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Selling Sexy: Victoria’s Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon
The story of how Victoria’s Secret skyrocketed from a tiny chain of boutiques to a retail phenomenon with more than $8 billion in annual sales at its peak—all while defining an impossible beauty standard for generations of American women—before the brand’s tight grip on the industry finally slipped
Victoria’s Secret is one of the most influential and polarizing brands to ever infiltrate the psyche of the American consumer. Almost right at its start in the late 1970s, the company developed a cult following for its glamorous catalogs. Back then, shoppers had few alternatives to the stodgy department stores that sold most of the nation’s intimate apparel. By 1982, the founders of Victoria’s Secret avoided bankruptcy by selling to Les Wexner, the fast-fashion pioneer behind the Limited, whose empire of mall brands would go on to dominate American retail for forty years.
Wexner turned Victoria’s Secret into a multibillion-dollar business, and the brand’s cultural influence soared thanks to its airbrushed advertisements and annual televised fashion show, which drew millions of viewers each year. Its supermodel spokeswomen, the sweet but sultry Angels, personified a new American beauty standard.
But as our definition of beauty expanded, Victoria’s Secret failed to evolve and reached a crisis point. Meanwhile, Wexner became increasingly known for his complicated relationship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, his former financial adviser and confidant.
Selling Sexy expertly draws from sources within Victoria’s Secret and across the industry to examine the unprecedented rise of one of the most innovative brands in retail history—a brand that today, under new ownership, is desperately trying to seduce shoppers again.
Victoria’s Secret is one of the most influential and polarizing brands to ever infiltrate the psyche of the American consumer. Almost right at its start in the late 1970s, the company developed a cult following for its glamorous catalogs. Back then, shoppers had few alternatives to the stodgy department stores that sold most of the nation’s intimate apparel. By 1982, the founders of Victoria’s Secret avoided bankruptcy by selling to Les Wexner, the fast-fashion pioneer behind the Limited, whose empire of mall brands would go on to dominate American retail for forty years.
Wexner turned Victoria’s Secret into a multibillion-dollar business, and the brand’s cultural influence soared thanks to its airbrushed advertisements and annual televised fashion show, which drew millions of viewers each year. Its supermodel spokeswomen, the sweet but sultry Angels, personified a new American beauty standard.
But as our definition of beauty expanded, Victoria’s Secret failed to evolve and reached a crisis point. Meanwhile, Wexner became increasingly known for his complicated relationship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, his former financial adviser and confidant.
Selling Sexy expertly draws from sources within Victoria’s Secret and across the industry to examine the unprecedented rise of one of the most innovative brands in retail history—a brand that today, under new ownership, is desperately trying to seduce shoppers again.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 8, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
September 8, 2024
9/24 Should have DNFed this one.
Full review:
Thank you to the author Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez, publishers Holt Publishing, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of SELLING SEXY. All views are mine.
Sometimes you just want a lace-trimmed push-up bra, with a tiny bow on the center bridge, wrapped up in a shiny pink-striped bag. Cheap, reliable, accessible thrills— brought to you by your local mall. p312
Victoria's secret was an iconic company when I was a girl and young woman. I watched the Angels on TV, measured myself up against the catalog models, and even bought one or two ill-fitting bras. Victoria's Secret and I were both based in Ohio, and even though I lived in a small town, we had a VS in our little mall. In Ohio, all the malls had a Victoria's Secret. The cheap little not-quite-lingerie boutiques that told 90s women what sexy was, were ubiquitous.
I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley because I love good history book and I love fashion. I thought this text would want to make a point about VS's role in the state of white feminism in the 90's. But it did no more than survey the history, which I found to be very dry. With the notable exception of chapter 14, the authors didn't organize the material to maximize the naturally occurring conflict in the history. It all felt a bit flat.
I recommend SELLING SEXY to 80' and 90's girls, fashion history buffs, readers who want a little more tea on Epstein.
Three (or more) things I loved:
1. From the beginning, most of the decision makers at Victoria’s Secret were women, and their mission was to make other women feel good. To embrace their sexuality, to lead more satisfying sex lives and have healthier relationships. To experience their gender as an asset, not a liability. To feel powerful. p10 Not exactly my brand of feminism, but it's a worthy goal and a spectacular concept for a women's intimates company in the 90's.
2. An interesting, unattainable image–at the time: The first “Victoria,” the one Roy and Gaye Raymond had conjured up one evening at home in San Francisco, was a glamorous British woman the couple imagined meeting while traveling on the Orient Express. She was a confident businesswoman, they decided, alone on the train— presumably with a man in her life but unburdened by him. She was fabulous and mysterious. The “secret” to her appeal, she told them, was great lingerie. Over a decade later, the image of Victoria had evolved. Vogue described her as a mix of “the sexy and the sensible,” appealing to both men and women by subverting Sigmund Freud’s Madonna/ whore dichotomy. “The Victoria’s Secret woman is not a fashion model, nor is she the girl next door,” wrote the magazine’s art and fashion writer Dodie Kazanjian. “If she’s a wife, she’s somebody else’s wife. But she’s more likely a wife-mistress, with her loose, slightly disheveled hair and one shoulder strap falling down.” p102
3. This makes me want to puke. But it's also an astute observation about the social environment that ever let s company like Victoria’s Secret thrive. Feminism was still a loaded term, rejected as a label by Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. Instead, it was a time of “good girls” (Taylor Swift), “good girls gone bad” (Rihanna and Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester), “the sexiest bad girl” (Megan Fox), “very bad girls” (Rosario Dawson and Rose McGowan), Bad Girls Club (the reality show), and soon, just Girls (the HBO series lambasting a generation raised in Pink sweatpants while watching Sex and the City reruns). p201
Three (or less) things I didn't love:
This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.
1. Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez clearly know their material, buy I'm not really that into history reports. For 70 pages, it's been nothing but dry business history. It doesn't appear the authors have a point to make or an opinion to share. If I'm wrong, they've waited too long to make or share it. *edit Now that I know this book contains a dirty scoop on Jeffrey Epstein, I suspect that was the purpose of this book.
2. Weller sabotaged his own business *more than once* by cutting his best selling lines, like Body By Victoria, because *he* didn't think they were sexy enough. Forget what women want, he said! We'll make them wear what I want! No he didn't really say that, I was paraphrasing his decades of ridiculous business decisions. In her 2005 book, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, Levy identified young women’s Y2K-era exhibitionist turn as a reaction against the austerity of their mothers’ generation. The attitude also reflected an “if you can’t beat them, join them” mentality, she argued, a way to cope with the sexism that continued to pervade culture. p163
Rating: 👙👙 /5 bra-and-panty sets
Recommend? Meh
Finished: Sep 1 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
👢 fashion history
💄 sexism in fashion
🫖 Jeffrey Epstein tea
Full review:
Thank you to the author Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez, publishers Holt Publishing, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of SELLING SEXY. All views are mine.
Sometimes you just want a lace-trimmed push-up bra, with a tiny bow on the center bridge, wrapped up in a shiny pink-striped bag. Cheap, reliable, accessible thrills— brought to you by your local mall. p312
Victoria's secret was an iconic company when I was a girl and young woman. I watched the Angels on TV, measured myself up against the catalog models, and even bought one or two ill-fitting bras. Victoria's Secret and I were both based in Ohio, and even though I lived in a small town, we had a VS in our little mall. In Ohio, all the malls had a Victoria's Secret. The cheap little not-quite-lingerie boutiques that told 90s women what sexy was, were ubiquitous.
I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley because I love good history book and I love fashion. I thought this text would want to make a point about VS's role in the state of white feminism in the 90's. But it did no more than survey the history, which I found to be very dry. With the notable exception of chapter 14, the authors didn't organize the material to maximize the naturally occurring conflict in the history. It all felt a bit flat.
I recommend SELLING SEXY to 80' and 90's girls, fashion history buffs, readers who want a little more tea on Epstein.
Three (or more) things I loved:
1. From the beginning, most of the decision makers at Victoria’s Secret were women, and their mission was to make other women feel good. To embrace their sexuality, to lead more satisfying sex lives and have healthier relationships. To experience their gender as an asset, not a liability. To feel powerful. p10 Not exactly my brand of feminism, but it's a worthy goal and a spectacular concept for a women's intimates company in the 90's.
2. An interesting, unattainable image–at the time: The first “Victoria,” the one Roy and Gaye Raymond had conjured up one evening at home in San Francisco, was a glamorous British woman the couple imagined meeting while traveling on the Orient Express. She was a confident businesswoman, they decided, alone on the train— presumably with a man in her life but unburdened by him. She was fabulous and mysterious. The “secret” to her appeal, she told them, was great lingerie. Over a decade later, the image of Victoria had evolved. Vogue described her as a mix of “the sexy and the sensible,” appealing to both men and women by subverting Sigmund Freud’s Madonna/ whore dichotomy. “The Victoria’s Secret woman is not a fashion model, nor is she the girl next door,” wrote the magazine’s art and fashion writer Dodie Kazanjian. “If she’s a wife, she’s somebody else’s wife. But she’s more likely a wife-mistress, with her loose, slightly disheveled hair and one shoulder strap falling down.” p102
3. This makes me want to puke. But it's also an astute observation about the social environment that ever let s company like Victoria’s Secret thrive. Feminism was still a loaded term, rejected as a label by Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. Instead, it was a time of “good girls” (Taylor Swift), “good girls gone bad” (Rihanna and Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester), “the sexiest bad girl” (Megan Fox), “very bad girls” (Rosario Dawson and Rose McGowan), Bad Girls Club (the reality show), and soon, just Girls (the HBO series lambasting a generation raised in Pink sweatpants while watching Sex and the City reruns). p201
Three (or less) things I didn't love:
This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.
1. Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez clearly know their material, buy I'm not really that into history reports. For 70 pages, it's been nothing but dry business history. It doesn't appear the authors have a point to make or an opinion to share. If I'm wrong, they've waited too long to make or share it. *edit Now that I know this book contains a dirty scoop on Jeffrey Epstein, I suspect that was the purpose of this book.
