Strollerderby

$150,000 Spent on Sarah Palin's Clothing

Posted by SunnyChanel

As a mother of five, you need to dress in practical, comfortable and spit-up friendly (read=disposible) clothing, especially with a drooling infant resting on your shoulder. But if a mother of five just happens to be running for Vice President, well all bets are off. Reported today on Politico, it was discovered that the Republican party bought Sarah Palin $150,000 worth of clothing and makeup for her and her family during the campaign. Yeah, what Joe-six-packer or Hockey Mom do you know that spends even 1% of that on their own yearly wardrobes? Yeah, not many. Huffington Post pointed out that “Palin received more valuable clothes in one month than the average American household spends on clothes in 80 years.”

A recent shopping spree saw clothes horse/huntress/mother of five/Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin spending pert near $50,000 at Saks Fifth Avenue, $75,000 on one visit to Needless Neiman Marcus and $5,000 at some high end men’s boutique.

Shortly before the story broke the McCain headquarters stated: "With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," said spokesperson Tracey Schmitt. "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."

A democratic stratergist Tom Mazzle said “It shows that Palin ain't like the rest of us," and that the topic “…can help deflate her cultural populism with the Republican base. The Plumber's wife doesn't go to Neiman's or Saks."

What do you think? Is $150,000 too much? Or appropriate for the electorial journey?

Also check out Morning News: Pregnant With Palin
and The Obamas Wear Cheap Clothes


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Comments

 

MomofBeans said:

While I understand the need for her to have nice clothes while campaigning, spending that much on clothes for one season kind of grosses me out.  Of course, if someone gave me that much money and demanded that I use it on clothes, I would shop my little ass off (Hermes anyone?) :-)  

October 22, 2008 7:08 AM
 

maeby said:

Dumb. I think i saw that outfit at Dillards.

Does anyone know how much Michelle Obama spends on clothes for the campaign? I know shes not running, but Cindy isn't either and spends more than all of them on clothes.

October 22, 2008 8:04 AM
 

Shannon LC Cate said:

I don't think it's fair to worry too much about this.  Besides, it could backfire.  Who knows how much Obama's suits and Michelle Obama's obviously expensive dresses cost.  It's all a lot of money.  I agree that you could get some nice clothes somewhere other than Saks and Neiman's, but it's not hard for me to imagine 150K on even a DIllard's wardrobe if it's for 6 months and up to seven people (her family campaign with her).  Plus makeup?  I doubt she does her own, especially for t.v. spots, so that could certainly get pricey.

Still with that much money you'd think they could do better than beige for her big coming out speech.

October 22, 2008 8:17 AM
 

paanta said:

$150K is the MINIMUM I would consider spending on clothes when trying to deflect tough questions about the future of our country with nothing more than a wink and a 'you betcha!'

Of course, they could have put _some_ of that money towards getting her some public speaking lessons or a subscription to the Times...

October 22, 2008 9:35 AM
 

Brett Singer said:

I don't think I've spent that much on clothing in my entire life.

October 22, 2008 11:09 AM
 

Knitty said:

$150K on clothes, and she usually looks like she's on her way to a Star Trek convention.

October 22, 2008 12:52 PM
 

Me said:

Find something better to talk about and/or find out how much the Dems spend on their wardrobe.  

October 22, 2008 2:09 PM
 

Sarah said:

Obama is well-known for wearing cheap clothes on the campaign trail.  McCain hired a makeup artist for $5,500 (I'm too lazy to look for a link, but I'm sure the story is archived on Huffington Post).  The only reason it's a big deal is that the Republicans threw a fit about John Edwards' $400 haircuts. I'm sure the Obama campaign would much rather talk about the economy and the Colin Powell endorsement, though.

October 22, 2008 2:48 PM
 

Treespeed said:

I'm sure Palin would rather talk about her $150K wardrobe than the fact that she has basically said that the country's urbanites are fake Americans. This probably comes as a surprise to the soldiers from places like Los Angeles, Seattle, etc.

October 22, 2008 3:27 PM
 

Laura said:

Appearances matter, like it or not, and as much as we might criticize. Yes, I can think of MUCH better ways that I would use $150K (student loan payments! house down payment! kids' college!), but it's not her money. I wouldn't complain if I were forced to spend that much money on clothes! This is a non-issue.

And how do we know that Obama wears cheap clothes? I'm guessing that most candidates spend ridiculous amounts on clothes. It's all part of the political game.

October 22, 2008 4:00 PM
 

Laura said:

Oh, gosh, I spoke (posted!) too quickly. $150K is A LOT of money. What she should've done is demanded that the GOP give a matching donation to a charity. Or spent half, given half. Perhaps to a crisis pregnancy center? That would be rich! (I'm not as hard-core as she on abortion, but giving to Planned Parenthood would go against her principles, which I can respect.)

October 22, 2008 5:01 PM
 

jeri said:

to be fair why don't you guys try to dug up how much the obama's had spent on clothing. just to compare and contrast so that people won't think that you all are also in obama's tank.

October 22, 2008 10:13 PM
 

Brooks said:

Michelle Obama spends very little on clothing, at least according to this article...

killfile.newsvine.com/.../1830032-michelle-obamas-outfit-148-dollars-cindy-mccains-300000-dollars-whos-the-real-elitist

October 23, 2008 10:03 PM
 

Maureen said:

I think it's crazy... but maybe because I'm not in that world that has ever shopped at Neiman Marcus or Saks.  However, I wouldn't be so disturbed if she had purchased items that were made by Americans living in the small towns she is so fond of.

If I read that Obama spent some of my donation money on

extravagant clothing, I think I might be a little pissed.

October 24, 2008 12:40 AM
 

Keri (Auburn Gal Always) said:

She is in a situation where she can not have her suits laundered or cleaned - an hour here for a speech, 2 hours here for an interview, etc., etc.  The logistics of her travel schedule require her to have more clothing and APPROPRIATE clothing for the campaign.  I am certain that if she repeated her suits more often, she'd be criticized for that.  

Crap, if she wore suits made out of recycled vegan fibers that completely disintegrated after wearing, leaving no environmental impact, made by a group that funded preservation of polar bear habitats and preservation of the rare pitcher plant's delicate ecosystem - we'd find a reason/excuse to criticize her for that too.

The lady can't win.  It's a fact of life for women in America.  Be strong and you're a b!+ch.  Be soft-spoken, and you're weak.  Be somewhere in between, and you're a mommy blogger.

October 28, 2008 12:45 AM

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