Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin spent $75,062 US on a shopping spree at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis and $49,425 from Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. (Christopher Tomlinson/Grand Junction Daily/Associated Press)While the $150,000 US price tag for Sarah Palin's new wardrobe and styling continues to generate controversy, some are coming to the defence of the Republican vice-presidential candidate.
The expenses for Palin's wardrobe, hairstyling and accessories have caused a stir following a Wednesday report in Politico.com. which revealed that in two months Republican party purchases included $75,062 on a shopping spree at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis and $49,425 from Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.
Some have complained the price tag is excessive and have accused Palin of hypocrisy, having cultivated an image as a "regular hockey mom," and boasted of having saved Alaska's taxpayers "over-the-top" expenditures.
But some are defending the purchases, blaming it on how society treats image differently for men and women.
Writing in Vanity Fair, Dee Dee Myers, the former press secretary for Bill Clinton, said there's a "durable double standard" women face because men aren't judged by appearances like women.
"I don't know what Hillary Clinton spent on her clothes, hair, makeup and accessories over the course of her campaign, or where the money came from. But there is no question that it was tens of thousands of dollars. Not because Hillary is vain or frivolous. But because she learned from sometimes painful experience that if women don’t get their appearance right, people can’t stop talking about it."
However, Myers said the Alaska governor's wardrobe price tag is pretty staggering and that even a male candidate would have taken heat for the expenses, especially in these economic times.
"But at the end of the day, it’s just another example of a difficult double standard that so many women still face. If you don’t get the appearance thing right, it’s a story. And if you do get the appearance thing right, it’s still a story."
Plenty of focus on looks
CNN host Campbell Brown echoed Myers's remarks, pointing out there was a lot of focus on Clinton's looks, hair and pantsuits.
"Compare that with the attention given to Senator Barack Obama's $1,500 suits or Senator John McCain's $520 Ferragamo shoes. There is no comparison," she said.
Brown said women do get scrutinized more than men for appearance.
"I speak from experience here. When I wear a bad outfit on the air, I get viewer e-mail complaining about it. A lot of e-mail. Seriously. When Wolf Blitzer wears a not-so-great tie, how much e-mail do you think he gets? My point is for women, unfortunately, appearance is part of the job."
Senior New Yorker editor Hendrik Hertzberg said he was glad to see "the Soccer Mom" caught in hypocrisy. But he said there's nothing wrong with her wardrobe expense.
"Clothes are superficial. Clothes are about image, about — literally —appearances. But then so is most of what campaigns spend money on."
Hertzberg said all of her clothes cost less than showing a single 30-second spot a single time on a single network during prime time.
"Forking a little dough over to Nieman Marcus is no worse than forking a lot of dough over to NBC, or, for that matter, to some polling firm so it can focus-group the emotional valence of phrases like 'too risky' and 'not ready.'"
'Wearing repeats is a no-no'
Over at New York Magazine, Amy Odell, writing in the Fashion blog, calculated that 10 outfit possibilities from Nieman Marcus and Saks could roughly come out to $42,000.
With the remaining money, Palin could have purchased around four more outfits at Saks and 20 more at Neiman Marcus, Odell said.
But considering she's had 67 days of campaigning, and she's giving televised speeches daily and being photographed, "wearing repeats is a no-no."
Her conclusion?
"A $150,000 clothes budget might not be the wisest use of campaign money. But given the demands of Palin's job, the figure is not as outrageous as it seems at first."
The campaign has said it will donate the clothes to charity after the Nov. 4 election is over.
Corrections and Clarifications
- Dee Dee Myers was a press secretary for former U.S. president Bill Clinton, not Hillary Clinton, as originally reported. Oct. 23, 2008 | 8:35 p.m. ET
