hey, c'mon! that photo is totally from when she was, like, commissar of the breakaway republic of Wasilla!

she ain't lookin' so bad here: http://gov.state.ak.us/large_photo.php?id=96

This is getting out of hand. As an Obama supporter, I am loathe to defend Palin in any way, but frankly the issue about clothing is frivolous. Sure, the fact that she buys from fancy-schmancy shops where her own "Jane six-packs" can't afford to shop is hypocritical. But lets face it, a politician participating in a nation-level campaign has to dress the part, man or woman. And frankly, male candidates have it easier with the suit and tie combo than the "costume changes" necessary for a woman maintaining a 24/7 schedule of campaign events (if not press conferences and interviews). We do not lack in attacks against Palin, genuine deficiencies in her preparation and policies, so why waste time on something so trivial?

This whole sarah palin thing is ridiculous! Keeping positive thoughts that we will be calling Senator Obama President Obama. He is our only hope!

"I'm a slave now, for all my fine clothes."

Eliza Doolittle -- Pygmalion

It's "Neiman's" (as in Neiman Marcus). Need an editor?

Really, this is a story? Complete with a "VIEW THE GALLERY BELOW!" in caps and italics? I haven't used the Baily Beast for long, but I expected better.

She and her advisors are breaking the law. The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Law. Also known as McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act.

Palin's campaign trail speeches have her wrapping herself (and McCain) in the the flag metaphorically, but to see it happen literally is hilarious!

@gjactg37: It really wouldn't be worth a second mention if she had paid for her clothes herself. The news is not that she spent that amount but who paid for it!

Governer Palin and the RNC could have chosen to shop at Payless, Macy's and Target for a campaign wardrobe, but they didn't. They chose the low road to high style, which is just another of the indicators of the lack of integrity demonstrated by the candidate and the campaign.
The real question to be pondered is, "Who would have noticed or cared if the clothing the VP nominee wore to a rally wasn't really expensive?" Probably no one of consequence, but that choice would have supported the persona Governer Palin is trying to portray.
Why do Americans accept hypocritical behavior in our policiticions, whether it be John Edwards and his $400.00 haircuts which look like they could have been done for $15.00 by any barber, or overdressed Governers who claim to be just an ordinary Jane?

This is not trivial. First, it is illegal to use campaign funds for personal expenditures. A $400 haircut killed John Edwards' campaign. More importantly, this speaks volumes about her supposedly being an Average American Mom. If the clothing had come from Target, JC Penney, Sears and/or Macy's (and the total spent had been considerably less than six figures) very few people would have anything to comment on. How many middle income Americans can afford to shop at Neimans and Saks?

Clearly an attempt to acheive a status or appeal that she does not have the means of posessing on her own...And the absurdity of donating the clothing to charity after the "pageant"...I mean election.."My friends" she is the charity!

interesting...

boy oh boy oh boy..did the McCain people miss the mark!! lucky us!

first off, she's got a homey quality, and adorable kids, she's gorgeous and she's a natural in that she glows when she's talking. instead of taking her real qualities and running with them, they tried to bimbo-ize her. and they succeeded.

I've been absolutely astonished at how the McCain people have lowballed her with (as it turns out is) all this expensive designer crap. she looks like a hooker who specializes in guys who want to screw a female executive; fitted tops with very short skirts, high patent heels, knee high boots, long hair, lots of makeup, everything emphasizing her figure, her looks but not one press conference or appearance on a Sunday talk show to demonstrate the "substance" behind the glamor.

Red patent spike heels for a presidential candidate?? It didn't have to be this way. If she possessed even one iota of sense OR dignity OR leadership, she would have told them she could dress herself, thank you very much.

this is assuming she didn't dress herself. what if she did? Jesus H!

The markets are in turmoil, the planet is suffering from global warming, and you are discussing Palin's wardrobe? Spare me.

After reading yesterday's "cheat sheet" I'm now worried about Sarah Palin's return as a presidential candidate in the next elections. Four years is around the corner and I don't think we've seen the last of her.

It's amusing to look at something trivial like clothing and see that even here Palin is way off the mark. But she's not amiss in her "before" or "after" style. The only problem about the clothes is that she charged them to the election committee.

And I do agree with the editor at Glamour magazine who says that Palin could have pulled her campaign wardrobe together for less. A good stylist could have seen to that. Even at Neiman's the "makeover" could have been budgeted better.

She didn't look so bad in the "before" pictures. So many American moms look just like this: the big shirts, roomy smocks for a run to the supermarket, polar fleece 24/7 in Alaska and other cold climates etc...

This is what most women in the US look like. Why is it expected that a VP candidatelook much, much better, slicker, more pulled together than the people she is hoping to represent?

