Fact: My high school fashion sense made Ugly Betty look good.

Yes, that’s me circa 9th-10th grade. I was mugging with my BFF, thus the open mouth. I feel that it took me until my 30s to really find a comfortable style for myself. It’s a bit preppy, a bit vintage, and a bit whatever suits my fancy. Despite being such a fashion dork I’m enthralled by the fashion throw down that is occurring on the campaign trail. First we had Michelle Obama cause an uproar when she appeared on “The View” in a White/Black dress. I along with the rest of America went to their website and despite the fact that I had been in one of their stores just months earlier, I fell in love with their style. Recently she was spotted on the campaign trail in an H&M dress. For a woman who was tagged as the next Jackie Kennedy, she certainly is thrifty!

Next fashion uproar was about Cindy McCain’s dress at the convention. For a party that kept claiming to be fighting for the middle class, that price tag for one night’s outfit was quickly picked up by the liberal end of the political spectrum.

And of course Moms on Issues’ BFF Sarah Palin is causing a 5-star uproar over her recent shopping spree on the RNC’s tab. Instead of debating the pros and cons of shopping at H&M versus Oscar de la Renta, I’m left pondering how much do we really need to spend on our clothes mamas?

Back to me…When I took the current job I have, I decided to up my wardrobe a bit and in the last year or two I’ve been trying to add more suits to my closet. I’m not being paid enough for Nordstrom suits, but Ann Taylor Loft does the job, plus a tailor of course. There are times when I’ve bitten the bullet and laid down $300 for a suit and then times when I’ve hit the jackpot and found a suit for under $100. Since I’m not a fashionista, last year’s looks often don’t faze me and I think a lot of ATL’s styles are pretty classic. The clearance rack is my BFF.

Yet I can clearly see that as I get older and move up in the world, I will need to start doing more Ann Taylor and less Loft. So despite my political issues with my new BFF Sarah, I can actually see how quickly one can get to $150,000, especially if part of that money went towards the First Dude of Alaska (men’s suits are outrageously expensive!) and the First Brood of Alaska (professional looking maternity clothes can be expensive). OK, so $150,000 is going overboard, but one look at the Neiman Marcus website and you can find suits from $300 to almost $800 just on the first page, add in pumps, jewelry and well, Sarah’s looking at minimum $1,000 a pop and that’s not even taking into account evening wear for all the fundraisers she must be attending. YIKES!

On the other hand, shelling out that much money when you’re trying to make the case that you’re just an average Hockey Mom from small town America…well, you’ve read and heard the pundits on that one.

In the end, I’m not going to base my vote on who looks better in what, if that was the case, I would have voted for Edwards in the primary. But I wouldn’t mind having Michelle show me around the mall.

Confession time:: What’s the most expensive shopping spree you’ve ever been on that was work related? Do you have to do galas at work? My husband had a job where we had two attend a gala TWICE a year. Yowzas! Dress, shoes and hair put a dent in our then-tiny incomes.