What is Digg?110 Comments
- Crazysticks, on 01/12/2008, -2/+297askmen.com, why cant you fit 5 things on one page?
- supasurg, on 01/12/2008, -7/+195Because 2 pages for 5 facts is ridiculous:
5 things you didn't know: Victoria's Secret
The way things used to be, buying lingerie for your lady meant a ghastly trip to the department store where derisive stares made you feel like a deviant in the grips of a perverse panty fetish. This humiliation was the impetus for a guy-friendly place where getting your lady something sexy was met with encouragement, not a raised eyebrow. This is the place we call Victoria’s Secret.
Although intimately associated with its sexy lingerie, today the retailer actually sells a wide range of women’s wear and beauty supplies. It has 1,003 stores in operation, and each year it puts 400 million copies of its famed catalog through the mail. In 2006, sales reached the $5-billion mark, and its parent company, Limited Brands, hopes to double that figure by 2010 (we’re rooting for them; when Victoria’s Secret wins, we all win).
Modeling for any of the company’s collections is considered prestigious, but its Angels are a cut above the rest. Past and present Angels include such well-known names as Tyra Banks, Adriana Lima, Rebecca Romijn, Gisele Bundchen, Helena Christensen, and Stephanie Seymour, and it is without question the most coveted modeling job in the industry.
Here are five things you didn’t know about the only company in the world with the celestial seal of approval: Victoria’s Secret.
1- Its founder jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge
Tired of the humiliation involved in trying to buy lingerie, Roy Raymund created Victoria’s Secret in 1977 by putting the first store at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. After opening a few other stores and launching the mail-order catalog, Raymond sold the company to Limited Brands in 1982 for a sizable paycheck.
By 1993, Limited made Victoria’s Secret a nationally recognized brand, while Raymond’s most recent business venture had ended in bankruptcy. He was last seen alive walking toward the Golden Gate Bridge, and shortly thereafter his body washed up on the shores of Marin County. Investigators concluded he’d committed suicide by leaping off the bridge.
2- It is named after a notorious prude
So who is Victoria? Since the first stores were designed to resemble Victorian boudoirs, the company’s namesake is England’s long-reigning 19th-century monarch, Queen Victoria. She and husband Prince Albert played “hide the scepter” enough times to produce nine children before his unexpected death in 1861 threw her into a state of profound mourning that lasted until her own death 40 years later.
Despite this climate, fashions of the day included the corset, a sexually charged garment that embellished a woman’s curves above and below the waist. So what, then, was the Queen’s secret? Was she a royal horndog? Did she love a carriage quickie? Was the prim former princess a party-girl, always shouting for Prince Albert to get out of the can and into her Very Sexy chiffon bloomers? We’ll never know. I suppose that’s why it’s a secret.
3- It regularly denies celebrity requests to model
Ed Razek, the company’s chief marketing officer, was quoted recently in a Forbes article stating that each month he has to turn down a number of requests from high-profile female celebrities desperate to be an honorary Angel.
The Angels are not a desperate bunch, however. In fact, they are products of an intense and extensive program designed to make each of them media-savvy celebrities. But that isn’t the only reason this commercial icon with a fresh star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame does not take requests. Another reason is Modeling 101: While the seraphic beauties in Angel garb typically stand around 5’ 9” or so, most Hollywood celebs fall more than a couple inches short, even if standing in a pair of Miss Sixty Side Button boots.
4- Its Angels are chosen based on their appeal to women, not men
Women make up the majority of the company’s executives -- they represent two-thirds of those tuning in to their fashion shows, and they account for a whopping 98% of the company’s customer base. This is their audience, plain and simple. It’s no coincidence that two of the most high-profile Angels in its short history are women other women don’t, as a rule, dislike: Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum. Both are charming and down-to-earth models who aren’t bitchy about their beauty (perhaps this is why Naomi Campbell has never, in any sense of the term, been an Angel).
We men aren’t entirely disregarded, but according to Ed Razek, Victoria’s Secret doesn’t “do salacious shots that women would not like.” It should be easy to tell if this paradigm ever changes: Future fashion shows will be on pay-per-view and many of us will recognize a few of the models from online porn.
5- It provokes numerous FCC complaints every year
Now in its seventh year, the televised Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show enjoys a devoted fan base, but its most dutiful viewers can probably be found among a loose confederacy of conservative tight-asses. Operating under such vague catch-all names as the American Family Association, these groups annually flood the FCC with complaints about how the show is indecent or obscene.
