November 22, 2019

"Oh, Thank God, It’s Over Now."

A headline at NY Magazine. I clicked because I thought that it was going to be about the impeachment hearings and that it was interesting that somebody at NY Magazine was glad they were over. But it's about the annual televised Victoria's Secret fashion show.
Victoria’s Secret has become emblematic of an outdated kind of sex appeal, one that was sold to women but catered to men. It also probably doesn’t help that Les Wexner, the former CEO of L Brands, was a well-known client of Jeffrey Epstein....

The brand has had some attempts to change. A September ad campaign was inspired by Me Too and photos of a plus-size model and a transgender model were shown in stores (the plus-size model in question, people were quick to point out, has made fatphobic comments in the past). Still, the general response was, “Too little too late.”...

98 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

Thank God that women are no longer demeaned by sexually pleasing men.

We are saved!

Temujin said...

Retail companies that claim they are evolving are soon to be out of business. Victoria's Secret is a concept who's time has passed anyway- no matter what side of things you're on.

That's not to say their models weren't hot.

J. Farmer said...

What men have to do to attract women: have a job, a place of his own, a car, some money in the bank, a decent FICO score, a personality, and a sense of humor.

What women have to do to attract men: have a vagina.

J. Farmer said...

Victoria's Secret is a concept who's time has passed anyway- no matter what side of things you're on.

There are only so many ways you can keep reinventing the bra.

rhhardin said...

It doesn't cater to men. "Guns and Sandwiches" caters to men.

FullMoon said...

What men have to do to attract women: have a job, a place of his own, a car, some money in the bank, a decent FICO score, a personality, and a sense of humor.

What women have to do to attract men: have a vagina.


Not enough to have it, they gotta share it..

Kevin said...

Victoria’s Secret has become emblematic of an outdated kind of sex appeal, one that was sold to women but catered to men.

Right there. In the first sentence.

It's not that the writer and editors don't like it. It's that they must make it taboo for everyone else.

It's outdated. It's man-pleasing. Not all women approve.

"Thank God, It's over now," they gleefully write.

It's the incessant liberal smugness, that what they want should not only be the norm but the only available option.

Like a toy in the Happy Meal, every piece of news comes with just such a lecture included.

J. Farmer said...

Not enough to have it, they gotta share it..

Or at least suggest that they may one day share it. After a requisite number of dinner and movies.

Achilles said...

J. Farmer said...
What men have to do to attract women: have a job, a place of his own, a car, some money in the bank, a decent FICO score, a personality, and a sense of humor.

What women have to do to attract men: have a vagina.


1a. not be fat...

Sliding scale of importance among men though I guess.

tim in vermont said...

Their time may be passed, who knows. It was about appealing to powerful men. But men want what they want, and their little soldier doesn’t take orders from feminists at “important magazines."

Bay Area Guy said...

The Left is so backwards they want Victoria Secret models to be fat and ugly.

Strange crowd.

Achilles said...

J. Farmer said...
Victoria's Secret is a concept who's time has passed anyway- no matter what side of things you're on.

There are only so many ways you can keep reinventing the bra.

They weren't selling bras.

Victoria Secret is falling because they forgot what they were selling.

Shouting Thomas said...

Speaking of #meToo, I watched the Bikram yoga guy documentary last night.

I won’t spoil the story, but the moral is never screw a woman who is or wants to be a yoga instructor.

I do yoga, often attend classes, and I never ever consider screwing such a woman.

Too damned crazy. And crazy in just the way that they enjoy the S&M feminist game of entrapment.

n.n said...

Real women appeal to men. Fashion shows appeal to social liberals and adolescent boys. The sex phobic tales spun by chauvinists need to stop. #HateLovesAbortion

PM said...

OTOH, breast augmentation surgeries are up.

FullMoon said...

"Thank God, It's over now," they gleefully write.

Replaced by drag queen story time for pre-school kids.

Kaiser Permanente Health has a commercial running in California that includes quick shot of heavyweight dragster reading to enthralled children.

n.n said...

1a. not be fat...

Rather, women, and men, should be fit, with reasonable sex-specific accommodation.

pacwest said...

Too little, too late. Outlaw all sexy nighties!

Shorter version-if you don't do what we want we will destroy you. Now that you've done what we want we will destroy you. Quaddafy could not be reached for comment. Chairman Kim was overhead to say 'You can pry my nukes out of my cold dead hands'.

May I recommend the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People"? I think Stalin wrote it.

bleh said...

If you’d told me 20 years ago what would happen to Victoria’s Secret and Playboy, I’d have called the police on you because you were clearly a mentally disturbed individual.

Ken B said...

