Celebrities and Their Clothing Lines

As we sit glued to coverage of the numerous award shows, we dream of what it would be like to be dressed to the nines floating down the red carpet. Would we become a multi million dollar star if we wore the Armani dress worn by Jennifer Aniston? Would we marry the hottest hip hop star if we wore the outfit donned by Beyonce? Fashion magazines that once featured supermodels on their covers, now feature actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwyneth Paltrow. A celebrity can be seen in the pages of In Touch, In Style or People wearing a brand of jeans and within hours that brand will be the hottest item. Celebrities, banking on the public's obsession with their style, are launching their own clothing and accessory lines en masse. Those celebs who have a unique style (and even those without) can license their name to product lines and make millions..

Celeb clothing lines can be traced back to its originator - golfer Arnold Palmer. Palmer licensed his name in the 1970s to a line of golf clothing. Actress Jaclyn Smith, of Charlie Angel's fame, followed suit with a line of women's clothing for Kmart. Smith's lower priced line became the number one selling brand for the chain - today more consumers know of Smith as the face behind the clothing than as an actress. The Olsen twins (marketing's brilliant duo) copied Smith's strategy and signed with Kmart for their tween clothing line. While the quality of both lines is not high - fashion not meant to last for more than a season - they are moderately priced and trendy.

Hip hop stars jumped on the celebrity clothing line band wagon after Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons founded his Phat Farm line in 1992. Believing that fans wanted to be able to copy the styling of their fave rappers, Roc-A-Fellas Records CEO Damon Dash and mogul Jay Z launched Rocawear in 1999. Sean P Diddy Combs followed suit with his Sean John line which included sweat suits, jerseys, jackets and accessories. P Diddy's newer line includes the pricier Sean John collection replete with fur, leather and cashmere.