Says Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York, one of several fashion experts looking at a set of pictures of Sarah Palin before and after her $150,000 makeover. Doonan adds: "Putting aside my own political beliefs, anyone feeding the economy and buying fashion right now gets the thumbs up from me."
Ha ha. I make a mental note to buy more clothes.... to help people.
Anyway, the photo essay at the link solidly establishes that the money needed to be spent and was spent exceedingly effectively and efficiently. Try to imagine the ridicule Palin would have been subjected to if she'd gone out dressed like this.
October 26, 2008
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47 comments:
Genuine responses like this are kinda refreshing.
Go Phils!
Compare the pre race clothing expenses of Sarah Palin vs Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obamas, Katie Couric etc. My guess is that it was a fraction of those worthy women and that no enterprising journalist will ever make this comparison.
The fashion stylings of...
Golda Meir
Shirley Chisolm
and
Eleanor Roosevelt, Princess Alice,
Mrs. Winston Churchill
That picture of Eleanor Roosevelt, Princess Alice, Mrs. Winston Churchill is a great advertisement for brassieres.
From the pictures, it would be difficult to make the argument that Palin did not need a wardrobe upgrade.
The women I know all think that the money spent was extravagant and unnecessary. The same effect could be achieved for far less.
It occurs to me that this may be true but it is much more difficult to upgrade the wardrobe in short order at a reasonable price. Palin needed the wardrobe almost overnight.
I once accompanied a woman who spent a couple of hours looking for a white blouse in downtown Washington, D.C.
It would of taken ten minutes if she had been willing to spent $80.
You can have two of the three: fast, good, cheap.
That picture of Eleanor Roosevelt, Princess Alice, Mrs. Winston Churchill is a great advertisement for brassieres.
Lift and separate? Eleanor might agree with the 'uplift' part, but she's a uniter, not a divider!
If the dress does not fit, she is unfit.
We are so completely enveloped in a marketing-driven society, like bosoms in bras, that what we think is uplifting actually restricts the normal sway of our consciousness.
Sell the sizzle, not the steak.
Obama blew 5 million on his faux Greek set for his acceptance speech. Because he's a Man of teh Peeps!
So the ONLY way someone could up their image is by shopping at the highest end department stores and make their makeup artist the highest paid person on staff?
Please.
This was a gaffe of epic proportions, and it is such a cop-out to whine about "the other guy" and his "Greek" (Doric) columns because you can't come up with a good reason that someone who claims to be "of the people" is prancing around in outfits anything but.
"...it is such a cop-out to whine about "the other guy" and his "Greek" (Doric) columns because you can't come up with a good reason that someone who claims to be "of the people" is prancing around in outfits anything but."
Huh, I thought it was Obama and the Democrat party that pretended to be "of the people". Think about how many real families could have been housed for the price of Obama's Styrofoam architecture! Your party's foundational principle involves being "of the people". How do you explain such a violation of that fundamental principle? Don't you feel embarrassed about the hundreds of millions of dollars your party is spending to promote the fortunes of one man?
Its so disingenuous to lay blame on Palin and the campaign for the clothing issue. Everyone knows that what the candidate looks like makes or breaks some level of legitimacy. Ridiculous? Of course. But this speaks far more to the vapid glamorization of American politics than it does to anything else.
Had Palin not had a wardrobe makeover, she would have been a laughingstock of even greater proportions. It would not have been tolerated by the media where every woman we see looks nothing like she does when she gets up in the morning. Even Hillary was glammed up. The only women in the public eye who aren't are those past a certain age. And everyone knows this. The dishonesty around this issue is pathetic.
But then perhaps no one wants to admit that as a culture, we truly are that vapid and shallow. Meh.
LoL - I find this whole line of - "she ain’t of the people because the campaign bought her fancy clothes" - to be rather funny.
