If you feel like there's a Victoria's Secret on every corner, you're not that far off. The brand actually dominates 37 percent of the lingerie market and the influence and impact it has had on society can't be denied. The annual Victoria's Secret fashion show is the top-rated telecast among adults ages 18 to 49, which we're pretty sure means a lot more folks are tuning in to watch Adriana Lima strut her stuff than they are, say, checking out what a genius like Giambattista Valli is up to this season.
I mean, without VS, Gisele Bundchen would be Julia Nobis. Who? Exactly.
So it stands to reason that plus-size women want to be represented by Victoria's Secret for more reasons than simply because they really, really want to wear a pair of itchy lace underwear that fall apart after a few washes (oops, did I say that? Just my personal experience and certainly not fact). VS is the all-American brand and American women's sizes are changing — it's in their favor to keep up with the demand.
As of right now, the largest size Victoria's Secret carries in panties is a 16, which is a lot smaller than most plus sizes, which typically range from 12 to 24, or even 28. And if you're blessed with a large chest, you're going to have an impossible time finding a bra that isn't a DDD or smaller.
A slew of different petitions are out there in the universe right now, all directed at VS, all demanding that plus-size women be treated more fairly by the company. And by "treated more fairly," I mean they wish to exist in VS's eyes. Thousands of people have reportedly signed on to ask that bigger sizes are offered, while others are kicking things up a notch and insisting that the company whose slogan is "A Body for Every Body" actually make good on its promise by employing a few of the hundreds of gorgeous plus-size models out there who would kill to walk the runway and pose for Victoria's Secret's career-making catalogs.
It seems odd that the McDonald's of lingerie companies has yet to get on board with this demand. Victoria's Secret has never appealed to a niche market, so they should stop putting out the message that their customer is a very specific person. She isn't. She's a college student who is starting to experiment with slightly more risque bras. She's a working mom whose family budget doesn't allow for her to splurge at Agent Provocateur.
She's everyone. But, apparently, she isn't a plus-size woman. Yet.
More about lingerie
Real men talk about our underwear and lingerie
Here's a secret about the 2013 Victoria's Secret fashion show
Victoria's Secret flip flops on Kate Upton, uses her photo