Everyone is talking about Sarah Palin's $150,000 in clothing and accessories from department stores like Saks and Neiman Marcus. To echo my colleague, Palin is a woman who presumably had few television-worthy outfits (or accessories or makeup or haircuts), nor the personal income to buy them herself. In Alaska, Palin shopped at consignment stores and wore $89 pumps, so it's not as if she is an extravagant woman (see Michelle Malkin for pre-makeover photos).

As Glamour's fashion blog notes, Palin's look is "that difficult combination of pretty, polished, down-to-earth, professional, and most importantly, electable." And like it or not, a woman in the spotlight like Palin needs to maintain that look.

But is $150,000 unreasonable? New York magazine's fashion blog breaks down outfit costs from Saks and Neiman Marcus and discovers that just six outfit combinations alone cost over $16,000. For $150,000, Palin could purchase approximately 34 outfits. Fashion blogger Amy Odell concludes,

Now, McCain picked Palin on August 29. That's 67 days of campaigning until November 4, so in theory she has enough clothes to repeat outfits just once, maybe twice as we get closer to Election Day--or, with smart mixing, maybe she doesn't need to repeat at all! After all, she's giving televised speeches daily and being photographed, so wearing repeats is a no-no...

In conclusion: A $150,000 clothes budget might not be the wisest use of campaign money. But given the demands of Palin's job, the figure is not as outrageous as it seems at first.

After all, have Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain, or Hillary Clinton worn the same dress or pantsuit for more than one major appearance yet?

Rather than simply donate money to a campaign, you can purchase an accessory from a company that gives part of the proceeds to your candidate or political party.

Designer BYLU created chunky, colored enamel bracelets stamped with gold graffiti-style “Obama ’08.” The bracelets cost $100 each and $50 from each purchase will be donated to the Obama campaign. While the red, white, and blue bangles are chic and patriotic, a large accessory emblazoned with your political candidate won’t be too stylish after November 4, no matter who wins.

And if you’re a McCain-Palin supporter, you can buy lipstick and other trinkets from Pit Bull Mom, a company inspired by “a woman with beliefs so strong that a Pit Bull really is the closest comparison. A woman whose determination and strength resonated in a vibrant, empowering way. A woman who loves God, her country and her family.” The lipsticks retail for $9.99 and Pit Bull Mom will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Republican Party and the Special Olympics. While I commend the company for supporting a Republican candidate (which is rare in the fashion and beauty world), I unfortunately can’t see stylish Sarah Palin wearing either the 80s-esque Pale N’ Pink or the garish fuchsia Republican Red lipsticks.

H/T Refinery 29 and The Cut

During Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City last week, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker hosted Runway for Change, a fashion-industry fundraiser for Barack Obama. The event also marked the debut of designer Barack Obama merchandise, like a tote bag by Diane Von Furstenberg, T-shirts by Tory Burch and Vera Wang, and a scarf by Rachel Roy, among others.

Although I was in New York to cover Fashion Week, an Obama campaign representative told me by email, “Sorry this event is closed to the press - thanks!” Luckily, the designer Obamawear is viewable on the campaign website.

The best item is the T-shirt designed by Nanette Lepore, below. If I were an Obama-worshipping fashionista, I’d buy it. A Nanette Lepore top for $65 is a steal, and it would mix nicely with the beautiful Spring/Summer 2009 ready-to-wear collection she showed on Wednesday.

The runner up is the Marc Jacobs tote bag, because the signature Marc Jacobs font is aesthetically pleasing and he didn't ruin the item with a silly slogan. Bonus: A Marc Jacobs tote bag for $75 is also a steal. Obama is getting gypped.

It is more difficult to choose the ugliest piece in the Obamawear collection. First, Juicy Couture eloquently helps you proclaim your political views:

Charles Nolan designed a wrap-style T-shirt that looks like yoga attire:

Pharrell Williams calls this T-shirt, "Obama Stands Out From the Crowd." You'll stand out in a tacky top.

And while I adore Proenza Schouler’s designs, I can only imagine what the Obama-inspired leather bracelet would look like, as the photo is not yet available.

Conclusion: Marc Jacobs fans, rejoice! Here's your chance to snag a relatively cheap tote bag. The things Barack Obama will do for you...

Sarah Palin's red peep-toe Naughty Monkey pumps

As Fashion Week closes today in New York City, the Wall Street Journal reports on perhaps the most influential style trend of the past two weeks: Sarah Palin's style. According to the Journal, "Many women are snapping up her choices of shoes and eyeglasses and blogging about which brand of lipstick she wears. Hairstylists and wig sellers report sudden demand for her trademark up-dos."

Governor Palin’s style is a mix of both sharp professional pieces and fashion-forward accessories. She wears flattering skirt suits and is a fan of Escada, according to the upscale secondhand store that she frequents in Anchorage. She accessorizes with rimless Kazuo Kawasaki glasses and Franco Sarto boots and red patent leather Naughty Monkey peep-toe pumps. As every woman knows, a pair of red high heels enhances both confidence and sex appeal. And women who don't naturally have Palin's long dark locks and bangs can now buy a Sarah Palin wig.

What's most notable about Sarah Palin's style is that unlike the fashion trends seen on most celebrities, it's accessible to women of even modest means. After all, she shops secondhand stores and her famous red peep-toe pumps are under $100.

Now, what kind of lipstick does she wear?

Earlier in the summer, fashion designers held a $10,000-per-plate fundraiser for Barack Obama featuring his fashionable wife Michelle. Now with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC just around the corner, the fashion industry will be using the hype about the Spring 2009 collections to promote Obama’s hope, change, and tote bags.

About 20 designers are creating high-end Obama merchandise featuring “the candidate's image and his red-white-and-blue rising sun logo,” the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan reported this weekend. Items will include a Diane von Furstenberg tote bag and an $80 Tracy Reese appliqué T-shirt, among others. (Reese’s design for a $400 “one-shouldered silk georgette frock” didn’t make the cut, unfortunately.) This red-white-and-blue Obamawear is sure to clash nicely with the fall colors and styles that will soon debut.

The designers will wear their Obamawear at Runway for Change, a fundraiser for the candidate during New York Fashion Week in September. You too can schmooze with the designers and party hosts Sarah Jessica Parker and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, if you have an extra $250 to $10,000 to spare. The question is, if you have that kind of money and are in NYC for Fashion Week, wouldn’t you rather buy a designer tote bag that does NOT have a politician’s face on it?

Not only are the Obamas fashionable, but they actually inspire fashion.

Last week, many high-end fashion designers attended a fundraiser in honor of Michelle Obama. New York magazine reports that tickets for the event cost as much as $10,000, and even designers-to-the-stars like Zac Posen, Isaac Mizrahi, and Nicole Miller had to cough up the cash for face time with the “fabulous” Mrs. Obama.

But it’s not just the missus who causes the fashion designers to gush. As WWD notes, Posen--a favorite of starlets like Rachel Bilson and Natalie Portman--was wearing a T-shirt “emblazoned with Barack Obama’s face.” And the AP reports that “Donatella Versace dedicated her Spring-Summer 2009 collection presented Saturday evening to Obama, creating a style she said was designed for ‘a relaxed man who doesn't need to flex muscles to show he has power’” (H/T The McCain Report).

The illustrious Versace suit was truly inspired by Barack, as some designs had “no lapel at all”--perfect for the man who has no need to wear a lapel pin.

Lapel-free 2009 Versace suit, for the man with no lapel pin (ZUMA)