Palin Stylists Collected $110K for 10-Week Campaign

(NEWSER) - The life of a stylist is all about communication. When Sarah Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live, the show's designer had to convince her to scrap her fancy new clothes and instead dress the way she used to—in essence, to dress as the character of Sarah Palin as played by Tina Fey rather than the new (and more expensive) version of herself, Women’s Wear Daily reports. More»

Pricey duds threaten to give Palin an image problem

(NEWSER) - The $150,000 pricetag for Sarah Palin's new clothes has transformed the hockey mom into something of an empress, the New York Times reports, and GOP strategists are sweating the change in image. As the campaign enters the homestretch, Palin's unplain threads have become a symbol of excess akin to John McCain's seven homes or John Edwards' $400 haircuts—undermining the appeal to Joe Sixpack she's staked her candidacy on. More»

RNC defends $150k clothes, makeup budget for Palins

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin apparently isn't kidding when she stresses the importance of lipstick to a hockey mom: the RNC spent $5000 on hair and makeup en route to racking up a $150,000 bill for clothing and accessories for Palin and her family since John McCain picked her as his runningmate. The $75,000 dropped at Neiman Marcus, among other spending sprees, have raised legal issues, but the RNC defends its expenditures, Politico reports. More»

Commission nixes complaint that RNC's $150K in clothing purchases broke law

(NEWSER) - The Federal Election Commission dismissed today a complaint that the Republican National Committee broke the law when it bought $150,000 in clothes for then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The FEC said purchases were “coordinated party expenditures” for campaign purposes, and did not violate a ban on using campaign funds for personal expenses as a watchdog group alleged. More»

(NEWSER) - Todd Palin says the $150,000 spending spree that outfitted his wife during last fall’s campaign was “out of our control,” the AP reports. “You come into a campaign late,” he told Men’s Journal. “You put all your trust into the team.” At least his Secret Service detail had a good time. “They liked cruising around with me,” describing trips to “the Arctic Cat snowmachine factory” and a NASCAR race. “Rough duty, hanging out with me.” More»