Reporters try to shop like a candidate

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- At least two news organizations sent reporters to Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue to see if they could match Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's clothes spending.

Neither the Minneapolis Star Tribune nor the online magazine Slate gave the reporters real money for the experiment. The Republican National Committee is said to have dropped $150,000 on Palin's wardrobe after she was selected as the vice presidential nominee.

Both reporters discovered that spending that kind of money -- or pretending to -- is not quite as easy as it looks. Both stores carry classic suits, pants, blazers and skirts for comparatively modest prices -- $365 for a Diane Von Furstenberg suit at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, for example.

The Star Tribune reporter, assigned to drop $75,000 in imaginary money, managed to do it in less than two hours. Slate's writer spent $150,000 and reflected afterward that Palin might have needed more outfits for the campaign trail.

The RNC buying spree was first reported by Politico. Palin has said she does not plan to keep the clothes once the election is over.