NEW YORK, US - DOES Hillary do botox? Did that yellow jacket with the black detail that she wore in South Carolina suit her?

Yes, with a woman in the running for the White House, the claws are out and looks and fashion are prime topics of conversation - not just for the usual observers of frocks and 'tox, but also for television presenters and erudite analysts.

A photo showing all the wrinkles on an exhausted Hillary Clinton, 60, and a video in which she loses her voice have been the subjects of long, studied commentaries in the media.

The unflattering images of the first woman with a serious shot at the White House were dissected with far more surgical coldness than is ever directed at Republican contender John McCain - 11 years Mrs Clinton's elder - or Mrs Clinton's rival for the Democratic nomination, Mr Barack Obama, a spring chicken at 46.

'The evaluation of appearance has always been traditionally different for female candidates,' said Ms Sarah Brewer, associate director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University.

'This is an election, maybe the first one since Kennedy-Nixon, where appearance really does matter,' said Mr Tom Kolovos, a Chicago-based style-and-image consultant.

But candidates have to tread carefully - and in the right shoes, suits and accessories - on the road to the White House.

'Here in the US, being chic is not as important as being appropriate. People want their president to look like the chief executive officer of a conservative company,' image consultant Sally Steward said.

That means 'navy blue suits, white shirts, red tie, not too flashy' for the men, and for women, 'feminine, business-like, not a lot of jewellery'. And no scarves.

'A scarf is too chic,' said Ms Steward.

Mr John Edwards, who withdrew from the race for the Democratic nomination on Wednesday, provoked an uproar with his US$400 (S$567) haircut - apparently not because of the cost but because of who did it.

'It was a scandal because the hairdresser was a Frenchman named Christophe,' said Columbia University journalism professor Jessica Siegel.

'French chic is not appreciated in the US,' she added.

Mr Edwards finished third - behind Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama - in all but one of the primaries held so far, and finally quit the race.

Presidential wannabes are advised to go simple, and American.

'You will never see them wearing cuff-links or pocket squares,' said Ms Steward.

The suits that Mrs Clinton favours come from the sewing machine not of a foreign designer but that of Nina McLemore, a designer with a boutique in Manhattan's upscale upper east side who designs clothing 'for smart, confident women on the go'.

Mrs Clinton also keeps jewellery tastefully toned-down and only wears the dreaded political fashion-error, the scarf, to protect her vocal cords.

Republican nomination hopeful Fred Thompson, who was an actor before he entered politics, was the object of great tittering and ridicule when he wore leather trousers to a fair in Iowa, the USA Today daily recalled.

Mr Thompson withdrew from the race earlier this month, proving in part that you have to dress the part to cut it on the catwalk to the White House. -- AFP