On Politics & Fashion: Here We Go Again!

I do not like Sarah Palin. Her views, her values, her policies are pure anathema to me and her candidacy on the GOP ticket during the last U.S. presidential election was positively contemptible. The one thing I dislike even more than Sarah Palin however is having to defend her. In fact, I absolutely loath it. Unfortunately, the kerfuffle over her Newsweek cover and a recent New York Times interview with the stylist responsible for her wardrobe upgrade during the election campaign have sucked me in again malgré moi.

First, let me address the Newsweek cover. The image of a smiling Palin in a pair of thigh-hugging lycra running shorts was initially taken for the cover of Running World magazine. Running shorts on the cover of a magazine that targets running enthusiasts makes a certain amount of sense to me but on the cover of a news magazine? Not so much. Are we to believe that there is a dearth of cover-worthy images of Sarah Palin available to media sources such that this particular image was the only one Newsweek editors deemed worthy of reproducing on their cover? Would they have resorted to such a tactic were Palin a man? I doubt it.

Love her or hate her, Palin is still a former governor and vice-presidential candidate and should be treated with at least as much decorum as that reserved for other disgraced political figures. Besides, if undermining her credibility as a potential national political leader is what Newsweek editors are after, there exists a veritable treasure trove of substantive issues at their disposal which, incidentally, grows virtually every time she opens her mouth. Why not go after her on legitimate substantive grounds such as her inexperience in foreign policy, her general lack of depth or her inability to string together two grammatically correct sentences?

On the issue of her wardrobe or more precisely the cost of her wardrobe, in the weeks following the election, Palin was accused by McCain campaign staffers of having indulged in a lavish, Marie Antoinette-style designer shopping spree at the expense of the GOP, a claim she has always denied. It now appears that the shopping spree in question was in fact the work of a New York City-based stylist (a very good one I might add) retained by the GOP for the purpose of getting her ready for the national scene. The stylist, Lisa A. Kline, recently stepped forward to defend her work and in the process substantiated Palin's defense.

For me however, the real issue has never been so much the cost of Palin's style upgrade (call me elitist but the price tag never struck me as all that excessive for a professional wardrobe) but rather, the fact that men's wardrobes are never an issue. Successful professional men (including many politicians) drop several thousand pounds per suit (not including accessories and footwear) on a routine basis and no one bats an eye. Why the double standard?

The media's fixation on her physique and wardrobe is insulting to women and anyone interested in the real issues at stake. Until such time as the wardrobes of male politicians are subjected to the same kind of scrutiny as Palin's and they too appear on the cover of Newsweek in thigh-hugging lycra shorts, this kind of media tactic smacks of hypocrisy and sexism. Neither inspire confidence in a national news magazine.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[Make Do Style]

It is always the same men never get examined in any great detail - but women always get judged on their style rather than their substance - except with Palin I think it is attack from all quarters in the hope something sticks and submerges her. Not fair but then..

[Randall]

Well said. I had no idea about this Newsweek cover. Flimsy of them. Very funny that I've come to The Luxe Chronicles for a more focused take on something happening under my nose. x