clothes

(Newser) - In the past, a male politician wanting to project seriousness would opt for the old standby of a red necktie. But in recent months Gordon Brown, the British prime minister and go-to guy of the global financial crisis, has conspicuously chosen purple ties, as have his foreign secretary and the chancellor of the exchequer. For Zoe Williams in the Guardian , purple is the new color of the political class, with Michelle Obama leading the way. More »

(Newser) - Sarah Palin's hair and makeup stylists cost John McCain's campaign $110,000 for the 10 weeks she was vice-presidential candidate, reports the New York Times .  Palin’s makeup artist—an Emmy nominee for her work on So You Think You Can Dance ?—pocketed over $68,000 for the campaign work. Her hair stylist made $42,000. More »

(Newser) - And you thought $150,000 was a lot to spend on clothes. A McCain campaign aide tells Newsweek that Sarah Palin spent "tens of thousands" more than that, with up to $40,000 going to husband Todd's wardrobe. Other sources say that most of the money came from one wealthy GOP donor, who was said to be shocked when the bill came due. More »

(Newser) - This may explain the new clothing bill. Since joining the GOP ticket, Sarah Palin has gone down a size in clothing, to a 4, the Daily News reports. Alaska's all-American governor has been guzzling Lean1 shakes on the campaign trail. That's the drink most notably pimped by former NFL Pro-Bowler Bill Romanowski. The McCain camp had no comment. More »

(Newser) - Conservative View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck hit the campaign trail with Sarah Palin yesterday to blast the media flap over the Palin family's $150,000 campaign wardrobe—purchased by the GOP—as a “deliberately sexist” diversion and blatant double standard. More »

(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 »

(Newser) - The outrage over Sarah Palin’s pricey wardrobe doesn’t extend to professional fashionistas, Politico reports—putting money into a candidate’s appearance is a perfectly wise use of funds, they argue. “You are talking about branding a person who you are launching into the public eye,” said one San Francisco stylist. “If you are looking the part, you are halfway there.” More »

(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 »

(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 »