On a recent trip to Washington, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley voiced frustration about how much attention the media, and even constituents, paid to her looks. "The thing that surprises me is how much people won't let you forget what you look like," Haley said to an audience at the American Enterprise Institute, telling stories about how her shoe selection and her choice to not wear earrings (she's allergic to metal) have become topics of discussion in the state.

But that didn't stop the Republican governor from appearing in the May issue of Vogue, arguably the world's most important fashion magazine. Posing for photographer Norman Jean Roy, in one photo Haley looks glamorous surrounded by staffers.

In the other, she is standing on a dock, in white skinny pants and a belted striped top. The profile doesn't break much new ground on the governor, but it does do a good job of describing what she's wearing (black-and-white ruffled jacket, black pencil skirt, and platform stilettos), where she gets her clothes (her mother's clothing store) and notes that she looks much younger in person than her 38 years.