A Wren Says

“Well, you know Louis Vuitton sent her a Gucci bag so she wouldn’t be seen filmed with theirs.” The rumor has been circulating for years about Snooki, the beloved meatball of Jersey Shore. Snooki, nee Nicole Polizzi, has since debunked this rumor, but it continues to run the circuit. The idea is that a luxury brand would be so desperate to not be associated with a reality TV star that they would send a paid staff member to pay for a competitor’s bag and mail or courier a bag to this woman.

Here’s the thing, it is very possible that the Gym/Tan/Laundry lifestyle of the housemates on the MTV reality show did not fit into the image that Louis Vuitton might have wanted to portray in the early 2000s. But the longstanding rumor says much more about us than it does about the luxury house.

We, the consumers and not the brands, continue to circulate this rumor. We continue to think it is true because we hold particular images of luxury. We believe that some people fit the image and others don’t. Regardless of the image that Louis Vuitton or any other brand attempts to build, we are the ones who ultimately confirm that with our perceptions.

The question that those who have bought in to the rumor need to ask themselves is, “Why was this so easy to believe?” Is money not enough? Do we believe that some people are more deserving of luxury than others? And how do those beliefs impact you and how you choose to buy for yourself?