Despite earlier furor, Palin shopping continued

GOP campaign reports show the party continued to purchase high-end clothing and services for Sarah Palin, even after it was learned that $150,000 was spent on expensive clothing.

WASHINGTON Despite the furor over a $150,000 campaign shopping spree for GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, the Republican Party continued to spend money on clothing and accessories for her in the contest s final weeks, new campaign reports show.

The latest buys ranged from $4,383 at Saks Fifth Avenue and $2,130 at Nieman Marcus to $148 at Victoria s Secret locations in Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Another $430 was spent at Aldo, a shoe store. The buys were listed under the heading of campaign accessories.

The party also paid $55,700 in consulting fees to Lisa Kline & Co., a New York fashion stylist. And the McCain-Palin presidential campaign, which was funded with $84 million in tax dollars under the presidential public campaign financing system, dispensed $34,384 to Amy Strozzi, a celebrity makeup artist. The campaign had previously paid Strozzi $36,000, disclosed in earlier campaign finance reports.

Party spokesman Alex Conant said the expenditures listed in the party s October and December reports were the result of coordinated expenditures at the campaign s direction.

Accessories have been returned, inventoried, and will be appropriately dispersed to various charities, Mr. Conant said.