The fact that they had to buy her fancy clothes shows that she is a regular person and not some uber elite. If she was an elitist she would already own the clothes. They wouldn't have had to buy anything. lol
Did they have to buy Obama, Biden and Michelle the fancy clothes? Oh snap! They already owned all the fancy clothes! ROFL Who ain’t of the people now?! Hee hee
I can’t take credit the idea stated above - A caller on The Dennis Prager Show pointed it out.
Look, guys, $150,000 was spent - but that included that stuff that didn't fit that has gone/is going back. That's what happens when fashion consultants buy clothing for a client on spec - they buy a whole ton of things and only some of it fits and therefore a significant quantity goes back. It's perfectly obvious. Palin recently said that about a third had gone back and another third was not yet worn - and presumably won't be worn after the election if they lose - and will go back then. So really, about a third to two fifths of the amount under discussion that really is the applicable amount.
And then there is the ridiculous argument - that she should have waited until the clothes were on sale - because you can get them much cheaper - someone made that on the last thread that discussed this topic. That's true in general - who doesn't love a designer sale - but not for a top flight professional who needs to acquire a wardrobe in a hurry.
Personally, the clothes fit her fabulously - I hope she keeps some of them. They're really lovely on her.
BTW, that gruesome pink outfit she's wearing in the spread in Daily News - I saw another view of that elsewhere - and believe that's maternity wear.
I told you the gays were going to love her for this.
She's our kind of gal.
Just say Saks and Niemies and we get a hardon.
Eleanor had some saggy tits.
Regardless of what happens she should be able to keep the items after the election.
If it was me I would scream until I got to keep them.
And she looks cute as a button in them.
Could you imagine driving a BMW and then you are told you now have to drive a taurus?
We all achieve to move up not move down. She earned them going through the campaign. Let her keep the items. I am begging the campaign.
Here in Baltimore about 10 or so years ago, a woman news broadcaster sued the station because they told her to get a face-lift or lose her job. Certainly she was as smart, informed and hard-working as she ever was, but the sad fact the station was acknowledging is that no one pays attention to a woman unless she looks good. Fair? No. Fact? Yes.
*Shrug*
> Nobody made me, or you, or anyone else pay for any of this.
> Somehow this is contemptuous of struggling folks, a la Marie Antoinette . . . who benefited from the spending? Yes, some high-end designers and consultants, but a lot of ordinary people who make and sell this stuff. You think rich people make and sell clothes for Nieman-Marcus?
"The fact that they had to buy her fancy clothes shows that she is a regular person and not some uber elite. If she was an elitist she would already own the clothes. They wouldn't have had to buy anything. lol"
Hey, it's on the Axelrod wire. The meme will be propogated or there will consequences.
Where can I get a lifesize blowup of picture 10?
Ha ha. I make a mental note to buy more clothes.... to help people.
I am disappointed that you would make such thoughtless remark.
Across the country hundreds of thousands will lose their jobs in the readywear industry, transportation and retailing if the retail clothing market continues to decline in the economic chaos.
NYC will be particularly hard hit as those working in fabric shops, button makers, fabric cutters and designers, to name but a few, will lose their livelihood. These jobs do not return, they go offshore. While few garments are manufactured in the US, the design industry is almost exclusively located in NYC and employs hundreds of thousands. Fashion manufacturing has traditionally been one of the main pathways to the middle class for immigrant workers in NYC.
You must recall the effect that raising luxury taxes had on the American boat building industry. Everyone had a few good laughs about the rich and their yachts, but it was working people who lost their jobs.
So yes, buying a new outfit will help people in Madison's retail stores and an immigrant working in the NY garment design industry to keep their jobs.
What nobodys talking about is how Neiman-Marcus and Saks ripped off the Republican party.
Saks and Neiman routinely either donate, or wholesale clothes to celebrities and studio-services
Because it's the Republican Party, and because Palin needed to be up and running quickly......the retailers took advantage.
Everything she wore could easily be gotten on sale, or negotiated a better price at wholesalers and the garment district. But they just didn't have time to do that, so they got ripped off.
Not Palin's fault, she didn't even want the job, initially.
