The most elusive fashion stylist in America is nervous. Sitting on a reporter's sofa, dressed in yoga pants and a hoodie, she averts her eyes and explains why she had decided to out herself after avoiding the spotlight.
"I want people to see that I did the best job I could under crazy circumstances," she said. "I want people to say, 'Wow,' you know, 'Not bad.' "
Lisa A. Kline, 47, a Manhattan mother of three, is the wardrobe consultant who made an Alaska hockey-mom-turned-governor named Sarah Palin into vice presidential material for the Republican National Convention in September 2008. In doing so, Kline set off a furor.
"Wardrobegate," as Kline's $150,000-plus fashion transformation for Palin became known, undermined Palin's carefully crafted homespun image when the news broke two weeks before the election. Details about pricey designer clothes and a whirlwind $75,062 trip to Neiman Marcus outraged Democrats and Republicans and may have played a role in derailing Sen. John McCain's presidential ambitions. The Boston Globe recently called it "the most damaging piece of information about" Palin to emerge from the 2008 campaign.
In her new memoir, "Going Rogue," Palin said it was a "trumped up controversy."
"I never asked the New York stylists to purchase clothes, many of the items were never worn, many others were intended for the use of other people, and in the end the wardrobe items were all returned. It certainly wasn't true that I or my family had been on any kind of 'big-time shopping trips.' "
All true, Kline said. But now that Palin is discussing her "New York stylist," Kline wants to clarify a few details.
Most important, the six-figure tab for the Palins' clothing was not as outrageous as it seems, Kline insists, considering the scope of the job.
As for her fee of $54,900, reported in campaign filings, it also covered an assistant and some expenses. She said the fee was justified because styling the Palins was a last-minute holiday weekend assignment, and "it's very hard to put a figure on a 24-hour day."
Kline, a self-employed fashion consultant, said she specializes in dressing executives and television news personalities, although she declined to name her news media clients.
In the days after McCain's defeat, unnamed aides told reporters that they were furious about the wardrobe expenses. Senior aide Nicolle Wallace, they said, had simply told Palin to buy three suits for the Republican convention in St. Paul and to hire a stylist, with anticipated costs of less than $25,000.
But Kline says, her assignment expanded and expenses spiraled, with no one questioning the total or how it might look if the Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade and Prada purchases came to light.
On Aug. 29, 2008, Kline fielded a surprise phone call: Could she dress Sarah Palin for the Republican National Convention, which was to begin three days later? "It took a moment to register," she said. "Then of course I said yes."
It was the Friday of a holiday weekend and "the only avenue was retail, straight retail."
Whirlwind shopping
She set to work in New York, buying pieces at Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys.
Then late on Tuesday, Kline said she was asked to provide clothes for the entire Palin family, including the candidate's husband, Todd; their sons Track and Trig, the infant; and daughters Bristol, who was pregnant, Willow and Piper. Levi Johnston, Bristol's then-boyfriend, was also included.
"This was a family that was about to stand before the world, and they just came with their everyday-life clothes," she said.
It was decided that Neiman Marcus, which has a Minneapolis store, offered the best available selection. Neiman Marcus opened for Kline and her assistant at 7 a.m. Wednesday, she said, and the two spent 90 minutes or so gathering what they needed. Back at the Hilton Minneapolis, Kline and her assistant did a run-through with each family member, getting the clothing tailored right there in the room. "The clothes literally went from the sewing machine onto their bodies."
