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Sarah Palin is to forgo the designer wardrobe bought for her by the Republican Party, and will go back to wearing her own clothes, she has told supporters

To emphasise the point that she really does have simple tastes, the Alaskan governor appeared at a campaign stop in Asheville, North Carolina last night dressed in jeans. Her own.

The Republican vice presidential candidate has been dogged by criticism over her expensive wardrobe, after the Politico website reported that the Republican National Committee had spent around $US150,000 (£96,495) buying outfits from her from up-market stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

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Now she is starting to fight back. At a rally in Tampa, Florida, earlier on Sunday, she pointed out to the crowd that she was wearing her own jacket and insisted that from now on she would be wearing her own clothes bought in Anchorage, Alaska.

"Those clothes, they are not my property, just like the lighting and the staging and everything else the RNC purchased," said Mrs Palin, who was dressed in a simple pink jacket and black skirt.

"I'm not taking them with me. I'm back to wearing my old clothes from my favourite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska," she said.

Mrs Palin, who has sold herself to the American public as a moose-hunting hockey Mom with simple tastes, told the crowd that her jewellery was also locally bought - and at the lower end of the price spectrum.

Pointing to her earrings, she told the crowd: "These are from Todd's mom, who is a native American up in Alaska. Native American. Native Alaskan. And my wedding ring, it's in Todd's pocket because it hurts when I shake hands. A $35 (£22) wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself.

"I always thought, 'It's not what it's made of. It's what it represents,' " she said.

"Twenty years later, happy to wear it."

A spokesman for John McCain said the designer clothes would be donated to charity after the election on November 4.

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