Of course, they weren’t really Palin’s purchases — and that’s another Minneapolis connection in the Times story. Jeff Larson, the locally-bred Republican consultant whose FLS Connect GOP phone-solicitation firm has been in the news again lately, fronted Palin the $130,000 for her clothes. (The Republican National Committee paid him back.)

The occasion for retelling the story of Palin’s Minneapolis shopping spree is her new book, in which Palin has her own version.

The Times interviews Lisa Kline, the designer who dressed Palin and the members of her family for the 2008 GOP convention. An excerpt:

Neiman Marcus opened for Ms. Kline and her assistant at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, she said, and the two split up and spent a rushed 90 minutes or so gathering what they needed. Ms. Palin and her family were not there; nor was anyone from the campaign. Instead, the two stylists relied on a couple of salesclerks and a store manager.

“There was no conversation. There was no chitchat. It was just, ‘We need two pairs of pants in size yadada,’ ” Ms. Kline said. The purchases were rung up, but Ms. Kline was not asked for payment of any kind.

“Apparently it had been prearranged,” she said. …

Ms. Kline said she does not recall who asked her to expand her styling to the entire Palin family or who set up the appointment at Neiman Marcus, which later became so controversial because it undermined the candidate’s image as a populist.

The Burberry brand that Palin favors has had a bad rap back in Britain as having become too populist:

During the 1970s, the brand became popular with the British football casual cult, leading to it to being associated with chavs, hooligans and members of football firms by the 1990s. The brand became something of a national joke, particularly when actress Danniella Westbrook was photographed with her young daughter wearing matching Burberry outfits. South Wales police ran a drive against anti-social behaviour under the name Operation Burberry and Burberry admitted that “Burberry is now synonymous with Chavs and thugs.”

Palin will make a return visit to Minnesota on her book tour, with a stop at the Mall of America on Dec. 7. (But don’t go there dressed like a chav in your Burberrys, or the security guards’ll be on you.)

Coleman announced that he intends to attempt a risky use of campaign funds to pay high-priced attorneys and investigators to defend against charges that could result from an FBI investigation into $75,000 that his benefactor, businessman Nasser Kazeminy, is alleged to have funneled to Coleman via his wife’s employer. At least Coleman’s campaign has leftover cash after the most expensive contest in state history.

Coleman attorney Roger Magnuson’s ominous references to the 2000 presidential recount debacle in Florida so annoyed state Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson that Anderson cut Magnuson off, saying, “This is not Florida.” At least Magnuson didn’t let Anderson go on and on about Florida while the sitting justices silently seethed.

At 11:41 a.m. yesterday, a Coleman attorney was observed surfing the J. Crew Web site during the second day of the State Canvassing Board’s review of ballots that rival Al Franken challenged in Minnesota’s statewide Senate recount. At least it wasn’t the Neiman Marcus Web site.

At a press conference Wednesday, campaign spokesman Cullen Sheehan refused to answer questions from reporters, and instead recited the line, “The senator has reported every gift he’s ever received,” 12 times in three minutes.

Transcript below the jump.

REPORTER: On a different subject, is there a reason that the senator won’t say whether or not someone else bought some suits for him?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: Rachel, the senator has reported every gift he has ever received.

REPORTER: That wasn’t my question, Cullen.

CULLEN SHEEHAN: The senator has reported every gift he has ever received. We are not going to respond to unnamed sources on a blog.

REPORTER: So Sen. Coleman’s friend has not bought these suits for him? Is that correct?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: The senator has reported every gift he has ever received.

REPORTER: Why can’t you say that? Why won’t you give us an answer yes or no on that?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: He has reported every gift he has ever received.

REPORTER: We haven’t asked whether or not he has reported every gift he has ever received and I will take your word that he has reported every gift he has received. Has he ever received a gift of suits?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: He has reported every gift he has ever received.

REPORTER: If the answer is no, why don’t you say no?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: He has reported every gift he has ever received, Rachel.

REPORTER: What about Laurie, Mrs. Coleman’s, job at Hays Companies? Do you know what she did there?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: Again, they have disclosed everything they need to disclose on the Senate ethics forms.

REPORTER: So the senator will only go according to the Senate ethics laws or rules rather than answer questions?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: He does everything he is required to do, Rachel.

REPORTER: But that’s not my question, Cullen.

CULLEN SHEEHAN: That’s my response.

REPORTER: Sen. Coleman has talked a lot about campaign finance and transparency. He’ll repeat that — transparency, transparency -– that’s what you need to have. If there are questions about whether he was a recipient of some very expensive suits and whether those they were gifted to him in an appropriate way -– why not just clear it all up because it is very unclear to us?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: He does that every year as a United States senator on the ethics disclosure forms.

REPORTER: And will we find information about clothing on those forms?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: If it exceeds a gift limit, yes.

REPORTER: So is it possible that he received these suits and they were below the gift limit?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: The senator has reported every gift he has ever received.

REPORTER: It’s a little puzzling, Cullen, why you won’t say whether or not he received these gifts and I understand that you don’t want to have respond to everything on blogs, but you’re getting questions from reporters and I don’t see why you’re not answering that. Can you explain that a little to me?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: Rachel, we are not going to respond to unnamed sources on blogs. That’s all we would do every day from now until the election is over. The senator has disclosed everything he is required to disclose and reported everything he is required to report.

REPORTER: But Cullen if the senator did nothing wrong here and that’s what you’re saying, you could just tell us that and the issue would go away.

CULLEN SHEEHAN: The senator has reported every gift he has ever received.

REPORTER: Did the senator do anything wrong here?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: The senator has done nothing wrong and has reported every gift he has ever received.

REPORTER: And you don’t know what Mrs. Coleman did for Hays Companies?

CULLEN SHEEHAN: And again, whatever has been required to be disclosed about her income and what she does has been disclosed.