"Not Palin's fault, she didn't even want the job, initially."
What??!!
She said she didn't blink. Now she didn't want the job at first??
Once she was asked, and called to duty....she accepted the call without hesitation.
Initially, back in June and July, she was hardly angling for the position.
You certainly can't claim that she spent months scheming to be appointed.
Unless....she was playing hard-to-get.
First she said she didn't blink and said yes on that spot.
She then said she talked it over with her children and after careful deliberation said yes.
I love her.
Two additional points: does $150k represen the total outlay, or the total value of the items purchased that actually formed part of the collection? Sure there must have been stuff that they bought that didn't fit or didn't work or that Palin wasn't comfortable with, so is the $150k figure the figure of total purchases less returns, or total purchases not returned?
And why is it a knock on Palin in any circmstances? Do you think she was just given a credit card and taken to Macy's? Come on. Someone went out and bought a bunch of stuff and they decided what looked good. Palin didn't set the budget and likely didn't have a clue how much it had cost. So where's the beef?
Perfect example of the Democratic propaganda machine at work.
How much has Hillary or Michell spent on clothes? How much did Teresa's clothes cost? Has any reporter ever asked?
Palin didn't use taxpayer money. We no proof she was responsible for the $150,000 amount.
And this is done to impress women, I thought she looked fine shooting a Moose.
Didn't they attack Cindy McCain for spending $300k+ on one outfit?
Sounds like a bargain, here, reduced by returns.
Also, I heard some of the Palin couture will go to charity.
I suggest an auction or raffle, which would bring in way more than cost.
Just think of the fevered bidding for all lingerie and "intimate wear" items alone?
Hmmm.
I actually don't notice the difference that much, until you get to the more form fitting wear.
Hello!
I have no problem with the RNC spending their money as they see fit, especially if the spending is properly reported. It was kind of funny that this story broke right after the Michelle Obama lobster and caviar story was falsely put forward.
I was disappointed in those who plugged the Cindy McCain $300K outfit when I learned that they included the value of her jewelry. It was a very cheap shot.
The leftards are nothing but a pack of hyenas on this one. I'm sorry our Veep candidate isn't already a millionaire, like Clinton with the gazillion dollar book deal and Obama with Rezko to facilitate his real estate investments (and yes, like Bush, Bush and Reagan before).
I seem to remember a lot of snide comments directed at the Palin family and their rough and ready frontier wardrobe when they got off the plane in St. Paul and made their public debut as well.
So they're sniped if they dress like regular folks in Alaska, where wardrobe form necessarily follows function, and they're targeted if they get some much needed assistance as they had to ramp up to national level media exposure overnight.
Hell, little Piper couldn't even use her spit to smooth her baby brother's hair without causing a wave of conniption fits on the part of leftards and high-gloss media goons from the coasts.
Mark said...
"The meme will be propogated or there will consequences."
The question I always try to ask myself when I learn something new: Is it true?
Meme or not - was my comment true? ;)
What you people don't know about the fashion industry is that the number was perfectly reasonable for the type of clothing that she had to buy in the time she had to buy it. Plus I think it is a damn lie spread by the mainstream media. There is no proof that this is the actual amount, and as I understand it, this number includes the clothing for the entire family.
As far as the fashion industry is concerned, the vendors are very worried but that is normal for this time of year. They are scardey cats who are trying to sell crap at inflated prices. The big department stores are really a thing of the past and this economic downturn can kill off a lot of them. Their business model is outdated. You want to go to a clothing store for clothes, a home goods store for house furnishings, and an electronics store for electronics. People don't want to do all their spending in a department store.
Also it might be a good idea for the professor to sort of spruce up her wardrobe. A gentle suggestion from a fan. Just sayn’
The McCain campaign should have made a point of how much money they were spending on Gov. Palin's wardrobe. People eat that stuff up. It would have been a People magazine/E! moment. "From Penney's to Prada!" "Alaska's beauty queen governor receives a beauty makeover, courtesy of the RNC".
