$150,000 used for Palin's fashion need

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Republican party has spent about 150,000 U.S. dollars in the space of a month to meet vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's fashion needs, an online report said Wednesday.

According to the political website Politico, the Republican National Committee used campaign donations to pay for the Alaskan governor's clothing, hair styling, makeup and other "campaign accessories" during September, following her nomination as John McCain's running mate.

Among the expenses, 75,062 dollars were spent at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis and 41,850 dollars in St Louis in early September. It also included 4,100 dollars for makeup and hair consultation, the report said.

In its defense, the Republican party said the clothing would go to charity after the campaign.

"With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," said Republican presidential candidate John McCain spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. "It was always the intent that the clothing goes to a charitable purpose after the campaign."

McCain, an Arizona Senator, was exceeded by his Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama in campaign funds. Due to his acceptance of public funding, he is limited to 84 million dollars to campaign.

In contrast, Obama started campaigning in October with 133.6 million dollars in the bank.

The Republican party has been helping McCain's bid for the White House financially and is allowed to spend up to 19 million dollars in the campaign.