Fat girls at Victoria's Secret.

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  • BenchPressingCats
    BenchPressingCats Posts: 1,826 Member
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    Congrats on the job!

    I just wanted to chime in to say, they hired you for a reason. You're qualified and awesome! If anybody doesn't want to shop there because there's a plus sized girl there, they can just do all their shopping online. God forbid they have to encounter other overweight people while they're out! Might as well switch to all online shopping!

    That, and I ♥ you.
  • pinkpatron
    pinkpatron Posts: 154
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    I would love to see a heavier woman work at the VS out here. I know some stores are coming out with plus size manikins (sp?) So that's a start I guess lol
  • Silver_Star
    Silver_Star Posts: 1,351 Member
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    Congrats on the job!!!

    i hardly ever go into a VS store. Mostly because i figure i wouldnt look good in anything in there...if there were plus size ladies working there, i would definitely feel more comfortable to go in and look around.
  • mmddwechanged
    mmddwechanged Posts: 1,687 Member
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    I will be definitely shopping at VS now! Love this!:)
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I don't remember what any sales clerks at any store I've shopped recently even looked like. If I'm in a store, it's for the merchandise, not the person ringing me up. As long as someone can do the job and be reasonably polite, I don't care if they're in a panda suit.

    Just not a clown suit. Clowns scare me.
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
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    The only thing I care about sales associates where I shop is that they are not rude and that they are competent. Beyond that I could give a crap less what size, shape, race, age, gender or whatever they are. And I do shop at Victoria's Secret.
  • Mharren
    Mharren Posts: 60
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    I feel way more comfortable with a bigger woman assisting me with apparel. If I was really skinny I'd probably feel better with a very skinny woman. Someone more my size can not only help me more, but I don't have to entertain any ideas that they're actually thinking "What a **** pig." or "I bet she's anorexic".

    I never got the whole "Fat people should only play in sandboxes designed of them" thing...cause people that CARE that much about weight, surely would feel very secure about their place on the bell curve with the fatties running around knocking over their sandcastles with each thundering whomp.

    Congrats on the job!

    - Mharren
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
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    I like seeing people of all sizes everywhere I shop, as well as gender, race, etc. I don't want to spend my money in a store that discriminates.

    Agreed. But I don't shop at VS because I think the quality of the merchandise is poor compared to the price.

    ETA: congratulations, I am sure you will do very well at your new job!!
  • amberlykay1014
    amberlykay1014 Posts: 608 Member
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    I just wanted to say that I think it's great that you got hired. I too work in retail and one of the best sales techniques is talking about what you personally love/wear from the store. I think a lot of larger women will feel more comfortable with you and I think you'll actually become the "favorite employee" for many women because you will know what works for you and you will be able to give advice from a larger woman's perspective.

    Rock it!
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    It wouldn't bother me in the slightest!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    I am amazed to learn that anyone would have a problem with the weight of a sales associate at any store. People are strange.

    Congratulations on the new job.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    They make me feel like "go find your own store" everytime I shop there, whether fat or thin, because my bra size is weird and they don't have it in the store, rather than offer to measure me and find it online, I've been told several times, by several workers, at several locations, "we don't carry your size". Point blank. JUST. LIKE. THAT.

    I'm glad to see you are having a different experience and being treated well and may bring something better to the table but I've really been so turned off by this treatment that I will no longer shop there.

    BTW my last trip, I didn't even make it past the perfume section which is on the side of the store without feeling perturbed. When I picked up the "tester" (clearly marked) and didn't even spray it just sniffed the tip barely, and set it down. A worker walked swiftly up to me. Rather than ask the usual "is there something I can help you find?" or "was there something in particular you came looking for today?" she said nothing, and picked up the exact same bottle I just set down, put her back to me and set it down in a different spot, as though I had set it down in the wrong place...then walked away. (on the same table just about one inch over so as to make a perfect triangle with the other bottles.) Excuse me, I didn't know as a customer it was my job to put things precisely just so, I hadn't even noticed the little shape they made. It just so happened I liked that perfume quite a bit and was about to pick up the actual bottle to purchase along with two others I know I like from there, and all the lotions, and extras that go with them to have a couple complete sets going into summer, since I really like perfumes and like to buy them for the seasons and especially fresh things for summer. Not after that though. I walked out feeling insulted. Again. Thanks VS! L'occitane says thanks too, since that's where I went to end up getting their lovely Pivoine roll on EDT and parfum spray. Next up Rose de Reines, and Jasmine Bergamot. It's gonna be a fresh and lovely summer.
  • kgulett
    kgulett Posts: 14 Member
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    First, congrats on the new position! Second, I don't see why it should matter what size you are. If they sell your size and you like thier product, it's your money. Spend it where ever you feel like spending it.

    I think having a plus-sized sales associate will make the larger women feel more comfortable shopping there.

    I agree!! I would certainly feel better with someone plus sized!
  • Kilokata
    Kilokata Posts: 111
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    My question is, what does everyone think of "fat girls" working/being at VS? If you walked in and saw a fat employee, would you be more comfortable knowing that it's at least a bit more diverse, or would you be turned off? Do you think they purposely don't cater to "fat girls"?

