Just What Is Victoria’s Secret, Anyway?
If anyone should know the answer to this question, it should be me. I was once a copywriter for the catalog and judging from the copy I wrote, Victoria’s Secret was all about being “sensuous, seductive, sexy, sleek and soft.” The FIVE S’s… we weren’t supposed to use those descriptors too frequently. (“Silky” came in to pinch-hit often.)
Anyway, I’m thinking about good ol’ Vicky S. today for three reasons:
1) I still buy most of my underwear from them and today, as I looked for a post-shower pair of panties, I noticed that all the ones I’d bought less than three months ago already looked three years old. Planned-obsolescence panties. What a scam! You think that 3 panties for $25 is a real bargain until they start looking bedraggled and war-torn in a matter of months.
You see, I own this pair of Agent Provocateur panties that I picked up years ago at a photo shoot. (Is that gross that I’ve had them so long?) But the point is, these panties, which I think cost around $100 maybe, have really withstood the test of time and many laundry cycles.
Is it better to pick up cheap panties that last a couple of months or an expensive pair that last several years? And again, is it gross to have underwear that long?
2) I saw this article today that Rick Springfield of “Jesse’s Girl” fame has a new album that’s reached #28 on the Billboard charts. Wow. And the new single is called “What’s Victoria’s Secret?” inspired by, yep, the lingerie line. Here he is performing the tune on General Hospital (he’s back on the soap, too.) Is it me or do the chords and progression sound almost exactly like “Jesse’s Girl”?
3) Finally, I obviously missed all this brouhaha when it happened, but supermodel and Victoria’s Secret angel, Karolina Kurkova, was blasted a couple months ago for appearing on a swimsuit runway with “back fat, love handles and cellulite on her butt.” Here she is:
"Fat" supermodel Karolina K.
I’ll admit that I was shocked at seeing these photos because I saw Karolina a few years ago at a party in NYC and she was tall, gorgeous and rail-thin—I’d say half my size. Of course, she was probably 21 at the time. She’s all of 24 now.
On the one hand, it’s just ridiculous how so many people picked up this story about the “fat” supermodel. There weren’t better things to talk about in the news that day? Yes, it’s part outrage that she’s being excoriated for having a normal woman’s curves and it’s part schadenfreude to see someone who’s hailed (and outrageously paid) for her otherworldly looks come crashing down on her now-dimply butt.
However, people do have a point when they say it’s her job to be abnormal. She made $5 million last year for her face and body. The least she could do is keep herself picture-perfect. If she can’t do it, what hope is there for the rest of us non-supermodels? Does this mean we can give up and let ourselves go now?
I think it’s terribly sad that people, especially young women, are shown those photos of Karolina and told that that is fat. Even worse that I’ve been so brainwashed into believing it, too.
i really detest how you say ‘she was rail thin, but that was because she was then 21…..but shes 24 now’….like 24 is the age where you should begin to age. i dont see a difference between my body from 21 to 24….its only THREE YEARS! how much can one person age in that time?! I think that is perhaps a worse ideology than the fact people are calling her fat…. that 21 is the peak of youth and from this point on you are running downhill and considered an old fart. how ridiculous!!!
I think you missed my point entirely. The expression “all of 24 now” pretty much means she’s a baby, so very young still. If you want to see what I think about women in their 20s, you can read this. Good luck!
The stupidity over Karolina K.’s body “fat” reveals more about the people who made a big deal over it. She’s freakin’ gorgeous. I hope the lovely Ms. K. was able to dull out the public’s uproar and unrealistic expectations of her. And I hope she’s still rocking the runways with the same degree of confidence that I see in the above photo, cellulite and all. You shake that dimpled butt, Karolina!
OMG BM! i totally remember the five S’s!!! Of course, most people don’t even realize that there IS copy in a Victoria’s Secret catalogue