2. Weller sabotaged his own business *more than once* by cutting his best selling lines, like Body By Victoria, because *he* didn't think they were sexy enough. Forget what women want, he said! We'll make them wear what I want! No he didn't really say that, I was paraphrasing his decades of ridiculous business decisions. In her 2005 book, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, Levy identified young women’s Y2K-era exhibitionist turn as a reaction against the austerity of their mothers’ generation. The attitude also reflected an “if you can’t beat them, join them” mentality, she argued, a way to cope with the sexism that continued to pervade culture. p163
Rating: 👙👙 /5 bra-and-panty sets
Recommend? Meh
Finished: Sep 1 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
👢 fashion history
💄 sexism in fashion
🫖 Jeffrey Epstein tea
November 4, 2024
First, a disclaimer out of the way: despite its hot pink cover, the word SEXY blazing across the title, and the seemingly scintillating subject matter suggested by its subject of Victoria’s Secret, this is NOT a stylish, sexy, fashion book! It’s more Fruit of the Loom briefs than negligee, more scratchy Jantzen tee-shirt than satin teddy. It’s less Vogue September issue or Cosmo sex tips feature than it’s a Harvard Business Review case study. Yup, it’s a business book! I mean, it’s a sexy, fascinating business book! But, I get not for everyone! But for those nerds among us who would only wear sweatpants with something written across the butt if that something were along the lines of I HEART RESEARCH, then this book is good times!
The authors have done a stellar job here relaying a detailed history of the Victoria’s Secret business and brand in the larger context of fashion retail and marketing history, including the once groundbreaking direct mail and catalog sales as well as the “peak shopping mall” eras all the way to our present-day multimedia-driven and online retail experience. Along the way, they shed light on how the brand and its fashion product and advertising both reflected and shaped (so to speak) mainstream and restrictive cultural ideas about womanhood, beauty, sexuality, and femininity, so in this sense, the book also works as sociocultural and fashion history despite its business focus. Toward the end of the book, they recount the fall of the brand in part due to poor business decisions made by grotesquely out of touch and sexist leadership, and there is also an unfortunate intersection with the Me Too reckoning
In particular, I appreciated how this book highlighted the experience of many of the models employed by Victoria’s Secret, giving them some voice and personhood beyond “Angel.” There is also some important coverage of how disgustingly racist VS was. I mean, it’s no great surprise that a company like VS would be sexist and racist, but I was horrified to learn that things were perhaps even worse than expected, and until shockingly recently. There are some truly, truly terrible quotes from some of the company’s top executives, many of whom seem like utter garbage people. I was also pretty blown away by how incredibly dated and bland the whole Angel thing seems now, even though it was an ubiquitous and unquestioned ideal when I was growing up, which wasn’t that terribly long ago. Today, it felt like super archaic, like reading about Playboy Bunnies or something like that, just so incredibly unimaginative and one-dimensional. And just like also, kinda boring and blah? Like really, “angels” were the best and sexiest and most interesting concept you could come up with? for years on end? Wow…good job. (Seriously, “bunnies” were actually more creative.) And, we all bought it!
In short, I think this book does a lot of different things well, integrating its various themes pretty seamlessly, and again, the research is impeccable. A solid and worthwhile read. If you liked the recent books on J. Crew and American Apparel, as I did, then this one may also be for you!
The authors have done a stellar job here relaying a detailed history of the Victoria’s Secret business and brand in the larger context of fashion retail and marketing history, including the once groundbreaking direct mail and catalog sales as well as the “peak shopping mall” eras all the way to our present-day multimedia-driven and online retail experience. Along the way, they shed light on how the brand and its fashion product and advertising both reflected and shaped (so to speak) mainstream and restrictive cultural ideas about womanhood, beauty, sexuality, and femininity, so in this sense, the book also works as sociocultural and fashion history despite its business focus. Toward the end of the book, they recount the fall of the brand in part due to poor business decisions made by grotesquely out of touch and sexist leadership, and there is also an unfortunate intersection with the Me Too reckoning
In particular, I appreciated how this book highlighted the experience of many of the models employed by Victoria’s Secret, giving them some voice and personhood beyond “Angel.” There is also some important coverage of how disgustingly racist VS was. I mean, it’s no great surprise that a company like VS would be sexist and racist, but I was horrified to learn that things were perhaps even worse than expected, and until shockingly recently. There are some truly, truly terrible quotes from some of the company’s top executives, many of whom seem like utter garbage people. I was also pretty blown away by how incredibly dated and bland the whole Angel thing seems now, even though it was an ubiquitous and unquestioned ideal when I was growing up, which wasn’t that terribly long ago. Today, it felt like super archaic, like reading about Playboy Bunnies or something like that, just so incredibly unimaginative and one-dimensional. And just like also, kinda boring and blah? Like really, “angels” were the best and sexiest and most interesting concept you could come up with? for years on end? Wow…good job. (Seriously, “bunnies” were actually more creative.) And, we all bought it!
In short, I think this book does a lot of different things well, integrating its various themes pretty seamlessly, and again, the research is impeccable. A solid and worthwhile read. If you liked the recent books on J. Crew and American Apparel, as I did, then this one may also be for you!
Shelved as '2024'
September 9, 2024🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
September 19, 2024
Lauren Sherman clearly put a lot of effort into researching and writing Selling Sexy, and I have to give her credit for how comprehensive the book is. By the time I finished, I felt like I knew everything there was to know about the brand's history and inner workings.
The book starts off strong, diving into the scandals surrounding the company’s old CEO and the way VS impacted Millennials’ relationship with body image and mental health. However, as it went on, the focus shifted to long-winded details about the history of bras, catalogs, and models—sections that felt dry and didn't contribute much to the gripping narrative that initially drew me in.
I listened to the audiobook, and while Allyson Ryan was a fantastic narrator, it was sometimes tough to stay engaged with the endless dates, numbers, and facts. There are definitely some heavy sections, but overall, the book still offers valuable insights into the brand’s rise, fall, and ongoing attempts to rebuild.
