Well, it was fun while it lasted. Victoria’s Secret CEO Sharen Turney has decided that the company’s lingerie has become too damn sexy and is calling on designers to pull it back a notch:
“I feel so strongly about us getting back to our heritage and really thinking in terms of ultra feminine and not just the word sexy and becoming much more relevant to our customer,” Turney said Thursday, before inhaling deeply to highlight the plunging cleavage of her black silk bustier with seductive mesh inserts.
That quote might not be entirely accurate. I’m quoting from memory and struggling with some vivid mental images.
In fact, Ms. Turney has good reason to feel so strongly. Limited Brands, the parent company for Victoria’s Secret, saw last quarter’s sales drop 12 percent below the figures for the same quarter in 2006, and holiday sales last Christmas were down 8 percent from the previous year. Excessive sexiness, however, seems like a misdiagnosis of the problem. Victoria’s Secret has been moving in a Pussycat Dolls direction for several years now, and I would venture to guess that many women don’t favor that particular image of their sexy selves. Actually, the word Ms. Turney is groping for isn’t “sexy,” it’s “tacky.” Victoria’s Secret does well selling items that make women feel sexy and drive their partners wild in the bedroom, not so well selling the castoffs from Britney’s 2004 Onyx Hotel Tour. Of course, “What Is Sexy?” is a question with different answers for different people. Your mileage may vary.
3 comments
It’s hard to tell to whom they are marketing when they do those stripper shows with the angel wings. I’m not gonna look like that when I put on that stuff and I frickin’ know it! I’m not gonna torture myself by putting it on and comparing, and I don’t want hubby comparing either!
Anyway, they are very PCD/Frederick’s of Hollywood, but I think they’ve always been on that line. Perhaps it’s just falling (back) out of fashion to be a stripper (please!).
It was once considered trashy to shop at Frederick’s and a special treat to shop at V.S. Everything was pastel and smelled like roses and baby powder. It did, at one time, feel a bit like shopping at a boutique without leaving the mall.
Now, I don’t even go into their stores.
Of course, I can remember, back when I was younger, how I felt no shame at browsing the back of Spencer’s Gifts.
I no longer do that either. And, for pretty much the same reasons.
I don’t know, I ADORE their new full coverage up lift bra, very practical, no cleavage there. Also, their Biofit bra in my size, 36D, is a dream. Their cotton signature bikini undies don’t ride up even in my size, small. I don’t go anywhere near their metallic bustiers.
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