£4.50 earrings from Truss versus £450 Prada shoes from Sunak: What does your clothes say about you?

As Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss compete to become the next Conservative leader, it's not just what they say that wins columns. Their sartorial statements speak for themselves, too.

Last week, stories about what the candidates wore pitted them against each other — with vastly different budgets. Truss' £4.50 earrings from Claire's Accessories contrasted with Sunak's big-budget style choices, including a £450 pair of Prada loafers and a £3,500 bespoke suit.

While politicians' clothes are always analyzed — think Theresa May's eccentric leopard-print kitten heels or Barack Obama's rolled-up sleeves — the debate over what Sunak and Truss wear comes with in backdrop of the cost of living crisis. It is focused on the price and status that these items are trying to signal. This begs the question: how do style status symbols work in 2022?

Even during a cost of living crisis, expensive fashion status symbols retain their power and remain popular with consumers. The fashion brands' financial results were released last week for the first half of 2022. Revenue rose 48% at Moncler, where a cropped puffer jacket with the bear logo on the sleeve costs £1,235. At conglomerate LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, second-quarter 2022 revenue rose 19%, with luxury bags credited. A classic Louis Vuitton Speedy with monogram costs £1,030. Meanwhile, Sunak's favorite,