That said, it’s still an informative read, especially if you’ve ever shopped at Victoria’s Secret and are curious about what went on behind the scenes. Just be prepared for some slower moments amidst all the interesting details!
The book starts off strong, diving into the scandals surrounding the company’s old CEO and the way VS impacted Millennials’ relationship with body image and mental health. However, as it went on, the focus shifted to long-winded details about the history of bras, catalogs, and models—sections that felt dry and didn't contribute much to the gripping narrative that initially drew me in.
I listened to the audiobook, and while Allyson Ryan was a fantastic narrator, it was sometimes tough to stay engaged with the endless dates, numbers, and facts. There are definitely some heavy sections, but overall, the book still offers valuable insights into the brand’s rise, fall, and ongoing attempts to rebuild.
That said, it’s still an informative read, especially if you’ve ever shopped at Victoria’s Secret and are curious about what went on behind the scenes. Just be prepared for some slower moments amidst all the interesting details!
September 10, 2024
(3.5/5, rounded up)
First, I want to give Lauren Sherman & Chantel Fernandez credit for how much time and effort must have gone into this book. I feel like I could give a presentation recapping VS history right this second and no one would know I didn't work there.
Such an all-encompassing narrative backfired about 65% into the book though, when I couldn't tell if I was in history class or reading a book. At first I thought "Eh, that's on me for not knowing what I was getting myself into"... But many readers won't know what they're getting themselves into either, so here I am, with a fair warning.
I still do recommend this book. There was so much back and forth around VS in the media, and this book cleared all of that up. Just be ready for a VERY dense retelling.
{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Lauren Sherman, and publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!}
First, I want to give Lauren Sherman & Chantel Fernandez credit for how much time and effort must have gone into this book. I feel like I could give a presentation recapping VS history right this second and no one would know I didn't work there.
Such an all-encompassing narrative backfired about 65% into the book though, when I couldn't tell if I was in history class or reading a book. At first I thought "Eh, that's on me for not knowing what I was getting myself into"... But many readers won't know what they're getting themselves into either, so here I am, with a fair warning.
I still do recommend this book. There was so much back and forth around VS in the media, and this book cleared all of that up. Just be ready for a VERY dense retelling.
{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Lauren Sherman, and publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!}
October 13, 2024
In Selling Sexy, fashion journalists Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez take a deep dive into the Victoria's Secret brand, its interesting history, its effects on the pop culture of the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, and its downfall in recent years. This book hit the sweet spot for me, as I love reading business schadenfreude stories and reminiscing about pop culture from when I was a teen in the '00s, so I was an engaged listener throughout.
Further reading: the business of fashion
The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew by Maggie Bullock
Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier by Marisa Meltzer
Strip Tees: A Memoir of Millennial Los Angeles by Kate Flannery (American Apparel)
Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline
My statistics:
Book 241 for 2024
Book 1844 cumulatively
Further reading: the business of fashion
The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew by Maggie Bullock
Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier by Marisa Meltzer
Strip Tees: A Memoir of Millennial Los Angeles by Kate Flannery (American Apparel)
Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline
My statistics:
Book 241 for 2024
Book 1844 cumulatively
October 6, 2024
So well done! Just what we all need to help us deconstruct the mall and retail culture that shaped so much of our lives. I think millennial women are going to eat this book up. I listened to this in under 24 hours.
I received a free copy of this through the McMillan audio influencer program in exchange for an honest review
I received a free copy of this through the McMillan audio influencer program in exchange for an honest review
October 4, 2024
In Selling Sexy, Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez tell the story of both the iconic Victoria's Secret brand, and also the broader story of U.S. clothing retailing since the 1960s. They begin with entrepreneurial visionaries Roy and Gay Raymond, who originated the VS origin story, the brand's innovative catalog, and its lavish boutique flagship store in San Francisco. When the Raymonds' financial management couldn't keep up with the brand's ambitions, Victoria's Secret landed with merchandising wizard and founder of The Limited, Les Wexner. It was Wexner who took VS to stratospheric new heights from the 1980s onward, shepherding the brand through shifting beauty ideals, disruptions in retailing, the VS Angels era, the advent of little-sister brand Pink, and more. Sherman and Fernandez also take a critical look at the sexism, size-ism, and various failures in leadership that have plagued VS throughout its history, including the unsettling association between Wexner and sexual predator and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
As a reader who came of age in the 1990s loving Victoria's Secret, this was a fascinating audiobook listen for me. I loved learning the history of a brand that's meant a lot to me and to generations of women before and after me. Even when Sherman and Fernandez shine a light on the more unsavory aspects of VS, I could still feel their enthusiasm for the brand coming through, and I think that's important. A mere takedown of VS by writers who didn't care wouldn't have been nearly as compelling.
Audiobook is a great format choice for Selling Sexy. Narrator Allyson Ryan has a perfect voice for the book and gives it an energetic delivery. The audio format also helped pull me through some of the less engaging, names-and-dates aspects of telling a historical story.
My thanks to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of Selling Sexy, which will be published on October 8, 2024.
As a reader who came of age in the 1990s loving Victoria's Secret, this was a fascinating audiobook listen for me. I loved learning the history of a brand that's meant a lot to me and to generations of women before and after me. Even when Sherman and Fernandez shine a light on the more unsavory aspects of VS, I could still feel their enthusiasm for the brand coming through, and I think that's important. A mere takedown of VS by writers who didn't care wouldn't have been nearly as compelling.
