Sarah Palin's RNC-funded makeover: a fashion do or don't?

So the news that the Republican National Committee has bought Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her family nearly $150,000 worth of clothing since September has fueled charges of hypocrisy by her detractors and sparked questions about the legality of the expenditures.

At a time when GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is struggling to convince voters that he understands their economic pain -- introducing them to "Joe the Plumber" last week to prove it -- his running mate's shopping spree at the most rarefied retail temples may undercut his message.

"What is shocking is that in the middle of a credit crunch, when all the candidates are trying to demonstrate they understand Joe Six-Pack and Main Street, that Sarah Palin would go shopping at the high end of 7th Avenue," said Susan Scafidi, a professor at Fordham University School of Law who specializes in fashion law. "I am surprised that the RNC was careless enough to let its bill show up in the press."

The RNC listed the expenditures in its September and October Federal Election Commission filings. The website Politico first reported the story.

The purchases occurred primarily on Sept. 10 in New York and Minneapolis at Neiman Marcus ($75,062.63), Saks Fifth Avenue ($49,425.74) and Bloomingdale's ($5,102.71). Some money was apparently spent on clothes for her husband, Todd ($4,902.08), and her children, including a $92 romper from an upscale Minneapolis baby store that her infant son wore at the Republican national convention.

The shopping spree cost about 75 times more than the average American spends per year on clothing; in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, that figure was $1,874. It also totaled more than the $125,000 Palin makes annually as governor.

In the February issue of Vogue, Palin joked that her preferred designers were "Patagonia and North Face." But by the time she arrived onstage in St. Paul, Minn., last month to accept the nomination, her wardrobe transition was well underway: She wore a narrow black skirt and a Valentino silk jacket worth $2,500.

Though she has not disclosed the labels she is wearing, fashion observers think she has worn Gianfranco Ferre, St. John and Anne Klein. On the trail, she is accompanied by a hairstylist and makeup artist.