Leave it to Victoria's Secret to miss completely the signs that there's a recession going on.

The lingerie company has teamed with jeweler Martin Katz to create "The Black Diamond Fantasy Miracle Bra," a $5 million piece of underwear featuring 3,900 gems (black diamonds, white diamonds and rubies) with a total weight of 1,500 carats - including two black diamonds with a combined weight of 100 carats. (That's supermodel Adriana Lima modeling the bra in the photo.)

Now, at this point, I could make a sarcastic joke - something about how Sarah Palin will be using the Republican National Committee's Visa card to buy one - but I'm not going to do that. Instead, I direct your attention to the thoughtful commentary by CNN's Campbell Brown, who complained that the recent uproar about the Alaska governor's exorbitant wardrobe bill is a) distracting from important campaign issues, and b) reflecting a double standard about how people judge women's appearance compared to the appearance of men. Watch it:

Labels: fashion, politics, Sarah Palin