Audiobook is a great format choice for Selling Sexy. Narrator Allyson Ryan has a perfect voice for the book and gives it an energetic delivery. The audio format also helped pull me through some of the less engaging, names-and-dates aspects of telling a historical story.
My thanks to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of Selling Sexy, which will be published on October 8, 2024.
November 20, 2024
Well researched though this was, it felt a little too long considering the subject matter. As the story chronicling a business, it’s probably more entertaining than many others, but after a while it just seemed a bit tedious to me, and I stopped caring. Maybe I was also expecting something a little juicer or flashier, given the subject of the book? All in all, not a favorite for me, though certainly thorough.
September 26, 2024
Growing up in the early 90s/00s, every trip to the mall involved a pass by, and eventually through, a Victoria's Secret, and finally being able to carry one of those striped pink bags was like a right of passage. Selling Sexy and it's deep dive into the story of Victoria's Secret truly felt like stepping back in time to the era where the Angels ruled. I listened to the audiobook and was very happy with my choice, Allyson Ryan was a wonderful narrator and the pacing was great!
I'd like to start by saying that there is no doubt that Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez did their research, from it's inception to it's peak to it's downfall, every step of Victoria's Secret's history is covered. I especially appreciated the no-holds-barred approach to the sections discussing the misogynistic views of the executive staff and the relationship between Victoria's Secret's CEO, Les Wexner, and Jeffrey Epstein. This is one of those books that highlights just how detrimental to society something as simple as a bra can become when it's seller seems solely focused on sex appeal and profits. Though filled with it's share of heavy moments, and occasionally slow during the more data-filled chapters, this novel is informative and undoubtedly eye-opening, especially for those who - like me - have their own history with Victoria's Secret's stores. If you're looking to learn a bit more about the vice grip that Victoria's Secret held on the lingerie industry in the early 2000s, and what eventually caused that grip to slip, I highly recommend giving this one a listen.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'd like to start by saying that there is no doubt that Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez did their research, from it's inception to it's peak to it's downfall, every step of Victoria's Secret's history is covered. I especially appreciated the no-holds-barred approach to the sections discussing the misogynistic views of the executive staff and the relationship between Victoria's Secret's CEO, Les Wexner, and Jeffrey Epstein. This is one of those books that highlights just how detrimental to society something as simple as a bra can become when it's seller seems solely focused on sex appeal and profits. Though filled with it's share of heavy moments, and occasionally slow during the more data-filled chapters, this novel is informative and undoubtedly eye-opening, especially for those who - like me - have their own history with Victoria's Secret's stores. If you're looking to learn a bit more about the vice grip that Victoria's Secret held on the lingerie industry in the early 2000s, and what eventually caused that grip to slip, I highly recommend giving this one a listen.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 17, 2024
The book opens with an inaccurate history of corsetry (the authors provide what doctors were SAYING about corsets at the time; however, bras were not invented yet. Tightlacing was not rampant but a trend for only the wealthy. Corsets were required to support your bust to work! Doctors are not reliable historians on women). This makes me distrust the rest of the reporting in this book.
The brand history is very fascinating. The final conclusions of the book are weird - deeply lacking any grounding in feminist theory causing it to end on a weird note of essentially “sometimes women worked at this company so it’s a mixed bag”. Weird book, I did learn some things though.
The brand history is very fascinating. The final conclusions of the book are weird - deeply lacking any grounding in feminist theory causing it to end on a weird note of essentially “sometimes women worked at this company so it’s a mixed bag”. Weird book, I did learn some things though.
November 20, 2024
First and foremost, this book is ENTIRELY TOO LONG. It desperately needed a final edit.
The book is very detailed and very chronological. In my opinion, the author related too much of the VS story to Jeffrey Epstein, and as a millennial woman, this read was a little depressing.
The Wexner storyline was the most interesting, and I wonder if this one would have worked better if it was more about him and all of his brands and less about just a single brand.
The book is very detailed and very chronological. In my opinion, the author related too much of the VS story to Jeffrey Epstein, and as a millennial woman, this read was a little depressing.
The Wexner storyline was the most interesting, and I wonder if this one would have worked better if it was more about him and all of his brands and less about just a single brand.
October 7, 2024
The stuff that was about Victoria's Secret and Les Wexner was really thorough and informative. However, the authors felt the need to begin their book by promoting extremist corsetry myths and the audio narrator didn't learn how to pronounce the designer names throughout, which brought down the quality of the book slightly.
That being said, I am and will always be a VS apologist and Angel fan.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this audiobook.
That being said, I am and will always be a VS apologist and Angel fan.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this audiobook.
November 3, 2024
Read this as a big fan of Lauren Sherman's writing and reporting, and it fell short of the promise that it needed to be more than a long article (Sherman's claim about most nonfiction books, which I strongly agree). Most millennial women have some sort of connection or early memory of Victoria's Secret, and it was mildly entertaining to tap into those thoughts while reading Selling Sexy, but I guess I just didn't find the rest of the history of Victoria's Secret, its rise, and eventual fall interesting enough to warrant 320 pages.
