12/8/16

By: Avery Thomas

Victoria’s Secret is possibly the most popular lingerie company out there. It is pretty much impossible not to see it advertised somewhere, whether be at the mall or on TV. Pretty much everyone has seen a Victoria’s Secret angel sometime in their life.Their fashion show receives millions of viewers each year and their stores bring in billions of dollars. So, should Victoria’s Secret be sending a better message to women? All of their models have seemingly perfect bodies. When they strut the runway half naked or pose for a poster with basically nothing on, it can be demeaning for women, who wonder why they don’t look like the models in the picture. Victoria’s Secret should start using models who actually look like most women rather than models who look like “angels”.

The Victoria’s Secret fashion show drew in 6.65 million views last Monday night, starring models like Kendall Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid, and Adriana Lima. 6.65 million people watched these “Angels” strut around in their lingerie and look flawless while doing it. These model that they hire to walk the runway of the fashion show look nothing like most women, with their perfectly flat stomach and long legs.Even if the women watching the fashion show do realize that most women do not like the models that Victoria’s Secret hire, it’s still hard for them not to compare themselves to them or to wish that they could look Taylor Hill or Lily Aldridge.

Victoria’s Secret is a brand for women and women only. They only sell things for women to wear. So if they are not trying to sell to men, why is their advertising seemingly directed at them.During the Victoria’s Secret photoshoots, they try to make the Angels look as “sexy” as possible, how does this help them sell their product to women? They should be directing their advertising more towards women. Most people who shop at Victoria’s secret are smart enough to know that when they put a certain bra on or a certain bathing suit, they they still are not going to look even close to the girls that they have modeling it. So why not try to make the advertising a little less sexy and a little more realistic, after all it is women who are shopping their, not men.

While Victoria’s Secret is most directed towards women, they also have PINK, their brand that is directed towards teenage girls.  Being in high school, it is impossible to go a day without seeing some girl in a PINK sweatshirt or some type of clothing from PINK. It is an extremely popular place for girls in high school and even middle school to shop at, even though it is supposedly for college girls. Although the models for PINK are a little less “sexy” than they are for Victoria’s Secret, they are still physically flawless girls with the perfect body. Teen girls are much more impressionable than the women who shop at Victoria’s Secret. Comparing themselves to these models or wishing that they could look like them could be very damaging to their self esteem, especially at such a young age. Other brands that sell things like bathing suits or bra’s to girls have advertising that is much more fit for young girls. Brands like Aerie show their models with normal bodies, untouched. Their models don’t have have the flattest stomach, but neither do most of their girls who are buying things from them. Victoria’s Secret and PINK should stop trying to sell “sexy” and start being more realistic with their representation of women.