Gov. Palin has made conflicting statements concerning just how pregnant she ever looked. At one point, she stated explicitly that she never needed to do much to hide her pregnancy because she never showed much. However, elsewhere she made the statement that she DID hide her pregnancy, through "fashion-assisted camouflage," beginning as far back as the Vogue shoot in mid December 2007, when, according to the dates she released, she would have been around eighteen weeks pregnant (a very normal time for a fifth pregnancy to begin showing.) But careful analysis of her mode of dressing from December 2007 until February 2008 (Christmas events 2007, State of the State 2008 and other events) in fact shows NO attempt to disguse anything until approximately mid February, when Gov. Palin began dressing in jackets and scarves, and often wearing what were obviously winter coats indoors.
Gov. Palin announced her pregnancy on March 5th. Curiously enough, however, her "dress to disguise" did not cease. In fact, in general it increased, became more pronounced and in some cases almost bizarre. We have photos of her (they will be in part 2 of this post) at one event (a formal lunch for the spouses of the Alaska state legislators) AT THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION in which she is wearing a trench coat which looks like something someone could have picked up at the Salvation Army paired with a scarf that literally falls to her knees.
No sharp, stylish professional maternity clothes for Gov. Palin, which is sad considering how nice and attractive some of the designer maternity outfits are now and how really good she would have looked in them. (Quite a change from the eighties when I was pregnant and maternity "fashion" consisted mostly of floppy bows of varying sizes paired with checkered tops. As if, oh yeah, that'll hide her belly.) No, during HER pregnancy, our fashion-conscious governor favored mannish black jackets, trench coats, frowsy scarves, and winter coats worn indoors (several of which can be spotted in photos from other years fitting remarkably the same when she was "pregnant" as when she wasn't.)
Here, then is a gallery of photos that have not been widely seen before.
This first item is interesting. The event was an awards banquet for the Alaska Outdoor Council. Dating these photos was tough, because the organization's own newsletter says they were taken March 8th, 2008. Here's a screen shot of the page of the newsletter.
If that date was accurate, she would have been around 30 weeks pregnant. Further research however, has convinced me that the organization's own newsletter is wrong - and that actual date was February 9th. While not quite as dramatic a find as if this photo had been from March, Sarah Palin would still have been twenty six weeks pregnant with her fifth child here. We tracked this correct date down through this news article, from the Alaska Journal of Commerce, which contains an additonal photo.
Here's an internet picture of a woman at twenty six weeks just for reference. I posted the skinniest one I could find.
Hmmm. That's all I can say.
The next photo has been seen several places. Here it is:
This picture is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it was one of the first (perhaps the first) taken of Gov. Palin after she announced that she WAS pregnant on March 5th, 2008. It was taken in conjunction with an event, in Fairbanks, called Fur and Ice, on March 8th, 2008. This appears to be a reception of some sort, held in honor of "the diplomatic corps." Here's another picture from the state of Alaska website.
Another reason that we are very interested in this picture is it allows us to date a blog post made by blogger Elizabeth Eubanks. Her blog entry, dated April 26th, but clearly referring to photos and events that happened earlier, is one of the "proofs" of Sarah Palin's pregnancy. The thinking goes like this: A random out of state person saw Gov. Palin at the airport and said she was pregnant. She would have no reason to lie. Therefore, Gov. Palin must have appeared pregnant. Here's a photo someone at the airport snapped of Gov. Palin, with Ms. Eubanks and Piper Palin.
It's clear that Gov. Palin and Piper are wearing the same outfits that they were wearing in the other Fur and Ice photos. Given that, plus the fact that Eubanks says she saw them in the Fairbanks airport, and it's a reasonable assumption that the photo of Eubanks, Palin, and Piper Palin was taken on March 8th.It's been suggested various places that Elizabeth Eubanks was "paid off" to say that Gov. Palin looked pregnant. I'd like to suggest a far less cynical or dire explanation: she was in Alaska precisely when the pregnancy was announced. It was on TV and in the papers. No doubt, she heard about it, may well have seen it discussed on TV within the 24 hours prior to her leaving Alaska, and when she saw Gov. Palin it was the first thing she thought of. Based on Palin's appearance at the other "Fur and Ice" picture, in which she looks completely unpregnant, it's hard to imagine any great change in belly size between then and the airport that evening. So, my conclusion is: Elizabeth Eubank's oft-repeated statement "Of course I had to check out the “Hottest Governor in the US” and quickly turned to see her pregnant (she has since had her baby) with bags and daughter in tote." is nothing more that her repeating what she had just heard on TV, and had nothing to do with Palin's actual appearance that day.
For further discussion, I'd like to offer this picture, taken just last December less than a month ago, from the state of Alaska website.
The fit of the jacket, in my opionion, is identical from last March (at roughly 30 weeks of pregnancy) and this December (at 0 weeks of pregnancy.) (We hope.)
The last photo in this group is a picture taken on March 11, 2008 in conjunction with a youth summit of some sort. I am still trying to learn exactly what this group is. Here's a photo of Gov. Palin from that day.
Sarah Palin was less than five weeks away from delivering a six plus pound baby in this photo. In spite of not being able to see clearly due to her ubiquitous jacket, I sure don't see a 6-7 months pregnancy here. In addtion, this photo illustrates what I was mentioning above: her almost bizarre penchant for wearing winter coats indoors. The incongruity is made even more clear in this series of photos since many of the young people are wearing short sleeves. One young lady, not in this photo but shown at the event in other photos, is wearing a sleevless top. More pictures tomorrow!
