The part in bold is what drives me nuts. What does that actually mean to someone who was plucked out of her home state a billion miles away and all of a sudden has to become VP material?
I may have to turn in my man card for pointing this out, but a woman's wardrobe is not like a man's. 3 suits for the convention and 3 suits for the campaign? For a female? They were following her look in the Style sections in major newspapers. It's not like she can have 6 suits and 20 ties.
Now, think about this - what was the crack used against her in these anonymous reports? Wasilla hillbillies invading NM, etc...? Well, the non-slanderous way to look at this was that they are from a remote, rural region of the country and they indeed needed to be "re-made" to counteract that criticism. I'm pretty certain her North Face fleece pull-overs weren't going to cut it.
As far as I've read, she has no history of been a fashionista. I seriously doubt that she just let loose of all that pent up shopping demand once in the lower 48. IMO, the campaign wanted her to look a certain way and she didn't object to it. She may have even advocated it as part of the make over strategy. What I don't buy is that she, and she alone, went crazy and the rest of the staff went along with it kicking and screaming, disagreeing with her choices all the way.