September 15, 2024
Selling Sexy: Victoria's Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon takes you on a deep dive into the company's history. I was fascinated reading about Victoria's Secret over the years and its influence on pop culture. I also really enjoyed learning about the overall history of undergarments. Thank goodness we're not in the age of wearing corsets, lol. I appreciate the research and work that the authors, Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez, put into the book.
Thank you, NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review Selling Sexy as an e-ARC.
Thank you, NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review Selling Sexy as an e-ARC.
September 9, 2024
I ended up quitting this book about 30% in when I realized this was much more of a history of a clothing story than a deep dive into the 'rise and fall' of a brand with problematic connections. In that 30% I learned more about the history of clothing and mass production than I ever needed to know. I wasn't surprised that even in the 4 and 5 star reviews that people were saying this was dry, because this book gave me the literary version of cottonmouth.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 20, 2024
***These are my random thoughts after finishing the book. Some of the thoughts are an overall review of the book, or any questions/feelings that nagged at me throughout. There will almost definitely be spoilers. Read at your own risk.*** ‐----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you to publishers for ARC
4 stars
Incredibly well-researched
Did feel a little dry at parts (a lot of history and dates)
Presents very comprehensive history of where VS started and where they are now
Also kind of a look at women's fashion through the years
Thank you to publishers for ARC
4 stars
Incredibly well-researched
Did feel a little dry at parts (a lot of history and dates)
Presents very comprehensive history of where VS started and where they are now
Also kind of a look at women's fashion through the years
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2024
I won "Selling Sexy: Victoria’s Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon" in a Goodreads giveaway and I am very glad I did. This book is very well researched and I learned so many details about Victoria's Secret and about its rise and fall. I highly recommend this book.
March 14, 2024
Selling Sexy by Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez is a well researched, well written book on the origins of retail sales in the US to the start of Victoria’s Secret to the current state of the business. This book delves deeply into the lives of the leaders of the organization with particular emphasis on Les Wexner the long time CEO.
The authors are journalists and experts in the fashion industry. I really appreciated the vast amount of research that went into writing this book as well as the authors’ ability to share the information in an informative and unbiased way. The book covers the way Victoria Secret’s models were treated, the relationship between Wexner and Henry Epstein as well as how Victoria’s Secret impacted millennials throughout their coming of age. I learned a lot reading this book and highly recommend the book. After reading this book I will not shop at Victoria’s Secret but I invite readers to come to their own educated view by reading this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The authors are journalists and experts in the fashion industry. I really appreciated the vast amount of research that went into writing this book as well as the authors’ ability to share the information in an informative and unbiased way. The book covers the way Victoria Secret’s models were treated, the relationship between Wexner and Henry Epstein as well as how Victoria’s Secret impacted millennials throughout their coming of age. I learned a lot reading this book and highly recommend the book. After reading this book I will not shop at Victoria’s Secret but I invite readers to come to their own educated view by reading this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 27, 2024
I won a copy of "Selling Sexy" on Goodreads First Reads. I've only been in the stores a time or two. I'm a little too old for their products. But the book is fascinating and very interesting. There was a lot about the business that I didn't know.
September 29, 2024
Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works, Express, the Limited… these stores were the mallrat stops of pique teen years in the 1990s. As the author talked about the children of boomers and our shopping habits, the peak of malls in the 1980s, and the stores that defined my youth shopping trips (along with the how/why for what was sold within them), I thought of the VS giftcard I’ve had in my wallet since Christmas with really no drive to use. How the mighty have fallen as our shopping habits shifted, options expanded, and fashion changed. All these thoughts raced while I heard “Victoria is an Old Man from Ohio” lyrics playing in my head (Jax’s “Victoria’s Secret” - which I learned in this book was released after Les Wexler left the company and what a shame he wasn’t the one to respond with the CEO letter).
I found this book to be full of fascinating information about the Victoria Secret company: the rise from a small business to a an empire; the men driving women’s fashion with “women dress to please men” mentality; the incestuousness of senior leadership across companies - leading to acquisitions, partnerships, and collapses. As well as anecdotes on the VS Angels, the celebrity of the models, and the sale of “hope” which was really male fantasy.
This book touches on the relationship of Jeffrey Epstein to the Victorias Secret brand and Les Wexler, but the insights are limited and largely rumor. It’s unfortunate Les Wexler refused to participate in the book.
Despite Wexler’s refusal, this book is well researched and loaded with facts and data. My only complaint is it does bounce around on the timeline a bit as new elements are introduced, and with an audio book it is difficult to “flip back” and figure out what else was going on at that time.
The narrator does a fantastic job of managing pace and cadence amidst a large amount of data without sounding robotic or monotonous.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I found this book to be full of fascinating information about the Victoria Secret company: the rise from a small business to a an empire; the men driving women’s fashion with “women dress to please men” mentality; the incestuousness of senior leadership across companies - leading to acquisitions, partnerships, and collapses. As well as anecdotes on the VS Angels, the celebrity of the models, and the sale of “hope” which was really male fantasy.
This book touches on the relationship of Jeffrey Epstein to the Victorias Secret brand and Les Wexler, but the insights are limited and largely rumor. It’s unfortunate Les Wexler refused to participate in the book.
Despite Wexler’s refusal, this book is well researched and loaded with facts and data. My only complaint is it does bounce around on the timeline a bit as new elements are introduced, and with an audio book it is difficult to “flip back” and figure out what else was going on at that time.