What's not to like?
I can tell you one thing we can really do without. Anymore lawyers!
So it might be really cool if a few law schools went out of business. Just sayn'
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/palin-plaza-public-2205105-made-bloomingdale
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As soon as I saw it as a makeover, I realized that her fans would adore it. It's the fantasy -- of being catapulted into the big time, stardom, and beauty-revealing glamour -- that plain, hard-working women have harbored, and cultural phenomena from "Cinderella" to "Queen for a Day" to "Extreme Makeover" have catered to, since time immemorial.
It doesn't matter. From now on, she'll be alternately told that she looks like a hick, and that she shouldn't be spending money on clothes. Just like George W has alternately been an idiot and a Machiavellian schemer for eight years.
It's not about Palin, it's about how to avoid having to think.
Look at how beautiful she is here at 1:05:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKX_4Kg-VVg&feature=related
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That's how a woman should look.
Palin knows how to do hair and makeup right !
"It is not unusual for fans of Sarah Palin to shout out to the Alaska governor in the midst of her stump speeches. It is noteworthy, however, that the crowds are heavily male.
“You rock me out, Sarah,” yelled one man, wearing a red-checked hunting jacket as Ms. Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, strode into an airplane hangar here on Thursday. He held a homemade “Dudes for Sarah” sign and wore a National Rifle Association hat. Kenny Loggins’s “Danger Zone” blared over the loudspeakers, and the man even danced a little — yes, a guy in an N.R.A. hat dancing in a hangar, kind of a Sarah Palin rally thing.
“I feel like I’m at home,” Ms. Palin said, looking out at a boisterous crowd of about 6,000. “I see the Carhartts and the steel-toed boots,” she said, the first reference being to a clothing brand favored by construction workers and the burly types who make up much of the “Sarah Dude” population. “You guys are great,” she said while signing autographs.
Guys think Ms. Palin is great, too, or at least many of those who come to hear her. They sometimes go to extraordinary lengths. “I woke up at 2 a.m. so I could get my work done before 6 and get here by 7,” said Mike Spencer, a chef from Dexter, Me. Mr. Spencer waited in the chilly hangar — in a “Nobama” T-shirt — for almost three hours.
At the height of Palinmania, soon after she made her national debut in September, Ms. Palin’s popularity among men was striking. Her favorability ratings were higher among men than women (44 percent to 36 percent), according to a New York Times poll, even though she was chosen in part because of her expected appeal to women. Since then, Ms. Palin has endured a tough month politically, and her favorability ratings have dropped among both sexes, but more so among men (down 13 points, to 31 percent in the latest Times poll.)"
All the while, Ms. Palin’s stoutest defenders are often the Joe Sixpacks in her crowds, who shrug off her critics, ridiculers and perceived adversaries in the news media. They say they appreciate Ms. Palin for, above all else, how “real” and “like us” she is.
“Katie Couric and Tina Fey are going to do their thing, but it doesn’t bother me at all,” said Rob McLain, an insurance agent from Avon, Ind., who attended a packed Palin rally at an amphitheatre in Indiana on Friday night. Mr. McLain wore a “Proud to be voting for a hot chick” button and was joined by his wife, Shannan (“Read my lipstick” button on lapel), and his 6-week-old son, Jaxon (“Nobama” button on beanie).
“The criticism is part of the process,” Mr. McLain said, adding of Ms. Palin, “Who can’t trust a mother?”
The testosterone flows at many of her events. Head-banging guitar chords greet her: she entered a fund-raiser in North Carolina on Thursday to the decidedly un-dainty chords of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” “That was kinda cool,” she marveled from the stage. Everyone laughed. The event raised $800,000.
While there are plenty of women, including wives and daughters of male fans, at Ms. Palin’s appearances, they acknowledge they are outnumbered. “This is not a ladies campaign,” declared Linda Teegan at a rally in Weirs Beach, N.H., on Wednesday. She was taking a crowd snapshot. “There seem to be lots and lots of guys here,” she said. “I’d guess 70-30, maybe 65-35, men to women. It’s quite noticeable to me.”
