Enterprises Requiring New Clothes

Henry David Thoreau said to beware of them. ("Beware all enterprises requiring new clothes"--Walden)

It's been a while since I read Walden but I can imagine that Thoreau had two hesitations about enterprises requiring new clothes. The first is that such enterprises may end up being too expensive. One of the reasons I've always liked to walk for exercise is that the only thing you have to buy is shoes. No Yoga pants, no bike shorts, no climbing harnesses, just shoes. The second reason to beware enterprises requiring new clothes is that new clothes make you a new person, and if you need them, perhaps were you are going is not who you really are.

iMinister did not buy any new clothes when she started her campaign. All she did was take off her preaching robe to reveal her ordinary Sunday attire on the morning she gave her campaign speech. But she is well aware that her campaign was a bit irregular. She has no problem with the idea that an unexpected candidate for Vice President of the US who is suddenly thrust into the limelight would need a major shopping spree. She wouldn't have been at all shocked to hear that it was necessary to spend some thousands of dollars on sufficient, high quality new clothes to get a new campaigner through her campaign.

But too much was too much ....way too much. Palin's buyers clearly forgot that they should be sticking with "necessary, high quality, and attractive" and wandered into the "foolish, expensive, and high status" categories. It was an expensive mistake in more ways than one. She may be feeling that about the whole campaign. I certainly would be!

Michelle Obama has always appeared to my untutored eye to be very well dressed, and somehow it does not surprise me the she's a bargain hunter. One gets the feeling that being the First Lady wouldn't change her very much, and that she won't let it ruin her kids. Even new clothes won't go to her head. Henry David Thoreau would be pleased.