Nicole Richie to launch jewelry line

I'm a celebrity junkie as much as anyone. I devour Us Weekly and People each week when they arrive in the office, and I have been known to prefer Access Hollywood to World News Tonight. Nonetheless, even I have overdosed on the antics of the incredible shrinking starlet Nicole Richie.

It looks like we're going to see more of the reality star this year, however. News reports announce that Richie has plans to launch a jewelry and accessories line as well as to write a book and create a fragrance.

Of course, Richie is somewhat late to jump onto the celebrity-jewelry-line bandwagon: Stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Brad Pitt have had collections out for years. But Richie might be just a bit too late. Here are just a few reasons I expect her line to flop:

1.Judging from the muted reaction to pop star Madonna's clothing line, which bowed at H&M last week, the public may have finally realized that having a famous name doesn't necessarily correlate to design talent for clothing, jewelry or anything else. Celebrity collections have become so ubiquitous that it seems their novelty has finally worn off, leaving little else to appeal to the consumer. I also think consumers have finally realized that the celebrities have little to do with the actual design of the pieces that bear their name.

2. I just don't really see the cache of having a piece of jewelry designed by Nicole Richie, who straddles the line between fame and imfamy, without ever having displayed a talent of any sort. I think I might brag about wearing a piece by Elizabeth Taylor, or someone else famous for her love of jewelry and her timeless style. But if I received a compliment on a pair of earrings by Nicole, I can't imagine name-dropping the brand for anything other than a laugh.

3. Just about every current fashion magazine has taken to touting 2007 as the year of individuality in style, giving consumers yet another reason not to want accessories designed specifically to copy somebody else's.