Back
International
Fashion eye on Palin style
High maintenance: Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin waves while carrying her son Trig at the Delaware County Airport in Muncie, Indiana, while on the campaign trail.
From the moment she appeared on the vice-presidential campaign stage, with her serious but hintingly sexy spectacles, that dramatically swept-up hair and working mom suits paired with surprisingly high heels, Sarah Palin has pitched her style perfectly, treading a tricky line between heartlands mom and all American bombshell that could not fail to appeal to her rightwing fans.
Her favourite outfit of a boxy jacket paired with a notably tight skirt, almost always in black or red, exemplifies her image perfectly, and how she has used her femininity as an advantage whereas Hillary Clinton tried to downplay it in unfortunately hued trouser suits. But all public images are hard to maintain on an international stage and it turns out that Ms. Palin’s down-on-the-ranch look has been more high maintenance than Michelle Obama’s “elite liberal east coast” look.
Since early September, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has spent more than $1,50,000 dressing the Palins, shopping at department stores across the country, in both the “pro-America areas”, to use Ms. Palin’s description of Republican areas, and otherwise. According to financial disclosure records, there was a $75,062.63 spree in Neiman-Marcus in Minneapolis, Minnesota and $5,102.71 in New York. It is unlikely that her fellow “American moms” have such an apparently unlimited budget. The Republicans have been trying to pitch themselves as the party for the heartland’s hardworking man: Cindy McCain appeared at the Republican national convention in an outfit costing around $3,00,000. Ms. Michelle Obama, by contrast, was estimated to have spent $1,500 on her outfit for the Democratic national convention. It is likely, though, that Mr. McCain, a multimillionaire, and Mr. Obama spent their own cash, whereas money for Ms. Palin’s makeover has come from the RNC’s own funds, and some have questioned the legality of such spending. A spokesman insisted the clothing would “go to a charitable purpose after the campaign”. That will be hard to break to her children. One of the most enduring images from the Republican convention is a photo of Piper, her seven-year-old daughter, clutching a Louis Vuitton handbag. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008
© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu