You’d think if there was anyone who doesn’t need any more publicity right now it’d be ESPN’s sideline reporter Erin Andrews.  She recently learned the hard way that 1) peephole cameras really do exist and 2) if you threaten to sue every website running a video they claim is you skipping around your hotel room naked, you pretty much confirm it really is you in the video.  Live and learn, I’m sure she’s thinking.  OK, maybe not, but it doesn’t help that she’s now being dragged into a fresh controversy by choosing to attend the recent ESPY Awards in … dum DUM dum … that dress.

I’m not going to pretend that I know much about women’s fashion.  I know what I like, of course, and I know that it’s seldom what they want to wear.  But I’m the last guy you want to ask for advice on how a woman should dress.

There’s one thing I do know about women and fashion, though – that’s it’s a mortal sin to be caught wearing the same dress as someone else.  The magnitude of the crime increases as you rise in social standing, becoming felonious once you reach the celebrity ranks.  It doesn’t matter how nice the dress is, how wonderful it looks on your or how seemingly exclusive it might be.  A celebrity would rather be caught in a burlap sack than have  someone say, “Isn’t that the number I saw (fill in the blank) wearing last week?”

So I was left scratching my head when I saw the same dress popping up over and over on the red carpet in recent months (hey, it’s research, OK?).  At first, I thought I might be imagining things, but then other bloggers noticed it and began to comment as well.  It’s not so much that the same dress keeps reappearing as much as the nature of the dress itself.  How do I describe this tastefully … OK, it’s a hooker dress.

Hmm ... where have I seen that dress before?	That's right - it was on Doutzen Kroes ...	... and that chick from MTV ...
... and that other chick from MTV ...	... and that Dancing chick ...	... and Heather Graham. Finally - someone who looks like they'd actually have this in their closet. Yum ...

For the record, it’s a “Black Strapless Minidress with Suntan Inserts,” from Herve Leger Spring Collection. Retail price is $1,900, but you can get it for $1393.60 from the kids at Milk in WeHo. Of course, with the rise in relevance of people who shop and dress celebrities, maybe it’s actually the same dress, handed off from one star to another. Hate to pay that dry cleaning bill …

Oh, the decisions women have to make, and knowing there are knuckleheads like me waiting to criticize them can’t help.  All I have to do is make sure I’m zipped up …