“What other people find sexy is icky!”

J. Farmer said...

@Achilles:

1a. not be fat...

Sliding scale of importance among men though I guess.


If a fat woman wanted to have no-strings-attached sex with a man, do you really think it would take her that long to find a willing partner?

n.n said...

Replaced by drag queen story time for pre-school kids.

Trans-social is trendy and a critical aspect of trans progress targeting adolescent and prepubescent children through inculcation. That said, with the progress of womb banks, sperm donors, planned parenthood/selective-cannibalized child, and friends with benefits, perhaps it doesn't matter. Resistance will be mitigated through cancellation and sufficient secular incentives.

gilbar said...

bleh said...
If you’d told me 20 years ago what would happen to Victoria’s Secret and Playboy, I’d have called the police on you because you were clearly a mentally disturbed individual.


help me out will you all? I'm a sufferer of a Traumatic Brain Injury
What is the Largest use of the internet?

J. Farmer said...

"The VS Fashion Show made me a @shawnmendes fan. But he’s not as good for the ‘gram as @kendalljenner so.. sorry!"

-Ms. Spellings a year ago on Instagram.

And apparently Ms. Spellings' taste in men is so traditionally outdated. No fat slobs or trannies for her.

n.n said...

If a fat woman wanted to have no-strings-attached sex with a man

Diversity (i.e. numerous) of individuals and individual diversity (i.e. constellation of biases), and other circumstances.

n.n said...

What is the Largest use of the internet?

This peculiar focus on a fashion show is curious, isn't it. Perhaps if it was more explicit (i.e. soft) or functional (i.e. hard), then it would be sociopolitically congruent. Or maybe they're just being contrarian. If you're for human rights, they are against human rights. If you're against social justice mongering, they are for social justice mongering. If you're against war, they are for war.

Michael K said...

Thank god women have finally stopped trying to attract men.

At least the crazy ones.

bagoh20 said...

"Victoria’s Secret has become emblematic of an outdated kind of sex appeal, one that was sold to women but catered to men."

Only if you're not doing it right? Women I've known always loved getting and wearing that stuff. We both seemed to enjoy it quite a bit, which is probably why it's bad now. I especially recommend it for older couples when you get a little shy about being completely naked in the light.

I suspect this is like many things today. Most people still like it, but the nattering nabobs of negativity make a lot of noise to ruin things people enjoy. It's the age of killjoy.

bagoh20 said...

You know, it seems it's not just orange-man-bad, the modern era is simply man-bad. If men like it, it must be stopped out. Tell me something that doesn't fit that.

J. Farmer said...

Worth repeating Sailer's Law of Female Journalism:

"The most heartfelt articles by female journalists tend to be demands that social values be overturned in order that, Come the Revolution, the journalist herself will be considered hotter-looking."

Achilles said...

J. Farmer said...
@Achilles:

1a. not be fat...

Sliding scale of importance among men though I guess.

If a fat woman wanted to have no-strings-attached sex with a man, do you really think it would take her that long to find a willing partner?


Slightly longer than a not fat woman and with slightly less inebriation involved but I know what you are saying.

At Battalion there was "Whaling Night."

They had a scale at the front desk.

There were prizes.

Achilles said...

bagoh20 said...
You know, it seems it's not just orange-man-bad, the modern era is simply man-bad. If men like it, it must be stopped out. Tell me something that doesn't fit that.

This is precisely what is happening.

It is an effort to destroy things that hold our society together.

Happiness between men and women is a key target.

readering said...

Why is it that men dominate the Althouse comments?

Anonymous said...

I associate the Victoria's Secret brand with sad little shops selling cheap cheesy underwear in sad, dying malls.

"...A September ad campaign was inspired by Me Too and photos of a plus-size model and a transgender model were shown in stores..."

I guess somebody thinks "SJW Frederick's of Hollywood" is a good business model.

Kevin said...

Why does this post not have a picture?

Rabel said...

"If a fat woman wanted to have no-strings-attached sex with a man, do you really think it would take her that long to find a willing partner?"

How fat we talking about?

Freeman Hunt said...

"an outdated kind of sex appeal, one that was sold to women but catered to men"

If you're selling products intended to make women feel that men find them sexy, wouldn't they have to be sold to women but cater to men? Or do they think all stores selling sex appeal should eschew selling heterosexual sex appeal? Is being effective outdated? Is updated sex appeal selling what people don't find appealing for sex? Wokeness appeal?

J. Farmer said...

@Rabel:

How fat we talking about?

Somewhere between Melissa McCarthy and the black chick from Precious.

Anonymous said...

readering: Why is it that men dominate the Althouse comments?

