Sarah Palin inspires Jewish wig development

Sarah Palin has inspired a lot of things during her meteoric political rise: Conservative euphoria. Liberal angst. Political uncertainty. Media scrutiny. Uncanny Tina Fay satire.

And she's certain to inspire a fair number of lookalikes this election eve Halloween holiday. 

But now the GOP VP nominee and Alaska governor is serving as inspiration for one of the most unusual items this political season: A new wig style for ultra-Orthodox Jewish women.

Feeding on the intense interest in Palin, an ultra-Orthodox wig shop in Brooklyn is selling a specially-designed "Sarah Palin wig."

"It is a very classic look, yet fashion forward!" said Boruch Schlanger, one of the owners of Sheitel.com.

Made of 100 percent human hair and now on sale for $795, the "Sarah Palin wig" is actually the cheapest one sold by the company, where some wigs cost more than $2,000.

(Georgiewigs.com, which is making the Palin wigs for Sheitel.com, is selling them on its site for the bargain-basement price of $695, so order now! The company pitch for the wig: "Sarah P... because good fashion taste trumps all politics.")

But there's one potential  pitfall for the the new style that's an homage to the conservative, "country first" Palin: The wig is made of 100 percent Asian hair, not American hair!

"Caucasian European hair is the best hair in the world because of its light weight, strength, texture and high protein content which gives the hair longevity," Sheitel.com company states on its Web site. "Most human hair used to make wigs is obtained from Europe, China, Korea, Indonesia and India."

What?!?! American hair isn't good enough?!?!

"There is no market for American hair," said Klein, vice president of Georgiewigs.com. "Only Asian, Southeast Asian, South American, and Russian. Americans expect too much money for their hair (ever see the "Married With Children" episode where Peggy Bundy is offered $500 for her hair by a lady who wants to turn it into a wig? They end up cutting off the hair from their dog instead!)."

But, in a political season where Obama is criticizing McCain for owning foreign cars, can Palin endorse the wig homage made of foreign hair? What does she think about her wig homage being made of Chinese hair?

Hmm...

This critical question is unlikely to come up in the waning weeks of the campaign.

And, since Palin is evading most reporters and hasn't even bothered to hold a press conference, there's not much chance for reporters to get an answer.

Palin isn't the first high-profile figure to inspire such a wig.

Sheitel.com has produced wigs in the past based on the hair styles of Princess Diana, Jennifer Aniston and Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.

Georgie is also introducing an exclusive line of Disney Human Hair wigs featuring hair styles of Hannah Montana, Cheetah Girls and others.

In what is almost certainly a sign of political trends, the wig provider hasn't produced an homage to Hillary Clinton this political season. (Though they apparently did so when she was First Lady...)

One might expect the wig to mirror Palin's signature bun look. But it actually is based more on the style she sported during the debate.

Sheitel.com sells a variety of wig styles to married ultra-Orthodox women who, based on their religious beliefs, hide their real hair when they go out in public.

Klein told Checkpoint Jerusalem that sales of the Palin wigs had "far exceeded" projections, but he wouldn't say if they expected to sell two, ten, a hundred or what.

Comments

[b kenneth mcgee]

Palin's contribuatiion to the McCain campapign:

West Side Story MARIA'S SONG

I feel pretty,
Oh, so pretty,
I feel pretty and witty and bright!
And I pity
Any girl who isn't me tonight.

I feel charming,
Oh, so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty
That I hardly can believe I'm real.

See the pretty girl in that mirror there:
Who can that attractive girl be?
Such a pretty face,
Such a pretty dress,
Such a pretty smile,
Such a pretty me!

[Ahuva]

Oh dear me..Tickled me pink, it did. Probably the funniest I've read today. Bless her soul