As an employee of Victoria's Secret I have a lot of insight into the brand and it's marketing concepts. In the future, I even want to be a graphic designer for the company and participate in the marketing and advertising aspects as well. Although, I am a huge fan of Victoria's Secret, I feel as if at times it negatively impacts females instead of actually making them feel "sexy".
Even within the past year I have noticed that VS has altered its products and it’s marketing away from the "sexy" and "sultry" to a more vintage, classic femininity. For instance, VS has come out with an organic skin care line that is very clean and simple and is all about being natural and exuding your beauty. Furthermore, many of the bras and panties have been toned down and are more neutral in color patterns and the brand is reverting back to its more sophisticated roots. It is even getting rid of the Very Sexy make up line and bringing better quality makeup with a more elegant packaging onto the market. Furthermore, it has launched new perfumes that are very modern, clean and elegant in design.
Basically, as much as I support the more wholesome take the VS brand is taking, it still has to revamp a few other things. Many of the bras only go up to a 40DD(no special orders) and I have met so many women who are disappointed that they cannot purchase anything. Even the clothing line is rather small in size. This leaves girls and women to feel that they do in fact need to look like Giselle and Heidi to wear Victoria's Secret products. This probably may even lead some girls to lower their self-esteem and perhaps influence eating disorders.
In general, I think VS needs to realize that women come in all different shapes and sizes that are all beautiful and should all have the ability to wear something feminine from Victoria's Secret. Additionally, although VS mainly targets females, I feel that it would be a strong advance if it expanded its male market. It should not limit itself. At this point it reaches out to younger girls with the PINK line and women of all ages with the rest of its products. Males are the only target audience missing.
We may not all be VS Angels but we can certainly feel like one!
I am always curious to hear other people’s thoughts about the company and especially whether the sexy theme is in fact better, or is this vintage line a step in the right direction?
4 comments:
I agree with your opinion completely. I do shop at VS, however the pictures of the models and even the maniquines make me somewhat self-concious. It almost makes me feel like only women who look like them should shop at VS. On another note, I find it interesting that there is a common thought that overweight woman shouldn't shop at VS. Why can't overweight women be sexy? We all wear underwear, so why do I notice people commenting about how overweight women shouldn't be in the store? We are all sexy!
I agree as well. However, I think there's a fundamental problem with the way our culture defines "sexy". When I think of sexy, I envision a female or male trying to seduce the other gender into, well, sex. Is this strictly a heterosexual benefit then? Is the LGBTQ community able to identify with Victoria's Secret models in their attempts to feel "sexy" as well, by wearing VS clothing/lingerie/makeup etc.? Who are we attempting to be sexy for, ourselves or the person we're trying to seduce?
I agree that Victoria's Secret needs to expand their demographics to women (and maybe men also) beyond the "skinny and petit" types. Not only is this taking away from huge potential sales increases (because America as a whole is obese), but also making many women feel even fatter than they are because they cant fit into the lingerie at VS.
I believe that all women no matter what shape or size have the right to feel sexy. VS really needs to think about increasing their sizes and moving away from the "PINK" line.
I must say that I concur wholeheartedly here. The production of sizes for all women would:
1) increase Victoria's Secret's revenue
2)increase the self esteem for women
If they do make the transformation from the super "perfect" model clothing company (I use this term with sarcasm) to a company that allows real people, people like you and I, to feel good about themselves then they have most likely accomplished more than they originally set out to do.
Currently it is unfortunate that overweight women cannot really purchase the clothing sold at Victoria's Secret, but they sure do have a right to enter the store.
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