WHEN Sarah Palin heard she had been chosen by John McCain as the Republican presidential running mate, her first words may well have been: "But I don't have a thing to wear."
Newly-released accounts show the Republicans splashed out $150,000 (£92,000) on clothes and accessories for the vice-preside
ntial candidate in the weeks after her nomination.
Within days of her being chosen at the party's convention early last month, officials had spent $75,062.53 on the feisty Alaskan governor to kit her out at Neiman Marcus, the top store in Minneapolis where the gathering was being held.
As the world wowed to her signature red and black dress-suits and rimless glasses, the party continued to splash the cash: $9,447.71 at Macy's in Minneapolis, followed by
$49,425.74 at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, with a more modest $5,102.71 down the road at Bloomingdales. The spending, covering the month of September, is thought to be the most lavish for any candidate in history, putting into perspective the $400 haircut for the Democrat primary candidate John Edwards that became an issue last year.
The other runners appear to have been more frugal: the presidential candidates, Mr McCain and Barack Obama, have reportedly been given small clothing allowances from their parties, while Joe Biden, Mr Obama's running mate, has had no help at all – a point likely to surprise few fashion commentators.
The stores themselves would give no details of what had been bought for, or by, Mrs Palin. Saks told The Scotsman: "We're going to decline (to say]. Unfortunately, this is a pass."
A glance at the Saks catalogue only adds to the puzzle. While you can lose your wallet buying upmarket Saks evening wear, the red dress-suits made famous by Mrs Palin start at $445 for a simple Diane von Furstenberg number, with even a top-line Piazza Sempione woollen two-button version costing $1,040.
It is possible, however, that she bought several of the same item, a necessity for travel and multiple campaign appearances.
To complement the clothing, the Republicans paid a further $4,700 for hair and make-up, with another $5,000 for men's and babywear, presumably to clothe her husband, Todd, and baby, Trig.
"I wonder how Joe the Plumber feels about his donation going to Sarah the Shopper," one Democrat told the New York Daily News.
Mr McCain's campaign said Mrs Palin's clothing would later be given to charity. "With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," a spokeswoman said.
One item for which Mrs Palin did not apparently charge the party was her spectacles. The Jazuo Kawasaki lightweight titanium, rectangular glasses cost up to $700, but Mrs Palin bought her pair last December.
John Davidson, fashion writer for The Scotsman, is not impressed. He said: "I think the Republicans need to spend a lot more on Sarah Palin. She looks old-fashioned and dowdy, as if she shops in a thrift store.
"I think one of the reasons why she is so easily pilloried is she looks like she is wearing clothes discarded by businesswomen in a previous era. For a woman who does look the part, she need look no further than Michelle Obama, who is a professional woman in her own right and wears good clothes without being ostentatious or flashy."
The full article contains 594 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
