Here's The Thing: Victoria's Secret & Plus Size Women

As some of you may be aware, Victoria's Secret just wrapped up filming their annual runway show in Shanghai. Premiering November 29, the show will feature models such as Adraina Lima, Lisa Aldridge, and Karlie Kloss. All sporting the telltale wings of an angel, we will see the usual strut of the Victoria's Secret variety- tall, thin, long-haired, and lingerie-clad.

Compared to most other shows, this runway features models of ranging ethnicity and heritage (thank you; the world is not full of just white people), but fails to feature a range of body types and of course, the plus size community has something to say about it.

Being a part of the plus size community, I don't really pay attention to Victoria's Secret. It's not my kind of brand and here's why- what I'm working with is not what Victoria's Secret is working with. Their sizes do not exceed an extra large or a DDD. Yo gurl's working with a lot more than a triple D. So, what's the hold up?

According to the NPD Group, an American market research company, the money is there. Sales of plus size clothing (size 12 and above) rose six percent, making it an $21.4 billion dollar industry in 2016. Looking at the numbers, big is beautiful.Why doesn't Victoria's Secret think so?

Clothes are somewhat simple to make in comparison to undergarments and lingerie. An A cup next to a G cup is going to look different, and it should. Cora Harrington, a lingerie expert and editor-in-chief of The Lingerie Addict stated,

"The biggest misconception [in the lingerie industry] is, I think, what goes into producing and designing lingerie, especially when you get to higher sizes.I think it's great there's been more vocal demand for larger cup sizes and more vocal demand for plus size, but what a lot of people may not realize ... is that each size grouping basically requires a different factory and a different set of patterns."

So, if we use our noggins, she's saying that it will cost money to make different sized bras than what Victoria's Secret already cranks out. Sounds like a load of crap, I know, but let's break that down even further. First off, you have to hire someone that possesses the technical knowledge to create a larger bra. Trust me, they aren't using the same blueprints that a B cup would use. You would think that with 67% of American women being above a size fourteen, designers would have this whole, I don't know, designing clothing for the average American woman down pat but, what do I know? I'm just an American woman above a size twelve that likes having accessibility to bras, especially those that fit properly.

Catering to a plus size audience costs money. Would they probably rake in the dough? Most likely. Would I shop there more consistently if they carried plus size clothing? Probably not. But, and here's the thing, Victoria's Secret won't ever be plus size. You can sign a petition and acquire three thousand signatures asking for plus size inclusion (that actually happened) and nothing will come of it. Why? Because that isn't the Victoria's Secret brand. Their brand focuses on women's dissatisfaction regarding their bodies. They portray a body image that very little of the population will ever acquire due to their genetic makeup. Better yet, they know the average woman will never reach the pinnacle of "societal beauty."

Within the article "Victoria’s Dirty Secret: How Sociocultural Norms Influence Adolescent Girls and Women" the authors highlight on just that.

"Women's body dissatisfaction is influenced by sociocultural norms for ideal appearance that are pervasive in society and particularly directed at women. These norms tell women that they are valued for their bodies, physical appearance, and scale of attractiveness. Girls as young as 10 years old start dieting because they are struggling with their weight and body perception. This will continue throughout their life span. Victoria's Secret sends a message to these adolescent girls and women that their models are the standard of beauty. The models are shown on TV commercials, ads, and magazines meaning it is seen on an everyday basis. Girls are comparing themselves with these high unrealistic standards that is captivated by the media. Women in these ads are highly objectified, idealized, and sexualized. If women feel they have to live up to this sociocultural norm standard, it is only telling men that it is okay to objectify and sexualize women."

Furthermore, in 2014, Victoria's Secret launched their "Body" campaign featuring ads and posters that said "THE PERFECT BODY" over images of well-known Victoria's Secret models. Eventually, after a petition of over 30,000 signatures requesting a change in the tagline, the company conceded and re-branded.

That took thirty thousand signatures for a slogan to be changed. Imagine what it would take for Victoria's Secret to create a plus size line, or even past that? A line for women who have had to undergo a mastectomy? Transgender women? We can't even get them to apologize for their appropriation of Chinese culture during the 2016 fashion show.

So, where am I at with Victoria's Secret? I don't shop there. They don't carry my size nor do they have to. I think as a community of plus size women, it's time to stop pressuring straight sized brands to carry our size. I know, it sucks. But here's the thing, I would rather shop at a brand who doesn't consider me an afterthought. I would rather spend my hard earned cash at a company who caters to me. Sure, those brands are harder to find and may be even more expensive. However, I believe and know that if we continue to pull together and say that we don't want to wear a dress that has the shape of a burlap sack or a bra that feels like it might actually snap in half, we will actually get somewhere. Stop buying into the idea that "PINK" plastered across your behind is sexy and that because you don't have it across your butt means that you aren't sexy.

Sexy isn't a size two or a size twenty two. Sexy is a state of mind.

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Love,

Heldie