The narrator does a fantastic job of managing pace and cadence amidst a large amount of data without sounding robotic or monotonous.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 21, 2024
If you grew up in the 90s and early 00s then you likely have a very clear memory of Victoria's Secret. From the fashion show every year, to the bright and enticing stores. The company had quite a chokehold on the lingerie space for a long time, it was hard to go to a mall and not see a store local to you. They were completely on the top of what sexy means, what is it to feel like a woman? Launching so many of the fashion models we know today into the public space. So how did the company go from a small catalogue company to a huge conglomerate with a huge impact on society and how we think about sexiness and desire?
I had the chance to listen to this audiobook ahead of it's release in order to provide an honest review. Thank you to Macmillan Audio & NetGalley for the chance!
While I did have a bit of an issue with the cadence of the narrator when I sped it up very slightly it worked perfectly for me!
Going back to the very beginning was extremely interesting. As a millennial I saw the height of the company and have a very clear memory of what I remember about it, and how it made me feel about myself in that period of growing up and into myself. But I didn't know where it started, and I certainly didn't know how it finally met it's match. It made me wonder if the company could go back if they would change some of the decisions that evidently led to their downfall!
I had the chance to listen to this audiobook ahead of it's release in order to provide an honest review. Thank you to Macmillan Audio & NetGalley for the chance!
While I did have a bit of an issue with the cadence of the narrator when I sped it up very slightly it worked perfectly for me!
Going back to the very beginning was extremely interesting. As a millennial I saw the height of the company and have a very clear memory of what I remember about it, and how it made me feel about myself in that period of growing up and into myself. But I didn't know where it started, and I certainly didn't know how it finally met it's match. It made me wonder if the company could go back if they would change some of the decisions that evidently led to their downfall!
October 14, 2024
This is a very factual and informative novel on the making of Victoria Secret. Roy Raymond started Victoria Secret with his wife. Wexner and Moroski bought it from him. Les Wexner built a billion dollar retail empire. His companies included The limited, Express, Bath and Body Works, and Victoria Secrets. As Americans views on women’s bodies, thinness, perfection, and what makes a woman beautiful changed, Victoria’s Secret did not. This , coupled with Wexner’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the FBI investigation that followed caused him and his wife to step down from the board in 2021. Victoria Secret has moved toward an all inclusive body type as it tries to regain its market share. Thank you @macmillan.audio #allysonryannarrator does an excellent job on the audio narrator.
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October 26, 2024
As someone who loves fashion, grew up going to malls, shopping at Victoria’s Secret, and obsessing over the Angels, I was so excited to read this! The authors offer a thorough exploration of fashion & VS history, touching on fast fashion (shocking the ceo of VS invented it🤦🏼♀️), sexism in the industry, and how VS shaped millennials' relationship with body image/mental health, eventually contributing to the body positivity movement. They also dive into Victoria’s Secret’s immense influence on pop culture, from its peak in the 90s to its eventual decline. However the big selling point - it sheds light on the unsettling connection between Victoria’s Secret and Jeffrey Epstein!
Fair warning: it reads more like a dense, well-researched history textbook, but I personally enjoyed learning about the history of bras, the rise and fall of malls, retail’s evolution, and the creation of fast fashion and how that has shaped the lives of millennials in particular. My only critique is that I wish the authors had explored more of VS’s role in perpetuating white feminism. That said, I’d highly recommend it to anyone who grew up influenced by Victoria’s Secret!!
Fair warning: it reads more like a dense, well-researched history textbook, but I personally enjoyed learning about the history of bras, the rise and fall of malls, retail’s evolution, and the creation of fast fashion and how that has shaped the lives of millennials in particular. My only critique is that I wish the authors had explored more of VS’s role in perpetuating white feminism. That said, I’d highly recommend it to anyone who grew up influenced by Victoria’s Secret!!
September 14, 2024
Sometimes all you want is a push-up bra with lace trim and a bow in the middle wrapped up with tissue in a pink striped bag. Affordable, dependable, easily accessible–brought to you by your neighborhood mall. Lingerie is a gift you give yourself, and for the gold standard you need look no further than Victoria’s Secret–elegant, glamorous, feminine, and, of course, sexy.
People who know the story of Victoria’s Secret think of the men: retail empire builder Les Wexner, Hugh Hefner wannabe Ed Razek, or criminal predator/brand tarnisher Jeffrey Epstein. But Victoria started with the billion-dollar brain-child of a woman Gaye Raymond, the vessel for Victoria’s story and co-founder of the business with her husband Roy in 1977.
Gaye was first in a genealogy of women whose tireless labor constructed the entrepreneurial empire. Cynthia Fedus-Fields, the Victoria’s Secret catalog expert, Laura Berkman, the marketer from the Limited, and Sarah Gallagher, a lingerie buyer from Lord & Taylor, formed a feminine triumvirate, a powerful paragon of empowered women with ambition and autonomy.
These generations of women, individually impressive and remarkable in her own right, established and evolved their vision with one question: “What is sexy now?” They wanted to empower women to understand that sexy was more than a performance for their partners, it was defined and embodied–quite literally–by themselves. They created a company that would afford women the opportunity to express their individuality and their sexuality through the most fundamental clothing in their closets and transform the mundane into lingerie. In Selling Sexy, they forged a multibillion dollar industry that defined a generation.
