Say It Ain't So, Vicky

[Rumple Foreskin]

IS NOTHING SACRED?

Victoria's Secret tones down suggestive displays

By Olivia Barker, USA TODAY
Mon Oct 10, 7:39 AM ET


Shoppers are getting their panties in a twist over racy marketing again. And this time, appropriately enough, the outrage is over lingerie.

Victoria's Secret stores in McLean, Va., and Wauwatosa, Wis., are targets of the latest clothing controversy. Local residents are railing against scantily clad - and provocatively posed - mannequins: women on all fours, others intertwined on a bed, still others in "garters and whatnot, and the only thing missing is a whip," says Stan Zurawski, who's leading the charge in Wauwatosa.

It's a familiar cycle: Retailers ratchet up the raunch because they want to be edgy. Concerned shoppers react with neighborhood meetings and protests, and the company tones things down. (Remember the now-defunct Abercrombie & Fitch catalog that showed topless models?)

In McLean, concessions have meant, among other changes, straightening up and flipping around a thong-wearing mannequin whose largely bare derriere had greeted passersby. (Opponents are still not satisfied: A second protest is planned for today after a gathering Friday drew 40 to 50 people.)

In Wauwatosa, a reclining mannequin has been turned over so that its thong-clad bottom is no longer "mooning" the window, as Zurawski put it. But that's "absolutely not good enough for us," he says.

What makes this episode interesting is that Victoria's Secret is straining the seams in a fashion climate that's more about modesty: Bodies are largely shrouded this season by demure, ladylike looks.

Edginess is what Victoria's Secret fans like, says retail consultant Candace Corlett of WSL Strategic Retail. "Good for them for smart marketing," she says. And, in responding to the outcry, "good for them for having a conscience."

Meanwhile, other outfits are continuing to embrace the extreme this season. Diesel's ad campaign celebrates "the world of individual hedonistic pleasure pursuits"; one shot features women with whips. Hipster chain American Apparel has softcore-styled ads including a tight focus on barely-covered backsides of women.

It's unclear how many Victoria's Secret stores have staged the display, as well as how many the company planned to unveil. Calls placed to Anthony Hebron, a spokesman for Limited Brands, Victoria's Secret parent company, weren't returned on Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday, Hebron explained the company mission: "All we're trying to do is market what we sell. You see bras and underwear. That's lingerie. That's what we sell."

Some mall customers don't see what the fuss is all about, either. McLean patron Karimah Hatcher calls the controversy "ludicrous ... Is someone supposed to find that sexy? It is not a real woman."

Rumple Foreskin

 

[minsue]

The voice of sanity - "ludicrous ... Is someone supposed to find that sexy? It is not a real woman."

 

[Guest]

The voice of sanity - "ludicrous ... Is someone supposed to find that sexy? It is not a real woman."

Gasp!

Mannequins are not real? Barbies are not real?

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/sweetsubsarahh/LingerieBlkHair.jpg

 

[SeaCat]

Gasp!

Mannequins are not real? Barbies are not real?

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/sweetsubsarahh/LingerieBlkHair.jpg

Damn it, my sinus passages have once again been cleaned by an adult beverage. (Man that smarts.)

Cat

 

[Guest]

Damn it, my sinus passages have once again been cleaned by an adult beverage. (Man that smarts.)

Cat

(sorry)

 

[SeaCat]

(sorry)

Why don't I believe that?

Cat

 

[Guest]

Why don't I believe that?

Cat

Well -

edited to add: http://bestsmileys.com/innocent/1.gif

 

[cloudy]

True story (well, a couple of them):

When at Penney's, I was the Merchandiser for Childrens, Home Fashions, and Luggage. Part of Childrens was the "pre-teen" girls section.

One spring, the bathing suits came in, and I changed the pre-teen mannequins into bathing suits, complete with accessories: towels, sunglasses, etc.

Every morning when I came in, I would find beach towels tactfully draped over my pre-teen mannequins, covering their chests, and most of their bodies.

The problem? I found out my merchandise assistant (a woman in her late 50's, early 60's) was covering them up each day. Nevermind that she was covering the merchandise that we were SUPPOSED to be selling - the mannequins had nipples that were making the front of their suits poke out.

Second true story:

At Penney's (again....I have a horde of stories from that place), I was changing a mannequin - by chance one of the same pre-teen ones, and one of them was sort of old, and was hard to take apart. They came apart to put pants on them by one of their legs coming off.

I had the mannequin completely undressed, and was going to put pants on her, so I needed to take her leg off. I couldn't do it by myself, so I called the security guy to come help.

When he got there, I had ahold of her leg, and I told him "Just grab her there and pull," pointing to her crotch. (keep in mind folks, PLASTIC)

"No! Uh-uh! I'm not grabbing her there! It wouldn't be right!"

I finally had to switch places with him so I could get the damn thing taken apart.

