Even if you’re not a fashionista and think matching only applies to completing a puzzle, most of us realize that at some point how we present ourselves matters. We acknowledge, for example, that it’s inappropriate to wear a mini-skirt to a funeral or arrive clad in pajamas at a wedding.

As college students, often we can’t manage to do more in the fashion department than throw on a wrinkly hoodie and make a futile attempt at fixing our bed-head. Yet, we realize that the chances of getting a job are slim after showing up for an interview in cut-off shorts and a dirty tank top.

Your appearance may be a notch lower than the history of the Asian long-horned beetle on your “Things I Care About” list, but what we step into each day says something about who we are. Likewise, the way politicians portray themselves says something about who they are.

Politicians’ images shouldn’t matter. They shouldn’t, but they do.

One of the few facts I remember from high school American history was the impact that the first televised presidential debate had on the presidential election of 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

After spending two weeks prior to the debate in the hospital for a knee injury and refusing make-up to improve his color, Nixon looked sickly on camera. Kennedy, however, wore make-up and had a tan left over from campaigning in California. The audience noticed the difference. The radio audience thought Nixon had won, but the television viewers perceived Kennedy as the winner.

Today, politicians (and their families) know the importance of their images.

In preparation for the Democratic National Convention, crew members compared four different jacket colors in the stage light for Hillary Clinton.

Vanity Fair experts estimated that the outfit Cindy McCain wore (including jewelry) for the opening night of the Republican National Convention cost around $300 thousand.

Barack Obama sticks with what works: the power suit. In March, Paper magazine devoted an entire fashion spread to him, titled “Mr. President.”

You may say you only care about politicians’ ideologies and stances on the hot issues of today, but don’t be fooled into thinking you’re completely immune to their appearances. It’s natural to make assumptions based on appearance.

Don’t be deceived by images, but don’t pretend they don’t matter either.