Snooki's Designer Bags Given To Her By Luxury Rivals

Simon Doonan took to his New York Observer blog to wax poetic about Snooki, the pint-sized, loud-mouthed "Jersey Shore" cast member recently charged with being criminally annoying, explaining just how Snooki can afford her designer bags. Her secret? Luxury houses are giving her bags, just like they'd do with any other starlet. Except, they're giving her competitors' bags and not their own! Doonan writes:

Call it what you will--"preemptive product placement"? "unbranding"?--either way, it's brilliant, and it makes total sense. As much as one might adore Miss Snickerdoodle, her ability to inspire dress-alikes among her fans is questionable. The bottom line? Nobody in fashion wants to co-brand with Snooki.

But Doonan feels Snooki's pain, "not just because we are both 4 feet 9 inches tall," but because he, too, has had designers discourage his loyalty due to his small shoe size. He remarked, "Snooki and I are the Typhoid Marys of the luxury branding world."