Are Neiman purchases like Ebay?

I think by now we're all aware about the $150,000 or so the RNC spent for Gov. Palin's wardrobe since the convention. This fact (released by the GOP itself, btw) has caused enormous embarrassment and political damage to the GOP ticket and Gov. Palin personally. So I blundered across an odd defense of the governor here while reading about tensions between McCain and Palin factions. The whole article is worth a read, but the relevant quote is:

"She never even set foot in these stores," the senior Republican said, noting Palin hadn't realized the cost when the clothes were brought to her in her Minnesota hotel room. "It's completely out-of-control operatives," said the close ally outside the campaign. "She has no responsibility for that. It's incredibly frustrating for us and for her."

The question that leaped to my mind is whether or not this is plausible. Wouldn't you want to get fitted for very nice clothing like that? Hey, for $10 off Ebay, I'll take my chances on "XXL" being an accurate size description. For 5 grand, I want a tailor-made fit. After all, weren't they spending the money to make their candidate more presentable? Also, how would the operatives know what style and colors worked best for the governor if she weren't there to participate in the selection? Furthermore, wouldn't you be able to tell from the garment itself (or the NM bags they came in, at least) that it was a very expensive item? To be blunt, it sounds like another weak excuse by Gov. Palin's camp to try to deflect blame elsewhere, and not a very believable excuse at that.

Of course, I am no clothes maven at all, so I am curious about the thoughts of anyone here who is. Is it likely that they'd spend that kind of money without any input in advance from the recipient of the clothes?

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