Why would Althouse comments be an exception to the general rule?

J. Farmer said...

@Achilles:

Slightly longer than a not fat woman and with slightly less inebriation involved...

Well that's a given. Generally speaking, a man wants as beautiful a woman as his status and power will permit him. And a woman wants as powerful and high status a man as her beauty will permit her.

Rabel said...

The Honey Beez.

Anonymous said...

Freeman: If you're selling products intended to make women feel that men find them sexy, wouldn't they have to be sold to women but cater to men? Or do they think all stores selling sex appeal should eschew selling heterosexual sex appeal? Is being effective outdated? Is updated sex appeal selling what people don't find appealing for sex? Wokeness appeal?

All fine questions, but "they're messed up" provides a comprehensive, accurate assessment of what's up with these people, without the need for time-consuming queries which they couldn't answer coherently, anyway.

Not Sure said...

The use of plus-size models isn't a bow to social justice, it's a concession to the massive spread of obesity.

VC's size-XXL problem is that men don't want to see fat chicks prancing around the bedroom in lingerie the size of bedsheets. They just want them to turn off the lights.

FullMoon said...


Somewhere between Melissa McCarthy and the black chick from Precious.

Old West favorite prostitute, with license issued by Wyatt Earp


Teacup Sally

rcocean said...

Don't all women's clothing stores and lines go out of business sooner or later? Women are driven by fashion, and if it hangs around too long, then its "boring" and "out-of-date" or "Something your Mother would've worn".

rcocean said...

Women buy clothes for other women. Or they buy what they like and makes them look good. Someone said "i dress for women, i undress for men".

FullMoon said...

If a fat woman wanted to have no-strings-attached sex with a man, do you really think it would take her that long to find a willing partner?


Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time
Mickey Gilley

[Chorus]
The girls all get prettier at closing time
They all begin to look like movie stars
The girls all get prettier at closing time
When the change starts taking place
It puts a glow on every face
Of the falling angels of the back street bars.

If I could rate 'em on a scale from 1 to 10
I'm lookin' for a 9 but 8 would slip right in
A few more drinks and I might slip to a 5 or even a 4
But when tomorrow morning comes,
And I wake up with a number 1
I swear I'll never do it anymore.

[Chorus]

Now, I don't mean to criticize the girls at all
I'm no Robert Redford, even overhauled
We all picture in our minds a girl that looks just right
Ain't it funny, ain't it strange,
The way a man's opinion changes

robother said...

I'm still processing application of the term "too little, too late" to plus size and/or transgender women.

Is it a coverage issue? In my experience, its never too late to say, "I'm outa here!"

Sebastian said...

"an outdated kind of sex appeal, one that was sold to women but catered to men."

Huh. So what will they sell to women instead? Only things that do not "cater to men"?

dbp said...

“Too little too late".

More like too much, ever.

Francisco D said...

What women have to do to attract men: have a vagina.

Stop being so binary. I have it on reliable authority that there are multiple genders.

Of course that multiple is "two" but Joe Biden believes that there are at least three genders.

narciso said...

this is the same new York magazine, whose reporter landon Thomas, covered up Epstein and his tie to les wexner, he did drop the hint to bob Fitrakis, but it wasn't picked up,

effinayright said...

Maybe we can bring back this little ditty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h-a9cvsbMM

(Too Fat Polka)

bagoh20 said...

"Why is it that men dominate the Althouse comments?"

Patriarchy. It dominates everything.

Francisco D said...

My (HS art teacher) wife believes that Victoria's Secret is now selling primarily to her female (trans included) students. The other night she came home complaining there there was more tits and ass showing in her classroom than you find at a gentleman's club.

When she sends them to the office, the Vice Principal chastises her, saying that "girls have every right to wear what they want"

My wife is no prude. She is an open minded, traditionally liberal Democrat.

Anonymous said...

Not Sure: The use of plus-size models isn't a bow to social justice, it's a concession to the massive spread of obesity.

Yup. (Like the spandex they put into every freakin' garment these days.) The SJW stuff is a marketing angle.

n.n said...

there are at least three genders

It depends on how you define gender. Until the 20th century, there were two sexes: male and female, and two genders (i.e. physical and mental normally distributed attributes): masculine and feminine, respectively. There is also a transgender spectrum, where individuals exhibit significant divergence. Today, there is a conflation of sex and gender, where the latter concept is preferred in order to progress a pretense of inclusion.

n.n said...

traditionally liberal

A yesteryear liberal or conservative. Wait a few generations until the fashion regenerates.

rcocean said...

"Why is it that men dominate the Althouse comments?"