    I'm just interested in this topic because I'm realizing that I'll probably experience a moderate amount of scoffs and sneers from certain shoppers simply for being fat. I was just wondering what other people think on the matter.

    TL;DR: fat girls working/shopping at Victoria's Secret: 'go you' or 'find your own store'?

    The problem is that stores like VS advertise to a very specific crowd. I AM NOT CONDONING THIS, but every single Victoria's Secret advertisement contains nothing but scantily clad extremely skinny (fit) women. I dare you to find one VS advertisement with ONE even SLIGHTLY overweight model. It's primarily a lingerie and undergarment store, and even though they DO sell other items, their bread and butter is things that look good on under-dressed skinny people.

    Some people like to believe they belong to an elitist crowd of "beautiful people" and don't like their sad little utopia to be disturbed by a larger person. Please don't mistake my explanation as acceptance of this action, I truly do think it's terrible. I'm simply pointing out that maybe if Victoria's Secret advertised their products using more REALISTIC women and didn't have pictures of world-class supermodels wearing next to nothing on every single wall of their stores... well, maybe there would be less people complaining about larger employees.

    Unfortunately, this will NEVER change, because Victoria's Secret is in the business of MAKING MONEY and if they started using larger girls in their advertisements, fewer people would shop there. VS has worked long and hard and spent countless millions of dollars sculpting the facade of an elite and exclusive lingerie store. They don't market themselves as a neighborhood bra store, or an underwear store, they market themselves as a SEX store. Their ads are dripping with innuendo and images designed to create carnal desires. We wouldn't be having this problem if the subject were Macy's or J.C. Penny's, because they market themselves as a family friendly "everything" store.

    The issue is the marketing. I agree that Victoria's Secret is a great place to buy a bra and panties, and I agree that there should NOT be any kind of sexual implications that go along with shopping there... but there ARE, and they've been very carefully placed there by the owners of the corporation. They want people to feel like they belong to an elite sexy club when they make purchases, so they come back over and over again.

    So yeah, the *kitten* who come in and complain about a large girl working there are absolutely guilty of being *kitten*, but they've been conditioned by the corporation to expect something specific when they arrive. I've read somebody comparing it to visiting an Aveda salon and having your hair done by a lady with a horrendous haircut, or visiting a dentist with terrifyingly bad teeth. Your faith in their ability to provide you with the commodity you seek may decrease. I feel I must reiterate that these aren't my feelings, but many people who are going to a lingerie store to buy an item based around sex appeal and lust expect to be served by somebody who fits society's narrow views of beauty.

    We have image problems in this country.
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
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    Not a great idea to discuss an employer in an open forum.
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,531 Member
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    Interesting topic....thanks for posting. For my own personal experience before AND after weight loss, I found VS younger employees would give me the negative once-over not for my size for shopping in the store but for my AGE. Which didn't really bother me cuz truly I don't have the time for 20-something drama queens...but your question gave me pause. And for those who DO work at VS, usually women *my* age have the funds to buy with cash. Just something to think about.



    (Edited to add: Good luck OP on your own personal weight loss journey :smile: )
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Congrats on the job!

    I just wanted to chime in to say, they hired you for a reason. You're qualified and awesome! If anybody doesn't want to shop there because there's a plus sized girl there, they can just do all their shopping online. God forbid they have to encounter other overweight people while they're out! Might as well switch to all online shopping!

    That, and I ♥ you.

    I love you too, baby cakes! :flowerforyou:

    Everyone else: thanks again for all the congrats and responses. I agree, VS does market toward 'skinny' women, but I think it's more toward the men. Kind of like "If you buy this for your girlfriend, she will suddenly look like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley."

    Also, it may not be the best idea to discuss an employer openly if you're speaking negatively. I, however, have nothing but positive things to say about them. So...thanks for your input.
  • seepersaud
    seepersaud Posts: 5,759 Member
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    I agree with everything kilokata said. At the Victoria's Secret in my region, I've seen some women working there who could be described as overweight. Did it bother me? Not at all. I have yet to wake up in a perfect body, and don't see that ever happening. I went into the store to shop for my wife, not to ogle the people working there or the other shoppers.

    The clothing does cater to women of a particular size set, just as Lane Bryant caters to a specific set. Neither scenario should be considered all that bothersome.

    For whatever it's worth, the average woman is a size 14 and studies have found that men prefer a size 12 while women considered 6 an ideal size for themselves.
  • Thisisnotadiet
    Thisisnotadiet Posts: 89 Member
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    sorry but I am sure where the deal with the customer service's weight is... or even with the other customer's weight... If I shop there it is b/c I want to buy smth that I want wear. I would not ask the customer service to try it out for me...
    So what does other's ppl weight or appearance matter?
  • seepersaud
    seepersaud Posts: 5,759 Member
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    I agree with everything kilokata said. At the Victoria's Secret in my region, I've seen some women working there who could be described as overweight. Did it bother me? Not at all. I have yet to wake up in a perfect body, and don't see that ever happening. I went into the store to shop for my wife, not to ogle the people working there or the other shoppers.

    The clothing does cater to women of a particular size set, just as Lane Bryant caters to a specific set. Neither scenario should be considered all that bothersome.

    For whatever it's worth, the average woman is a size 14 and studies have found that men prefer a size 12 while women considered 6 an ideal size for themselves.

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