There's been much ado about the $150,000 spent to outfit vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family. And even though her running mate, John McCain, says one-third of that amount "is given back" and Palin's spokeswoman says the candidate intends to donate to charity the items she has worn after Election Day, that's still quite a chunk of change.

In fact, the heated discussions over her designer makeover brought Palin to tell a Florida audience this week that she would return to wearing her own clothes, which, she has joked, include Patagonia fleece jackets.

"Those clothes are not my property, just like the lighting and the staging and everything else the RNC purchased," Palin said at the campaign stop. "I'm not taking them with me. I'm back to wearing my own clothes from my favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska."

Wherever the clothes are going, or who's wearing them or who's returning them, I just can't stop thinking about spending $150,000 on a new wardrobe.

I have often fantasized about how I would spend the comparatively paltry $5,000 wardrobe allowance doled out on the makeover show What Not to Wear. I'd blow right past the low-end shops and buy just a few key, yet fabulous, pieces: to-die-for Dior boots, a gorgeous Gucci purse, the ultimate Burberry trench, a few luxurious tops and bottoms.

Turns out, spending $5,000 on clothes is easy. But $150,000? That's a lot of Prada, my friends.

I went online to shop at neimanmarcus.com and tried to "spend" the $75,000 Palin's camp dropped at the company's Minneapolis store. I went straight to Oscar de la Renta-a favorite among politicians and spouses-and racked up four jackets, two skirts, two dresses, two pairs of pants and a cardigan, and I was only at $16,500.

I moved on to Valentino, Burberry, Armani and Escada. I found Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Saint John and Vera Wang. Still short, I added in Yves Saint Laurent and hit the jewelry section. Between suits, dresses, shoes, handbags and pearls, I imagine my virtual haul would make even Anna Wintour jealous. And I still had another $75,000 to go.

Whether you agree with the clothing allowance or not, one thing's clear: Since she's started wearing her new wardrobe, Palin's style quotient has skyrocketed. The problem is, her team could have dressed her quite similarly for much less. Here's a look at some of Palin's recent ensembles, along with estimates on their cost, and some more inexpensive look-alikes.

Still stylish and sophisticated. And not a fleece jacket in sight.

The politics of fashion

The team at VanityFair.com asked experts to price Sarah Palin's outfit worn during her speech at the Republican National Convention. Here are their estimates:

* $375: Kazuo Kawasaki 704 glasses

* $165: Necklace (if fake pearls; $17,000 if real and high-quality)

* $4,900: Valentino jacket

* $1,490: Valentino skirt

* $79: Franco Sarto shoes

* TOTAL: $7,099 (or $23,934 if those pearls were real)

Less expensive options:

* Ann Taylor "Ottoman" jacket ($169.99 on sale)

* Michael by Michael Kors "Melton" jacket ($199.50 at Nordstrom)

* Gap pencil skirt ($44)

* Margaux faux pearl strand necklace ($22.99 at Target)

TOTAL: Less than $270

Fashiongate?

Spending since Sarah Palin's nomination, provided in the FEC filing:

* Saks Fifth Avenue: $7,575

* Barneys New York: $789

* Bloomingdale's: $5,102

* Neiman Marcus: $75,062

* Atelier: (men's clothing) $4,902

* Saks Fifth Avenue: $41,850

* Macy's: $9,445.92

* Gap: $133

* Lord & Taylor: $350

"My advice to Sarah Palin is, you've got a hot bod; don't keep it to yourself. Why wear a pantsuit when you can wear a swimsuit? Welcome to the Lower 48, girlfriend." - Paris Hilton, in Harper's Bazaar

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