The XX Factor: What women really think.

Off-the-Rack Campaigning

To answer Meghan’s question, according to Brooks Brothers online, you can get a very nice suit for less than $1,000. And you can get its top-of-the-line suit for around $1,600. A nice shirt and tie might bring this to $2,000. I seriously doubt Joe Biden bought 70 such suits after becoming Obama’s running mate. And whatever happened to the fine political tradition of wearing jeans and a flannel shirt when courting Joe Sixpack? I’m not sure Chanel is (or should be) the female equivalent.

I also find the argument that Palin had nothing else to wear, prior to the RNC’s shopping spree, a little unbelievable. Palin is the governor of a major state. She campaigned for this office, appeared on TV countless times in that election (including in multiple debates), has surely attended governors’ conferences and other formal events in an official capacity. Are we to believe that prior to being tapped for VP, she never owned anything besides a seal-skin coat and 'coon cap?

As a native of Dallas, I’ve spent my fair share of money at Neiman-Marcus’ flagship store, but as Slate’s piece points out today—it’s pretty hard to blow $150,000, even at a store like Neiman’s. Moreover, I know a lot of high-society women in Dallas who brag about the fine fashion they’ve also found at Target, especially in these tough economic times. (They call the store “Tar-chez.”) Is it really the opinion of the women on XX Factor that a woman can’t look good on TV or at a rally in anything less than a $4,000 designer suit? Seems to me we’re buying into Carrie Bradshaw’s world view a little too much. The dress Michelle Obama wore when she went on The View famously cost $148 off the rack.

Pick on Palin, but Not About Her Clothes

Noreen,

I'm with June. I don't think it's fair either to pick on Palin because of her wardrobe. (C'mon, isn't there so much more to pick on?) You dress up to go to a job interview. Campaigning for the vice presidency is a very long job interview on a much bigger playing field. There's no reason I couldn't do my job in pajamas or sweatpants, but we have a code about what we wear to the office and in public. And if you were interviewing applicants for a job, you would not pick the one in sweatpants. It's an unfortunate side effect of our visual, 24-hour celebrity culture that you have to look gorgeous all the time now if you are in the public eye. And I don't blame Palin. This is not her doing. She is only complicit in the big machine that this is all a part of. But if you are going to play the game, you have to wear the uniform.