In determining what is obscene, the FCC juggles three statutes: Title 18 of the U.S . Code (Section 1464, concerning what goes over the air-waves), obscenity as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court (written to cover hardcore pornography) and basic First Amendment rights. As a result, it places more restrictive standards on TV shows that run between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
This year’s fashion show was broadcast at 10 p.m. on both coasts, but at 9 p.m. in the central and mountain time zones. The Parents Television Council (PTC) reacted strongly, saying that families in these times zones “had to scramble to find their remote to keep their children from accidentally stumbling across this televised peep show.” (The PTC’s credibility regarding this frantic scenario is suspect; once, they freaked out about some “briefly depicted buttocks” on the cartoon King of the Hill.)
The show’s 2007 ratings were up from last year, but have otherwise been slipping ever since it first premiered. Seizing on this, in 2002 Concerned Women for America -- their granny panties evidently in a bunch -- wrote that since the broadcast had placed third in the ratings, “maybe even CBS will get the message; we're sick of mindless TV."
If this was the message, someone definitely did not get it: One of the shows with better ratings that night was The Bachelor.
Searched
We know why most folks search it, but why might some members of Concerned Women for America search it? Maybe they’re ready to turn in their ankle-length skirts and trouser socks for the champagne lace and garter belt, or a satin chain-back babydoll with matching silk panty. If this is true, it’ll be our little secret.
Interest
We men see Victoria’s Secret and think of having sex. Women see it and think of feeling sexy. There may be some common ground here. After all, it is too difficult to click through the online store and not reach one overwhelming conclusion: So much of the apparel sold at Victoria’s Secret looks as good on a woman’s curves as it does in a ball on the bedroom floor.
So, provided men and women find one another attractive -- and it isn’t the apocalypse -- the public will always be somewhat interested. - inactive, on 01/12/2008, -7/+1605 Things I Didn't Give A ***** About Victoria's Secret [and still don't]
- sjbdallas, on 01/12/2008, -8/+66That's kind of hot that they pick their models based on their appeal to women.
- inactive, on 01/12/2008, -6/+49just show me the tittties
- behindcurtain3, on 01/12/2008, -3/+45Dugg down for multiple pages to list 5 facts
- DoodleMaster, on 01/12/2008, -5/+46Secret number 6: "its the vagina"
- imightbewrong, on 01/12/2008, -3/+43you can fit the whole article in a comment and they can't squeeze it on a single page lol
- santaliqueur, on 01/12/2008, -4/+44Rhetorical questions are not meant to be answered.
- MOJIRA, on 05/17/2008, -1/+40Apparently I have the same taste in women as women do.
- archerOFloaf, on 01/12/2008, -9/+42I hate VS. Before you bury me hear me out. Any man (or woman for that matter) who has a g/f or wife that likes VS is a broke mother *****. My girl loves that place and I love her in articles of clothing from that place. My wallet on the other hand becomes significantly lighter because of that place. A bra can no ***** be 50 dollars. Thats a new video game. Or a new set of tube for a guitar amplifier. ***** thats a tank of gas. I love titties and I know they need support in the form of a bra, but 50 freaking dollars. Come on. Sexy shouldn't put you on the streets homeless!
- PCGUY112887, on 01/12/2008, -7/+37The same reason tons of the lists posted to Digg are on 2-3 pages, you change pages which gives them move page views which in turn equals more profits from more advertisement views.
- fotbr, on 01/12/2008, -2/+26Further proof that you're a lesbian trapped in a man's body.
- SiNN4R, on 01/12/2008, -4/+22Boobs.
- sportbikepilot, on 01/12/2008, -3/+20couldn't fit it all on one page? buried.
- bitt3n, on 01/12/2008, -1/+17good catch poindexter. to the snitchmobile!
- kylere, on 01/12/2008, -1/+16My wife is worth the extra money they cost, and a smart woman can still save there by buying at the right times. Their product line is far superior to the Walmart Bras you choose to make your women wear.
- spyd3rweb, on 01/12/2008, -2/+17Secret number 7: "this article is a waste of time"
- twocenthug, on 01/12/2008, -3/+15Why are you paying for her things in the first place if you complain about it? I so happen to be a huge fan of Victoria's Secret Pink collection and I pay for all my own *****...I never ask my bf to get me anything. You seriously have some issues you need to talk to your girl about..*cough*gold*cough*digger*?