I could make a joke, but I'll make a half-way serious answer. The women who comment here are intelligent and spirited. They don't mind being criticized, they do their homework, and they fight back if attacked. Most women don't know much about politics, don't like conflict of any kind, and dislike free speech.

Plus, most women - especially Leftists - "Run with the herd", and Althouse is an independent thinker.

That's why.

tim in vermont said...

The one on the right? Or the left?

buwaya said...

I like them better naked anyway.
I never liked gift wrap either.

My bedtime.

Bob Boyd said...

Victoria will have a secret again.

Fustigator said...

twas internet porn that killed the Victorias Secret Lingerie show. You can find literally every variety of porn everywhere including Althouse's beloved reddit. There you will find hundred of thousands of amateur women who are willing to pose naked or in lingerie for internet clicks.

Or at least that is what my friends tell me.

Bob Boyd said...

"Why is it that men dominate the Althouse comments?"

She has a sexy mind.

FullMoon said...

twas internet porn that killed the Victorias Secret Lingerie show. You can find literally every variety of porn everywhere including Althouse's beloved reddit. There you will find hundred of thousands of amateur women who are willing to pose naked or in lingerie for internet clicks.

Or at least that is what my friends tell me.

My friends say the same thing, and apparently there are dozens of sub groups.

Brian said...

My (HS art teacher) wife believes that Victoria's Secret is now selling primarily to her female (trans included) students. The other night she came home complaining there there was more tits and ass showing in her classroom than you find at a gentleman's club.

The baggy sweatshirt is making a mini-trend among the younger end of my daughters high school group.

As a father I welcome it.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Men used to be attracted to young, sexy women, but that’s all over now, thank God!

Howard said...

General overall fashion is run by gay men who try to make women look like teenage boys. Victoria secrets uses the business model of attracting short impotent men who are enamored by women with giant fake tits and big hair. It's a pre version one way or the other

J. Farmer said...

@Howard:

General overall fashion is run by gay men who try to make women look like teenage boys.

That's an old critique of a certain set of high fashion houses. It is certainly not true of the Victoria's Secret model. What about these models exactly screams "teenage boy" to you?

tcrosse said...

What's going to become of all those Victoria's Secret models?

Howard said...

J. Farmer Cohen you must not have read my entire comment regarding the brand of cuck that the Victoria's secret model particularly appeals to. In any event you're the last person on planet Earth I would go to 4 any information on what men like about women. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Howard said...

I don't know where you found that photo J farmer but those woman look like trannies to me that's the type of woman that President Trump and his minions are attracted to.

Bob Boyd said...

What's going to become of all those Victoria's Secret models?

They'll have to learn to code.

Bob Boyd said...

Althouse's blog is like Victoria's Secret lingerie, what it reveals about Althouse is suggestive, but what it conceals is vital.

J. Farmer said...

@Howard:

J. Farmer Cohen you must not have read my entire comment regarding the brand of cuck that the Victoria's secret model particularly appeals to.

I did but honestly it must've been in haste, because in rereading you are absolutely right. Sometimes I let my fingers get ahead of my brain. My apologies.

In any event you're the last person on planet Earth I would go to 4 any information on what men like about women.

You don't have to be attracted to women to attract women.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Certainly not. The single best thing about being gay is that you don't have to deal with women.

J. Farmer said...

In any event you're the last person on planet Earth I would go to 4 any information on what men like about women.

p.s. I will call your bluff. Sleep on a friend's couch, take a bus, dress like a bum, offer to pay for nothing, and see how often you get laid. =

Rick.T. said...

I’ll see your Mickey Gilley and raise you Bobby Bare:

I've served my time losing track of the wine
Looking through red eyes at the blues
Holdin' on 'til the very last song
Tryin' to make up my mind who to choose.
Chasing a dream in a whisky world
Down the neon avenue
And I've never gone to bed with an ugly women
But I've sure woke up with a few.
Ain't it funny how liquor and the flicker of a candle
Make you see it from a different view
Oh, I've never gone to bed with an ugly women
But I've sure woke up with a few.
I've met more than one morning lyin' there
Groanin', cryin', "Lord what did I do?"
Hangin' my head as I slipped from her bed
Tryin' hard not to leave any clues.
When I start out the evening I'm being selective
But I'll take anything after two
No, I've never gone to bed with an ugly women
But I've sure woke up with a few.
Ain't it funny how liquor and the flicker of a candle
Make you see it from a different view
Oh, I've never gone to bed with an ugly women
But I've sure woke up with a few.
No, I've never gone to bed with an ugly woman
But I sure woke up with a few...

Howard said...

Thanks J. I always suspected gays we're the penultimate sexists.

William said...

