said they will continue to fine women who wear these suits instead of the smaller one-pieces or bikinis common on European and U.S. beaches. (Read “Muslim Athletic Wear Covers Skin Without Cramping Style.”)

The policeman in the photo is nattily attired and appears to have a slight smirk as he writes out a ticket for the woman standing before him awkwardly in her offending swimwear; perhaps he enjoys making her feel uncomfortable.

Deirdre Clemente has spent much of her academic career studying 20th century American culture, particularly fashion and clothing and how, and why, people dress as they do.

For most of her life, Deirdre Clemente has been an East Coast girl.