Editor’s Note:  Introducing The Etceterist, the byline for the new style-world infiltrator for wowOwow.com, who will post deliciously anonymous weekly musings vis-à-vis the glamorous goings-on in the worlds of fashion and culture. Who is The Etceterist? Some may guess, but we prefer to stay silent, except to pronounce that there is no more inside insider in the worlds of art, beauty, society and culture.  

Go ahead and think clothes don’t make the candidate. That is just what the advisers and style consultants preparing Sarah Palin and Joe Biden for their big debate want you to believe — their candidates are all substance over style and they will just roll out of bed Thursday morning orating.

But we know better than that. No thread or hem, no hair or freckle, will be overlooked before the vice-presidential candidates go live.

Here are some of the styling concerns and considerations happening behind the scenes.

Because Biden can come across as flip, aggressive and loose lipped, everything is being done to give the candidate a tidy, tailored look from the fit of his suit jacket to trimming his hair and making sure it looks thick, virile and substantial and not fussy à la Donald Trump.

A tie or not a tie?

Should Biden continue his penchant for campaigning without one, loosening up, proving that he is just another guy after work on the train home? Or should he wear a tie to connote authority and experience? But how wide and what color? Too wide, is too gauche, too narrow is too untrustworthy. Blue is for the Democrats, but what shade of blue? Is blue lavender too cool? Is blue silver too elitist? Will navy look black and inanimate on TV? How about a blue and silver stripe? Too jaunty? Why not red? Do the Republicans really own red? Rosy tones go great with his skin color, very invigorating.

Consultants have their work cut out for them, laying in the options.

Dressing Sarah Palin is even more complicated. First off, care must be taken that should the provenance be discovered of her suit or dress — yes, there is some talk she might wear a dress à la Michelle Obama — it cannot trace back to a pricey designer or store. (Is campaigning a man’s world? Somehow, no one ever cares who made the man’s suit or tallies how much it cost along with his wallet and watch.)

Click here to read Palin-tology: Sarah Palin’s Fashion Progress From Pink to Power Suits.

If not a dress, then should Palin’s suit be a solid color or two-toned, the jacket contrasting with the skirt? (Palin likes two-toned.) The black suit she wore in New York was her best ambassadorial, grown-up look yet, but black on TV might be a downer, but also might be worth the risk if she looks sharp and confident. Red being the Republicans’ color and also the color of love and the heart, it is a likely choice. Party powers that be are playing Palin as the sweetheart. So the search is on for the perfect red — not easy, books have been written about finding the perfect red — a shade that is not likely to burn orange on a color television not correctly tuned, but something rich and hearty.