Why would anyone watch a Victoria Secret show when there's so much really terrific porn available on the internet?....Victoria's Secret did for underwear what Starbuck's did for coffee.....The bra came along relatively late in the game. When you watch some of the old movies on TCM, you can see the women aren't wearing bras. You can only rarely make out the outlines of the nipples though.....Emilia Clarke now claims that she didn't like appearing nude in the early GOT episodes. I don't like this turn our civilization is taking. It will end badly.

Howard said...

p.s. I will call your bluff. Sleep on a friend's couch, take a bus, dress like a bum, offer to pay for nothing, and see how often you get laid. =

That perfectly describes my freshman and first half of my sophomore year in college Hudson where I had more tail then I can
count. It's a combination of the wand and the magician that they go for. You don't really understand how to get access to that equipment. Many roads lead to Rome.

J. Farmer said...

@Howard:

Thanks J. I always suspected gays we're the penultimate sexists.

The truth is sexist.

J. Farmer said...

That's to say, men and women are different. For biological reasons. How easy is it for a man to go out and have a one night stand versus a woman? How many strip clubs cater to women? How many women make use of prostitutes? During all that tail you got in college (and I'll take your word that you didn't buy one drink or pay for one meal), how many of those women turned you on with their amazing personalities and great senses of humor? How common is the trophy husband versus the trophy wife?

J. Farmer said...

You don't really understand how to get access to that equipment. Many roads lead to Rome.

I've been down that road before.

Howard said...

Sounds like you dug yourself a rut.

Dude1394 said...

Getting work and sure as heck going broke.

Howard said...

J. go to known fact of science that men benefit from relationship with women much more than women benefit from relationship with men. But you are right women to expect a man to have his shit together when the girls in college they were betting on the come so to speak so of course I paid for a meal here or there are a few drinks but did not have to lavish lots of money

J. Farmer said...

but did not have to lavish lots of money

Most people do not have "lots of money" to "lavish," so that is obviously true and nothing I ever claimed. Women need a reason to have sex; men need a place. Women have a biological clock; men don't. A man has to bring something to the table to get a woman's permission to have sex; a woman needs to bring her body. A similar dynamic actually exists in the gay community but is mediated by means other than gender. It's what the entire concept of "tops" and "bottoms" is all about.

stephen cooper said...

Julia, darling, if you are reading this, and if you remember you mentioned hamburgers instead of abortion as the thing you might be ashamed of 30 years from now----

you have no idea how difficult it is for me not to feel contempt for you.

You spent years and years mocking intersex people, and you made hundreds of thousands of dollars off their pain - worse than that, you made hundreds of thousands of dollars encouraging people to laugh at their pain.

God loves you, Julia darling, but seriously, please don't think you have the right to lecture people on hamburgers.

That being said, you are right, animal rights are a big deal, and factory farming is a big problem, but Julia darling ---

abortion takes a human life and forever harms the mother and the father and many other people.
You don't care, do you?

No, you are a good little Democratic party voter.

Wake up.

gilbar said...

Howard, most people don't refer to their Hand as a Tail
But, you gotta be you, don't you?

Ray - SoCal said...

I don’t find the Victoria Secret models that appealing. They seem to have that semi starved look, ultra thin, stick like, ultra athletic look.

And what they model seems to have little to do with what people actually buy.

I have noticed a huge growth in teenagers shopping in Victoria Secrets.

My daughter shopped there, I don’t know how much. She’s in her early 20’s now.

Ambrose said...

Women in underwear is so OK Boomer.

n.n said...

Why did they target Victoria's Secret fashion show? How very Pro-Choice. There must be a method and motive to focus their selective, opportunistic interests.

n.n said...

I always suspected gays we're the penultimate sexists.

Did you hear about the trans/homo female who is marrying a trans/neo-female (i.e. guy)? She's woke and sleepy. Perhaps she's trans/bi, or prefers the male sex with a subset of the feminine gender.

JAORE said...

Shorter Bobby Bare:
Went to bed with Miss America,
Woke up with Miss Piggy.

Anthony said...

f an outdated kind of sex appeal,

Yeah, overweight, plain, and scolding men for everything is the NEW! sex appeal.

Oh, wait. . . . .THAT'S NOT FUNNY.

Jupiter said...

"Why would anyone watch a Victoria Secret show when there's so much really terrific porn available on the internet?."

For the same reason that striptease shows do not begin with a naked woman in a spotlight spreading her legs.

daskol said...

But there's like nothing to fast forward to

bagoh20 said...

"Why is it that men dominate the Althouse comments?"

Wait! Does this mean the host had some surgery and Meade is gay? What a world.