The dudes tend to make themselves noticed. “You tell ’em baby,” a man yelled out at a rally Wednesday night on a high school football field in Salem, N.H.
And Ms. Palin tells ’em, peppering her rallies with references to guy-themed stuff — hunting, fishing, hockey. She introduced her husband, Todd, as Alaska’s First Dude.
“He is a guy who knows how to work with his hands,” she said to loud applause.
Her recent events drew scruffy high-schoolers in backward baseball caps, tank-topped bikers in bandanas and long-bearded veterans in berets. They crashed the rope line for photos and autographs. “Marry me, Sarah,” a man implored in Weirs Beach, N.H., while Ms. Palin held up a tow-headed toddler and patted his little chest. She ignored, or didn’t hear, the proposal, but signed the dude’s ratty baseball cap.
Yes, some men come to ogle the candidate, too. “She’s beautiful,” said a man wearing a John Deere T-shirt in Weirs Beach. “I came here to look at her,” he said, and his admiration for Ms. Palin’s appearance became more and more animated. Sheepish over his ogling, he declined to give his real name (“Just call me ‘John Deere’ ”).
But some male fans do seem to feel a deeper connection to Ms. Palin. To a surprising degree, they mention the unusual nature of her candidacy, the chance to make history, break the glass ceiling.
“They bear us children, they risk their lives to give us birth, so maybe it’s time we let a woman lead us,” said Larry Hawkins, a former truck driver attending a rally late Thursday at Elon University in North Carolina. Mr. Hawkins said he would rather vote for Ms. Palin than for “McCain and Obama combined.”
I can think of a good reason why men would like Palin that is not policy related, but could be. She doesn’t have distain for men and their behavior. That is rather refreshing considering all the male bashing junk that is out there from grade school on up.
Bias is not just in how a story gets told, it is also in what stories get told and in what stories don't get told.
Google search for "palin wardrobe cost" gives 608 news stories.
Google search for "obama hawaii trip cost" gives 87 hits, only one of which was about the expense for these trips to Hawaii. The rest were just stories which had the word "cost" in them and mentioned that he went to Hawaii. A perusal of the first couple of pages of palin hits showed that almost all of the stories were about the excessive ($150,000) cost of her wardrobe. This, inspite of the fact that each trip Obama took to Hawaii cost several times as much (about $400K each time).
Here is the one story I could find on The One's Hawaii junkets...Newsmax.
A whole bunch of stuff about this ridiculous story strikes me as funny and ironic
First. Men, who probably never buy more than a basic shirt, slack combo, giving shopping advice to professional women about how much things should cost. We should buy on sale or through a catalogue etc. Clueless is the term that comes to mind.
Second. The hypocrisy of the Democrat campaign in making a big deal of this when they have spent billions BILLIONS of dollars on their own campaign, including over half a million dollars on food for their staff. I guess they must be pooping gold.
Third: The distortions that Palin spent this much money on clothing. As if she went of a gay shopping spree (I mean that in the good old definition of gay as happy and carefree). Tried on all of these clothes instead of the truth, which is that some staffers went out and bought a lot of outfits, some which fit and some which didn't and were sent back. She probably had no idea of the cost of the clothing. The cost is immaterial anyway. She looks hot.
Fourth: The coverup that the clothing will be given to charity, where the items will be auctioned off and make a ton of money for the non profit group.
Tempest in a tea pot. But what can we expect from a Democrat campaign that is literally stealing the election by fraudulent voting, disenfranchising the military vote, strong arm gangland style caucusing. Thank god I'm bitterly clinging to my guns...... also designer shoes and accessories
I mean that the clothing WILL be given to charity. The Dems act like Paling just got free clothes at the expense of the campaign, when that isn't the case at all.
In addition. The clothes and shoes etc, are not that expensive for a professional working woman who must be facing the public. Trust me.
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