- Fryth, on 01/12/2008, -3/+15They employ slave labour...
http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=490 - PHiZ187, on 01/12/2008, -1/+12This article should include 1 more, Victoria Secret prints its catalogs from 100% virgin paper, meaning that it doesn't use any recycled content. Multiply that by the tens of millions of catalogs it sends out every year, and that is quite the amount of waste.
- AWooWoo, on 01/12/2008, -1/+10So when we say "Lets play hide the scepter" is it the royal scepter or my scepter?
- RyFo18, on 01/12/2008, -2/+11So since they pick their models based on what women like, does that make me weird if they appeal to me too lol??? Either way, the models are smokin
- TripcodeMel, on 01/12/2008, -0/+8Don't act so shocked. That's the general rule for just about any modern retail store - you don't stop shoplifters, you write it down and call the cops later.
- JohnnyThunders, on 01/12/2008, -1/+9I really like that Victoria's Secret doesn't use any big name actresses to model their line. Mainstream "fashion" retailers of ANY KIND seem to be just a tad more credible when they leave the modeling up to the models, and not the publicity that a famous celebrity creates.
And just for clarification, not all women enjoy watching Tyra Banks talk about Tyra Banks. Adriana Lima is where it's at!!! - mal1964, on 01/12/2008, -1/+71. What a woman in your bedroom looks like wearing them.
- dancingnacho, on 01/12/2008, -0/+5Well, that or people that like comfortable bras...either one.
- bitspace, on 01/12/2008, -2/+7"Women" is plural. Really, it's not difficult, like "men" is plural for "man."
- feliphe, on 01/13/2008, -2/+7Bury, I HATE TURN PAGES!
- DivisibleByZero, on 01/12/2008, -0/+5I loved the training video that summer at Taco Bell. They had this big dramatization of the clerk stopping a robber, saving the day, being the hero... I think he even got the girl in the end. Then a narrator came on and said "while this may have looked like a good idea, corporate policy says just give the guy the money". Nooo, they weren't subtly trying to suggest that you risk your own life to save the store...not at all...
- kedohmen, on 01/12/2008, -4/+9my wife used to work for them, one thing that is retarded about them is if there is one little mess up on a product -loose thread/button- they cut it up and throw it away!?! No, re sale to a Ross or whichever resale place. Also, there are no cameras in their stores and their sales people are instructed to not stop shop lifters or call security! So, happy shop lifting -they had one person who would come in once a month with a jc pennys bag and take a bunch of *****. So shop lift and sell it on eBay!
- killcops, on 01/12/2008, -2/+6number 6: They employ slaves to make their super cute thongs
- toxicityj, on 01/12/2008, -2/+6could these possibly make up the secret Victoria has?
-reads article-
that was a disappointment. - jftitan, on 01/12/2008, -1/+5You are lying through your keyboard... you don't exist.... you are a figment of other peoples' imaginations. I wish my gf was more like you. We aren't BIG BIG fans of Victoria Secret (ok, I lie... I am a fan) But the expense... You are right about shopping at the right times though... if or when the sales kick in. She'll shop... and I'll be happy for another night(s)
- inactive, on 01/12/2008, -1/+5Buried for not listing all 5 on one page, forcing people to click "next".
- dvandewalle, on 01/12/2008, -2/+6wow, guess you get your underwear in walmart, right beside the housewares? maybe explain to your kids that some people like to have nice shoes, some like to have nice underthings, or that some people like to look nice for themselves and the ones they have feelings for, and they won't grow up to be such sticks in the mud like mom and dad.
- loganarcher, on 01/13/2008, -1/+5Secret number 8: "we don't talk about Fight Club"
- archerOFloaf, on 01/13/2008, -0/+4I think people are blowing this completely out of context! Its not like we make daily trips to VS. For instants on her birthday I asked her what she wanted and we were off to the mall for for some cloths. VS was on the menu for her I geuss. VS wasn't exactly on my wallets menu but I'm a nice guy and I like to see a smiling face. Its not like she doesn't buy me crazy *****. This past easter (yeah of all holidays I got her nothing and she produced an XBOX360. I understand there are some people who dont know what that is. Its basical a 350 dollar gaming machine and media center. So its not like I'm always ponying up cash. She does spend for me. As for the whole bar thing and all that. I met her in the military at Holloman AFB. Shes a good woman. All I was trying to say was that VS is ridiculously exspensive! NOBODY CAN ARGUE THAT.