 

[Guest]

im just here to say
THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPY IN VELLAOSIA

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

im just here to say
THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPY IN VELLAOSIA

Damn, straight.

I mean, what gal would want to go to bed looking like this,

http://frusin.redsectorart.com/images/clothing/victoria02.jpg


when they could approach bedtime in something, uh, warmer.

http://www.wingsandroses.com/images/nightgown2.jpg
.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[BlackShanglan]

"... and the only thing missing is a whip," says Stan Zurawski, who's leading the charge in Wauwatosa.

Am I the only one who finds this a fabulous line? It takes the crusading moralizer to add the whip. I wonder how he knew it belonged in the shot.

 

[SeaCat]

Well -

edited to add: http://bestsmileys.com/innocent/1.gif

Is that a wisp of smoke I see rising from your halo?

Cat

 

[cantdog]

It's new.

 

[minsue]

Am I the only one who finds this a fabulous line? It takes the crusading moralizer to add the whip. I wonder how he knew it belonged in the shot.

 

[oggbashan]

Licensed Sex Shops

Sex Shops have to be licensed in the UK.

They have to have a notice on the door banning under 18s.

They have to have an opaque back to the shop window and door so that passers-by can't see in.

There are restrictions on what they can and cannot display in the shop window.

Victoria's Secret and similar stores are not Sex Shops. They sell lingerie, underwear and 'toys'. Their window displays are no more 'erotic' than the underwear section of a department store.

Our local council knew that there would be furious opposition to a Sex Shop in their city. They decided to set the fee for the licence at £5,000 per annum on top of the business taxes. We don't have a sex shop. The neighbouring towns do. Their sex shops are small and discreet. The turnover generated in either couldn't make a viable profit and pay the £5,000 licence fee.

In the last five years there have only been two enquiries about opening a sex shop locally. As soon as the licence fee was mentioned the proposal was dropped.

There is more than one way to skin a cat.

Og

 

[logophile]

The store in Wauwatosa is not far from me.
It's been a huge stink in the city.
I hate those mannequins too, but only cause they're too skinny.

 

[TheEarl]

In England it is illegal for a boy of under 10 years old to see a naked shop mannequin.

Another useless fact from:

The Earl

 

[minsue]

In England it is illegal for a boy of under 10 years old to see a naked shop mannequin.

Another useless fact from:

The Earl

What about a Barbie?

 

[fieryjen]

Sex Shops have to be licensed in the UK.

They have to have a notice on the door banning under 18s.

They have to have an opaque back to the shop window and door so that passers-by can't see in.

There are restrictions on what they can and cannot display in the shop window.

Victoria's Secret and similar stores are not Sex Shops. They sell lingerie, underwear and 'toys'. Their window displays are no more 'erotic' than the underwear section of a department store.

Really? Huh, I must have missed that notice when I accidentally dragged my fifteen-year-old cousin into a sex-shop in London. I thought it was a lingerie shop, because that's what the displays implied. Nobody stopped us or ID'd us, either. And she looks like she's twelve.

 

[oggbashan]

Really? Huh, I must have missed that notice when I accidentally dragged my fifteen-year-old cousin into a sex-shop in London. I thought it was a lingerie shop, because that's what the displays implied. Nobody stopped us or ID'd us, either. And she looks like she's twelve.

It depends whether it was a licensed Sex Shop or just a 'sex shop'.

Licensed Sex Shops can sell R rated videos and dvds, have explicit displays illustrating the use of the sexual enhancement products and sell products to over 18s. Some only license part of their premises, behind another door. An unlicensed sex shop can go far further than people think is possible but always at the risk of an over-officious policeman deciding they have gone 'too far'.

Most of the profit is made on the expensive and usually unwearable lingerie bought by men for women. For that the shop doesn't need a licence. They just have to give the impression that the shop is selling something not available elsewhere. The woman could probably buy a much better product at an Ann Summers party.

Og

 

[fieryjen]

It depends whether it was a licensed Sex Shop or just a 'sex shop'.

Licensed Sex Shops can sell R rated videos and dvds, have explicit displays illustrating the use of the sexual enhancement products and sell products to over 18s. Some only license part of their premises, behind another door. An unlicensed sex shop can go far further than people think is possible but always at the risk of an over-officious policeman deciding they have gone 'too far'.

Most of the profit is made on the expensive and usually unwearable lingerie bought by men for women. For that the shop doesn't need a licence. They just have to give the impression that the shop is selling something not available elsewhere. The woman could probably buy a much better product at an Ann Summers party.

Og

Actually, now that I think about it... I'm pretty sure it was an Ann Summers shop. They didn't ID me when I bought something, but I look 20something and I was without my cousin that time.

Thanks for the info though. How do you know all this?!

 

[minsue]

Thanks for the info though. How do you know all this?!

Og knows all.

 

[fieryjen]

Og knows all.

I see that