Sarah Palin on Her (Maybe Not Quite) $150,000 Wardrobe: ‘The Whole Thing Is Just Bad!’

But is the $150,000 figure even accurate?
But is the $150,000 figure even accurate? Photo: Getty Images

Yesterday Sarah Palin spoke to the Chicago Tribune about the $150,000 it was reported the RNC spent on clothes for her. It had become quite the tempest in a tea dress — and Palin said that's just not fair. "That whole thing is just, bad!" she said. "Oh, if people only knew how frugal we are." (We'd be inclined to believe her if it weren't for that whole tanning bed in the governor's mansion thing.) "I think Hillary Clinton was held to a different standard in her primary race," Palin said. "Do you remember the conversations that took place about her, say superficial things that they don't talk about with men, her wardrobe and her hairstyles, all of that? That's a bit of that double standard."

Palin also said the $150,000 isn't entirely accurate. "It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," she said, explaining that the clothes are not worth $150,000 and were bought for the Republican National Convention. She's not the only one quibbling with the numbers — some of the merchants who were reported as selling the clothes to the RNC claim that they never did so. Aside from stores like Saks and Neiman Marcus, there were additional purchases listed from high-end boutiques that sell cutting-edge fashion (Raf Simons, Yohji Yamamoto, and Ann Demeulemeester) and don't even sell the kind of clothes that Palin or her husband Todd would be able to wear on the trail (Talbots, Ann Taylor, Tommy Bahama). As our friends at the Cut wondered, is someone at the RNC charging things for himself? That would be terrible — because not only was this whole story terrible for the McCain campaign, but we're pretty sure Republicans aren't even allowed to wear Yohji Yamamoto.

Sarah Palin talks about wardrobe flap, double standard for women and special education [Chicago Tribune]
Did Sarah Palin Actually Get $150,000 Worth of Clothes? [Cut]