- JohnnyThunders, on 01/12/2008, -0/+3You're the kinda guy that will start to hate on all females because of your inability to choose a decent one. Yeah, no *****, a girl you meet at a club and buy 30 drinks for is going to suck your balls, but she's also going to be a total vapid idiot. If you're just trying to get some then by all means, but if you're trying to turn a hoe into a housewife you're sorely mistaken. She's ALWAYS going to define herself by what she owns and what her man spends on her.
- inactive, on 01/13/2008, -2/+5I find it a bit creepy that Victoria's Secret now has a teen section.
- DivisibleByZero, on 01/12/2008, -0/+3Maybe they're married and she's a stay at home wife who's kind of dependent on his income? Regardless of how much he hates victoria's secret, it's probably worth the cost to have a hot meal and a cold beer waiting for you after work!
- inactive, on 01/13/2008, -0/+3Weren't they "caught" using _really bad_ Chinese sweatshop labor recently? I mean, all clothes pretty much are made that way now (sigh) but it does make it a little sickening to think of rags costing literally 10 cents per item coming from these labor conditions being purchased for 10 zillion per cent markup and then worn by "Angels" that have no regard for the aforementioned Chinese women... kind of makes me sick, actually.
- offwithyourtv, on 01/13/2008, -0/+3Why, because you think girls who are 16 don't wear underwear or something? I shopped there in my teens before they had a teen section. Victoria's Secret bras have outlasted all my others from Target or other stores. What's the big deal?
Now if they had a kid's section I'd be concerned. But many girls develop breasts by age 11 or 12, and as a result, they purchase bras. - Ellipsys, on 01/12/2008, -0/+3I don't mind paying for quality (I have some silky Armani t-shirts that are a grade above everything you can find at a "conventional" store) but I don't want to pay for just a name (There are t-shirts equal in comfort to the Armani ones that cost 4-5 times as much that I refuse to buy). That said, from what my girlfriend tells me, Victoria's Secret is not quality. Their vapid sales staff are horrible at sizing women correctly, and their size range is pitiful for the expense. My girlfriend is an unusual 4'9", 115lb, 32DD. She can't buy bras there - they rarely carry DD to begin with in any style except for "moo cow coverage" (which still hurts her shoulders). They certainly don't carry 32DD of all things. She can spend $75 on a VS Bra that kinda, sorta fits her (or so the salesgirl insists) or she has to go to a specialty store like BraSmyth to get a size that fits for $100+. She and I both understand that they can't cater to all sorts of odd sizes, but for what they charge they need to do a little more than pump out cute little numbers for A's and the occasional C.
- Jalh, on 01/13/2008, -0/+2the funcking ands ......
- KizardLing, on 01/13/2008, -0/+2My partner had the same impression about VS. She's a 38D and has difficulty finding bras. I finally suggested that we stop in there when she was having trouble finding a bra that would fit her for wear with a bride's maid dress. Not only did they help her find the right fit, they had a very good selection of bras in her size. She even found a sports bra that worked for her, something she had given up on.
On top of that, the people at this VS were friendly, knowledgeable and downright enthusiastic about the clothing they sell. I'm not saying your girlfriend is full of it - just saying that not all VS locations are bad. - Ellipsys, on 01/12/2008, -0/+2Link?
- mk2ja, on 01/12/2008, -0/+2I think he just meant that he didn't care about those 5 facts. He didn't say he didn't care about VS as a whole, just those five things.
That's my interpretation of what he said, at least. - betona, on 01/13/2008, -0/+2They're headquartered here where I live and I got the cook's tour of their office & shipping center by a friend of mine.
(1) The huge art they have on the walls would get you fired at any other company, but was cool and would motivate me.
(2) The female employees get to beta test underwear all the time, resulting in an abundance of undergarments for them so long as they turn in feedback.
(3) The warehouse part was impressive with tens of thousands of boxes stacked on pallets 3 stories high, each box with about 50 bras or panties in them. Do the math and I was looking at hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of underwear and the inventory turned over daily.
(4) Word is, it's not really a fun place to work with severe work/life balance issues and politics being the norm. My friend isn't there any more. - rhinohelix, on 01/12/2008, -1/+3I am a lesbian trapped in a man's body, so it makes sense to me.
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