Source:
AP/Huffington PostCandidates can't use campaign money to improve their wardrobes, the Federal Election Commission said Thursday in a ruling that nonetheless dismissed a complaint against four congressional candidates who did just that.
The FEC said candidates cannot use campaign money for expenses they would have had whether they were running for office or not, such as clothes. The commission said it decided against punishing the four because the amounts spent were modest and the candidates reimbursed their campaigns.
...
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made news last year after the Republican National Committee spent more than $150,000 on designer clothing and accessories for her and her family. The RNC and Palin have said many of the items were returned to stores and the rest would be given to charity.
The commission earlier this year dismissed a CREW complaint over the Palin purchases, saying the ban on use of donations to buy clothing doesn't apply to party money. The commission has asked Congress to add political party funds to the ban.
Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/16/candidates-cant-spend-cam_n_236661.html
skipped 2 paragraphs in middle with details on 4 cases involving relatively small cases (Palin was not part of this particular ruling as indicated above).