People who know the story of Victoria’s Secret think of the men: retail empire builder Les Wexner, Hugh Hefner wannabe Ed Razek, or criminal predator/brand tarnisher Jeffrey Epstein. But Victoria started with the billion-dollar brain-child of a woman Gaye Raymond, the vessel for Victoria’s story and co-founder of the business with her husband Roy in 1977.
Gaye was first in a genealogy of women whose tireless labor constructed the entrepreneurial empire. Cynthia Fedus-Fields, the Victoria’s Secret catalog expert, Laura Berkman, the marketer from the Limited, and Sarah Gallagher, a lingerie buyer from Lord & Taylor, formed a feminine triumvirate, a powerful paragon of empowered women with ambition and autonomy.
These generations of women, individually impressive and remarkable in her own right, established and evolved their vision with one question: “What is sexy now?” They wanted to empower women to understand that sexy was more than a performance for their partners, it was defined and embodied–quite literally–by themselves. They created a company that would afford women the opportunity to express their individuality and their sexuality through the most fundamental clothing in their closets and transform the mundane into lingerie. In Selling Sexy, they forged a multibillion dollar industry that defined a generation.
November 21, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️ The story was definitely interesting if you grew up wearing Victoria’s Secret. It talked about the different styles that rotated through. The evolution of the mall. It really touched a lot on the business owners &how people like Jeffrey Epstein &Donald Trump came into the picture with the company which was interesting &disgusting 🤨.
* I’m a plus size woman &even when I was at my smallest I was still considered big to standards like Victoria’s Secret. I could rarely fit into their clothes/lingerie. But like most I grew up wanting to. So this was interesting hearing the backstory &seeing how the owners made their way up the market.
* I didn’t realize that stores like The Limited, Express, &Bath &Body Works are all under the same brand/company as Victoria’s Secret.
* They talked about the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show which was a first of its kind &considered an add. I didn’t grow up watching it but definitely did watch it in the last few years of its existence. I vividly remember Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Elsa Hosk, &Taylor Hill as pivotal VS Angels in my lifetime.
* I did feel like the story was a bit all over the place. They would be talking about something &then all of a sudden jump to 3 years prior to that. I wish it was just chronological. The narration was good. I’d recommend if Victoria’s Secret is nostalgic for you!
I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC in exchange for an honest review.
Themes:
* Fashion
* The Limited
* Textile industry
* Victoria’s Secret
* Beauty standards
* I’m a plus size woman &even when I was at my smallest I was still considered big to standards like Victoria’s Secret. I could rarely fit into their clothes/lingerie. But like most I grew up wanting to. So this was interesting hearing the backstory &seeing how the owners made their way up the market.
* I didn’t realize that stores like The Limited, Express, &Bath &Body Works are all under the same brand/company as Victoria’s Secret.
* They talked about the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show which was a first of its kind &considered an add. I didn’t grow up watching it but definitely did watch it in the last few years of its existence. I vividly remember Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Elsa Hosk, &Taylor Hill as pivotal VS Angels in my lifetime.
* I did feel like the story was a bit all over the place. They would be talking about something &then all of a sudden jump to 3 years prior to that. I wish it was just chronological. The narration was good. I’d recommend if Victoria’s Secret is nostalgic for you!
I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC in exchange for an honest review.
Themes:
* Fashion
* The Limited
* Textile industry
* Victoria’s Secret
* Beauty standards
October 20, 2024
Thank you @goodreads @henryholtbooks for making this review possible. SELLING SEXY: Victoria's Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon, written by @lapresmidi and @chantalfdez is the underwire-free, history-laden exposee of the creators of the original America Woman's mythos, Victoria, and her "fantastic lingerie", and the man that built then irrevocably destroyed her temple, Les Wexner. SELLING SEXY drives deep beneath the pink tissue paper and delivers a business unto the consumer that was never really interested in what it could do for women, and was eventually run into the ground by a seat of shortsighted old men. To shed light on the darker side of a company that so many millions if not billions of young women grew up idolizing and also explain how it undoubtedly blurred the gaze of our body consciousness is amazing. The inclusion of both scandals and triumphs synonymous with the company name put this book in line with my current obsessions that are docudramas and documentaries and so I could not resist reading and turning over every page to learn more. Very, very well done!
Read
July 23, 2024For work book club👍
October 25, 2024
An interesting business story on a fashion giant and the difficulties of remaining leading and relevant in a very fast moving consumer goods space. A lot of side line stories on other companies in the field make this book a relevant book on the history of intimate apparel not to miss. Well researched, written and delivered.
October 17, 2024
This was really a great book. So much care was taken with the research, and it was tied together quite well. If dates, dollar amounts, and details aren't your thing, you may not enjoy this book because it is loaded with them.
As someone who worked for VS for nine years, it was interesting to read about what was happening at the corporate level for the things I saw in-store 2006-2015. Portions of my experience were shared in the book.
What wasn't expanded on was that it was while digging into the history of VS via Google that I came across www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits and four years after leaving VS, I starting compiling the list of small business bra stores for my website www.brashopdirectory.com as an alternative to shopping at mall stores.
I will likely read this again in the future.
As someone who worked for VS for nine years, it was interesting to read about what was happening at the corporate level for the things I saw in-store 2006-2015. Portions of my experience were shared in the book.
What wasn't expanded on was that it was while digging into the history of VS via Google that I came across www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits and four years after leaving VS, I starting compiling the list of small business bra stores for my website www.brashopdirectory.com as an alternative to shopping at mall stores.
I will likely read this again in the future.
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