Count Sarah Palin's $150,000 wardrobe as one of the McCain campaign's pricier ironies: It's actually damaged her image. According to Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion commentator Robin Givhan, the fuss is not about the clothes themselves, which are, according to Givhan "nothing especially outstanding." Rather, "what is baffling is the mind-boggling evidence of a tin ear for the symbolism of popular culture. Fashion is a form of self-definition. Any retail expert can tell you that part of being a good merchant is finding a way of speaking to who it is the customer believes herself to be. A smart retailer stands for something. And in our culture Neiman Marcus stands for 'elite,' not for 'Everyman.'"
Read it at The Washington Post
