I was in college and, thus, surrounded by troves of girls with "PINK" scrawled across their butts. My friends and I made monthly shopping trips to the mall and Victoria's Secret was always on the list of must-visits. Spray on a little Love Spell perfume, stock up on that heavenly smelling shampoo and conditioner and then duck into those fancy dressing rooms to try on the season's newest colors. If this is what sexy was: I had mastered it. But, not exactly belonging to a thin-framed family, I knew my time would eventually run out. Mom-bras were in my future.
I did not, however, suspect that my time would come at 21. At a Dave and Buster's. With a broken underwire. And after one too many Jameson shots. My best friend at the time shook her head and knowingly told me, "You're not wearing the right sized bra. I don't even fit into Victoria's Secret bras and you're way bigger than me." I cringed. Where would I buy bras, then? The ones at Target, even in my size, never seemed to last. And, despite my good girl ways, I still wanted something pretty.
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Her suggestion was Lane Bryant... and I almost punched her. My mom, with health issues and breasts twice the size of mine, shopped at Lane Bryant. Girls my age and my size did not. I went through a few more shopping trips in denial. They all ended with muffin-topping boobs or bra straps and underwires that broke too soon. Eventually, I gave in and quickly realized that Lane Bryant's bras were cute and sexy and... not just for moms. I could push my boobs up to my chin and secure them in place against my chest all while wearing a rainbow of colors, not breaking the bank and not feeling like an old lady. Triumph!
I'm still a little bitter, though. Just in case. At 21, I should not have been made to feel like I no longer belonged in a store that specifically caters to girls my age (and the guys that fantasize about them). Victoria's Secret, despite distributing lingerie that often looks a little "grown up" and having models that are a tiny bit older, mostly caters to thin, young college girls. Their sizes seem to fall off once you hit average baby-having age when that tiny creature wreaks havoc on your perfect breasts. They're pushing fashion shows with gorgeous girls in bedazzled push-up bras and making all our dudes drool... but they're not supporting the real, the average, the larger boobs. Shoot. In my instance, they weren't even supporting my delayed "freshman 15" expansion.
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If studies are right and the average size for women right now is 14-16, a huge chunk of those girls probably have boobs that, like me, don't fit into Victoria's Secret. Their models are by no means unhealthy. Admittedly, VS is one of the few places that does a decent job of showing healthy-looking models. Where they fall short is by suggesting via their fashion shows and size-range that angels and fantasy girls only come in so many sizes. Not exactly a size two... but certainly not a size 16, either.
So, my question is: What are you thinking, Victoria's Secret? Your limited sizing and close-minded opinion of what a fantasy girl looks like is cutting off a huge chunk of buyers. Why don't you support my boobs? Why aren't you supporting the average American's boobs?