Vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin has announced she will forgo the expensive outfits the Republican Party bought for her campaign appearances, and from now on will appear on the stump wearing her own Alaskan-bought clothes.
Mrs Palin told throngs of supporters at a campaign stop in Tampa, Florida, that she was wearing her own jacket, and said she would eschew clothing that wasn't hers.
Her comment came amid a campaign kerfuffle over high-priced garb purchased by the campaign for her public outings. ''Those clothes are not my property, just like the lighting and the staging and everything else the RNC [Republican National Committee] purchased,'' Mrs Palin said.
''I'm not taking them with me. I'm back to wearing my own clothes from my favourite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska.''
Initially, the Republican running mate said, she had hoped to ''ignore this wardrobe thing'' but had now decided to tackle it head-on.
The Politico website reported last week that the Republican leadership had spent $US150,000on chic designer outfits for Mrs Palin from such top-end retailers as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, plus the costs of hair care and make-up.
A monthly RNC financial disclosure statement listed these expenses under the heading of ''campaign accessories''.
Senator McCain's campaign defended the expenditures, saying the apparel would go to charity after next Tuesday's election.
Mrs Palin, who has described herself as a moose-hunting hockey mum, told the crowd that her earrings, a gift from her mother-in-law, were also a product of her home state.
''These are from Todd's mum who is a Native American up in Alaska. Native American. Native Alaskan. And my wedding ring, it's in Todd's pocket because it hurts when I shake hands, a $US35 ($A57) wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself.
''I always thought, it's not what it's made of. It's what it represents. Twenty years later, happy to wear it.''
She also pointed out that she was wearing a lapel pin in honour of her oldest son, who is serving with the US military. ''I'm a blue-star mum. I'm wearing this in honour of my son who is fighting over in Iraq right now,'' she said, ending the inventory of her attire by declaring, ''Enough about clothes and hairdos and high heels.'' Alaska's leading newspaper has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for the White House, saying it would be too risky to put the state's Republican state governor just ''one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world''.
Anchorage Daily News, the leading daily in the Republican state, called Mrs Palin's vice-presidential nomination ''an improbable and highly memorable event''.
The newspaper editorial said home-town boosterism could not overwhelm editorial judgment and deemed her not ready to serve in the White House. AFP