Snap! How Carey Mulligan inadvertently became the glossies' ultimate cover girl

Not-so-exclusive: the near-identical photos adorning three recent covers

That look is just so last year! There was embarrassment in the world of fashion "glossies" after an almost-identical cover shot of Carey Mulligan graced the front of three magazines.

Exclusive cover shots are the lifeblood of the monthly fashion bibles. American Vogue took the Oscar-nominated British actress to the South of France for her first cover shoot, which appeared on the October 2010 edition of the magazine.

But more than a year later, an almost-identical image of Mulligan, in the same Chanel couture dress, was recycled on the front of the November issue of French Elle.

German Glamour clearly couldn't resist and used a shot from the same shoot for its latest December edition.

It was unclear whether photographer Peter Lindbergh had sold on the pictures himself or whether they had been reused.

Using a historic cover shot is a fashion faux pas akin to parading, well, last year's Chanel. Glamour and Vogue, both published by Condé Nast, could have a cover-sharing agreement but Elle is a product of rival house Hachette Filipacchi.