A recent MainStreet.com article reports on "The High Cost of Being Lauren Conrad". No offense to the author, Juliana Bunim, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that being a woman in the public eye costs money.  Heck, being a style conscious woman of any sort is costly.  The article points out her beauty, wardrobe, transportation, shelter, and endorsement deals, not to mention her salary for her role on The Hills.

Being someone who works in the big machine we know as fashion, I am privy to the access these types of celebrities can obtain.  Her cosmetics deal with mark should afford her any product the line offers, and her handbags and clothing should come from her eponymous lines (a fatal mistake Jennifer Lopez made with her Sweetface line).  A well placed phone call by an assistant/publicist should have clothing and jewelry pouring in for the reality star to photographed in.  Additionally MTV using her home as a set should be some sort of tax write-off, if she even paid for the home at all. Not to mention Conrad charges fees for her appearances at restaurants, nightclubs and the like.

In fact, I would wager that it costs more for me to maintain my look than it does for Conrad to maintain hers, on a sliding scale of course.  Offset for the major difference in our incomes and lifestyles, and I would wager that being Lauren Conrad isn't all that expensive.  If I'm walking around in free jeans, you know she has to be.