I am an Obama supporter through and through, but I must say, how can anyone expect to parade themselves around in polar fleece and hoodies on an international stage? Can you imagine the backlash if she had? If the republicans chose to spend their dollars on balloon drops, confetti or image consultants and wardrobe, it's their perogative. It's your perogative whether you want to donate to it.

She says that she is very frugal. She can afford to be frugal with her own money. However, she isn't frugal with her state's money. She loves to spend the state's money for trips with her family. That alone I would impeach her. Its not buying the expensive cloths that makes one wonder. It's her saying she comes from a small town, WalMart kind of a woman.

Palin & her husband reported $250,000 in income last year so she could afford to pay for her own wardrobe. Her Neimans outfits do not compensate for her "beehive" 50s hairdos which are as antiquated as her creationist beliefs. More objectionable are the unclean looking stringy bangs flopping about and the fake winks. But most objectionable is what is underneath that hair on the inside---her beliefs and understanding of the real world she proposes to govern (pity the Senate).

The issue isn't where she got the clothes but that she was willing to let contributors pay for them. She should have paid for them herself if she is truly the champion of hockey Moms & a Maverick fighting abuses of power in American politics. The only serious fighting she is spearheading is racial & vicious in nature including labeling Obama a terrorist.

It's worrisome that with all the problems exposed about Sarah Palin's conduct & character, somehow her appearance & ability to "energize the base" (cheerleader personality) are constantly touted as major qualifications for high office----as if it it makes any behavior acceptable or less serious if one has designer clothing and looks "hot".This is not a good message for young girls. I have a Grand-daughter & hate that the our political process could be reduced to this. Abigail Adams would be shocked.

There is cumulative damaging evidence about Palin's conduct, i.e., officially abusing her power to achieve personal ends (family feud revenge---how white trash), banning books and trying to fire librarians who disagree (Darwin has probably been extirpated from Alaskan science classes), her questionable expense reporting, her refutation of global warming, her abortion position, her machinations re the famous bridge, etc.

It adds up to a person who has questionable ethics in addition to an absolutely unacceptable intellectual understanding of the real world.

What is surfacing seems to be that almost everything about her is fake. Someone on CNN mentioned vulgarizing the office of Vice President. It seems that the only positive qualities about her that are repeated ad infinitum are regarding her personality & appearance. Well, then we could as easily have Brittany Spears or Paris Hilton. At least they might be worried about saving the planet.

Yes, she has been Governor for a short time, but look at how many dubious reports have surfaced in that short time. The life expectancy of a male is 75 years, and that is not someone with the history of cancer that McCain has, so as Michael Moore said last night, "think carefully because you are very possibly voting for Palin for President".

TITLE 36 CHAPTER 10 §176(d) of the US Code:

"The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery..."

I am not a fan of Palin...and it makes me cringe that she has spent so much on clothes/hair/make up.... but these photos are totally NOT fair! If she didn't look as polished as she does - she would get so much FLACK from Press and those who comment on such things. She'd be posted on worse-dressed lists and she would get completely blasted. so, she shows up dressed for the part she is playing. The woman has FIVE kids... I have two kids...you would not believe what I wore when my kids were little!! So, judging her against the clothes she has on with her kids hanging all over her is not fair. Yikes!

Wherever she went shopping, it was a ploy to stimulate retail sales and get the credit for it!

She smart, no she is not smart;she is participating in a national campaign; no she was the Governor of Alaska. The arguments are silly. This is not a prisoner of war. She is a adult woman who went on a buying spree with contributions. Come on, she was just spreading the wealth around to designers and upscale stores. It is hardly the same category that 99% of working woman are wearing but she is a Republican candidate for VP not the people's choice for VP.As an adult she did what she wanted to and that was take other people's hard earned money and spend it on herself and her family.

I'm sorry, I thought this was a promo for the re-release of that Dustin Hoffman classic 'Tootsie'. My mistake ...

The intellectually shallow will give a damn whether she wears designer clothes or a potato sack. The absolute triviality of puddle splashing while ignoring the essential meat and bones of this election cycle is a sad testament to a great country.

America will get exactly what she deserves on November 4.

This whole kerfufle about Palin's wardrobe costs is just left wing weenie bull.

The woman wasn't running for president for two years like certain lightly accomplished politicians I can think of.

They needed to get her tricked out fast to be constantly on the road for two months. So they rushed her down to the high end dept store and got her up to speed.

You guys are truly hard up for an issue hear.

Not to mention the brazen hypocrisy of it.

What, for starters, did Tina Brown's wardrobe cost?

The "kerfufle" isn't about how much her clothes cost. It's about her calculating, hyperbolic portrayal of herself as a woman of the people. It's hard for her to support this claim when the cost of her wardrobe is three times the median household income in the US.