Sarah Palin in the controversial Valentino jacket. Photo: Paul J Richards, AFP / Getty Images
Lisa A. Kline's wardrobe styling of vice presidential-nominee and former Alaska Gov.
Sarah Palin caused a political uproar during last year's campaign, and now she is finally telling her side of the story.
Kline, 47, a New York mother of three, says the $150,000-plus wardrobe she helped select for
Palin and her brood was not "as outrageous as it seems... considering the scope of the job," as reported by
New York Times, Kline added that her $54,900 fee included costs for an assistant and some expenses.
Kline also says the high fee was justified because styling the Palins included a last-minute holiday weekend assignment that left Kline so busy she slept only a few hours at a time. "It's very hard to put a figure on a 24-hour day," she told the Times.
The story reports that Kline is a self-employed fashion consultant, specializing in corporate execs and TV news personalities. She is not the Lisa Kline who owns the Los Angeles boutique with the same name.
In what soon became known as "
Wardrobegate," Kline dressed Palin in
Valentino,
Tahari,
Prada and
Jimmy Choo, among other labels. She says in the article that no one questioned the amount she spent.
One of the biggest shopping sprees came right before the Republican National Convention -- over Labor Day weekend -- when Kline tells the Times she was asked to fly to Minneapolis to dress the entire
Palin family, including her husband, children and Bristol Palin's then-boyfriend
Levi Johnston.
The last-minute trip to a Minneapolis
Neiman Marcus was made to dress the family. Kline tells the source that when the purchases were rung up she was not asked for payment. "Apparently it had been prearranged," she says.
Kline describes
Palin in the story as a size 4 or 6 and "very attractive, with beautiful skin, if a bit dowdy before the transformation. ...She was very, very sweet. I felt comfortable right away with her. She definitely had an opinion about the clothes, but it was a gentle opinion. If she didn't like something, it was, 'Oh, I don't think so.'"
As for that $25,000
Valentino jacket from
Saks that Palin wore during her RNC acceptance speech?
Kline tells the Times she found the jacket to be a little too grand, so she removed its gold buttons and a big swoop of fabric in front, as well as shortened the sleeves to three-quarter length.
"I felt I had achieved my goal," Kline says in the story. "I thought she looked great. I really did. It was perfect for the occasion."
We're not so sure Valentino would agree!
Check out some of Sarah Palin's looks over the years:
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Sarah Palin Style Evolution
Recognize this woman? It's Sarah Palin in the days before her trademark updo and shades. See more early pictures of the former VP candidate.
Heath Family, AP
Phil Walter, Getty Images
Sarah Palin's red hot heels made waves on the campaign trail. Now they're fetching big money on eBay. Check out the governor's style evolution -- from t-shirt-clad college student to fashion-forward VP candidate.
Getty Images
When she was a flat-broke (but "not flat busted") student at the University of Idaho in the 1980s, Sarah Palin dressed in the frumpy-freshman's uniform of tee shirts and shorts. But by the time she took the national stage this summer, she had a chic RNC-financed wardrobe that could have paid for the $125,000 dump truck penciled into the Wasilla City budget -- with enough left over for a family shopping spree at Alaska's first Target. To see how Palin morphed from dorm-dull to camera-worthy, click on.
Heath Family, AP
Sarah Palin -- then Sarah Louise Heath -- walked off with the Miss Wasilla crown in 1984 wearing a red and white strapless confection.
Heath Family / AP
Even by 1984 standards, Palin's swimsuit for the Miss Alaska pageant was a bit modest . Here, she models a red one-piece, which she later swapped for a "Dynasty"-worthy navy sequined gown. Though Palin snagged Miss Congeniality honors in the race, she lost the title to Maryline Blackburn, the first African-American to represent Alaska in the Miss American contest.
Splash News
In 1992 -- the year Donna Karan ran an ad showing a glamorous woman being sworn in as President -- 28-year-old Sarah Palin was all bold shoulders and bright earrings as she ran for the Wasilla City Council.
Bob Hallinen, Anchorage Daily / MCT
Dressed for success: Palin, as a member of the Wasilla City Council, wears the crisp blazer-and-white-shirt uniform favored by of legions of working women. Must have worked. Within 14 years, she was elected mayor of Wasilla and governor of Alaska.
Heath Family / AP
Standing along the Parks Highway in Wasilla, then-Mayor Palin was the embodiment of North Face chic as she shows how to work a basic red-and-back windbreaker.
Lulu Larsen, Alaska Stock Images / ZUMA Press
Forget how cold it gets in Alaska. In 2005, Gov. Palin's look in a pink Lilly Pulitzer sweater can be summed up in two words: Palm Beach.
Lulu Larsen, Alaska Stock Images / ZUMA Press
For her gubernatorial inauguration ball in 2007, Palin traded the librarian's up-do and black skirt and jacket that she wore to the swearing-in ceremonies for loose curls and a raspberry portrait-collar gown.
Christopher S. Miller, Alaska Stock Images / ZUMA Press
When you're heading into the sub-zero temperatures of the Tesoro Iron Dog competition, you don't even think about wearing peep-toe pumps. Here, Palin bundles up in heavy padding, fur and lace-up boots to cheer on her husband, Todd, who has won the snow machine race across Alaska four times.
Splash News
Read about
Sarah Palin's rumored cosmetics deal.
