&quot;I have been but little in,&quot; said Ninian hastily...

Yeah, I saw the bondage-themed VS when we were there on Friday. I raised an eyebrow, not out of offense, but rather out of surprise: apparently VS is abandoning its position as the class act of the chain lingerie stores.

From:

I didn't even see anything bondage-themed, just mannequins in skimpy lingerie.

After the whole "angel" themed ad campaign, I don't know that they were qualified as all that classy. :-)

From:

Apparently you missed the handcuffs. No, I'm not kidding.

From:

flyingwolf.livejournal.com

I believe you. They did say on the news that some images could not be shown. Personally I don't think this is appropriate in such a public area.

From:

The photo in the Washington Post represents what I'm given to understand represents like the 4th rearrangement of the mannequins since I went past the store just after 6 o'clock on Friday evening.

It reminded me of nothing so much as the Moulin Rouge 'Lady Marmalade' video - like a bus full of drag queens crashed into the circus.

From:

"...like a bus full of drag queens crashed into the circus."

Sounds like a really great plot for a really bad porn movie!

From:

Maybe it's a drag-queen film collective...

From:

Oooh, a really bad SOCIALIST porn movie! Bonus!

From:

I can only imagine what happens on the trapeze!

From:

Handcuffs? OK, but still... *shrug* Plenty of the people quoted in the article seem to be upset by the clothing, by suggestive posing... I guess I'm so corrupted by the Forces of Darkness already that I really don't get it. This is a store that sells racy underwear primarily for the purpose of drawing attention to (and in some cases enhancing the appearance of) women's bodies with the intent of exciting (or stoking) lust and a desire for copulation. As several people have noted, VS has been prominent in Tysons (and at Pentagon City Mall) for a looooong time now. These folks are really only just discovering that *gasp* a store exists to encourage people to think about (and presumably enjoy) sex? Horros! Batten down the hatches!

From:

I'm guessing it's the fact that these are fairly realistic mannequins that were handcuffing one another to beds, spanking one another (etc.) -versus headless torsos displaying the same wares - that had everyone in such a tizzy.

To the mother who was horrified that Victoria's Secret might be telling her 13-year-old that that is how she's supposed to be dressing: You take your 13-year-old daughter to shop at Victoria's Secret? What the fsck is wrong with you?

From:

This whole thing is so silly. I mean, it's not even that risque. I think people should worry about important issues...

From:

geekchick

"Well," said Steina Rubin of Bethesda, "I find it just totally disgusting." And, no, she would not be shopping there. "I'm not entering a whorehouse," she said. "I come to the mall with my daughter. It's disgusting. And I'm from Europe !"

I'm sorry, but that last bit made me laugh.

" maybe your intent is to provide consumers in Northern Virginia with our first erotic boutique."

Obviously this guy hasn't been just across the street to Night Dreams. ;)

From:

[Europe] Yeah, that was worth a cackle.

[Night Dreams] The same thing occured to me. And none of these people, clearly, have been past the windows of the Pleasure Chest or Dream Dresser...

From:

I work up the street from the original Pleasure Chest (now Pleasure Place) in Georgetown, and can therefore testify that I've never seen a display in their window that was even a fraction as tacky as that display at Tysons.

From:

pusscat.livejournal.com

I, too, loved Steina Rubin's final comment. That seals it. A European by way of Bethesday doesn't approve!

From:

kevinrtaylor.livejournal.com

This strikes me as an incredible overreaction.

Me too, but I'm from Europe. ;-)

From:

silme.livejournal.com

Wow. What would these people say about Ann Summers? ;)

From:

Amazing, isn't it? I mean, I see more risque stuff at Blackbush Market!

From:

silme.livejournal.com

Victoria's Secret is pretty tame compared to a lot of places. I advise those folks, including the woman from Europe (where on earth in Europe -- the Vatican? ;) never to travel to Amsterdam. :)

From:

I wondered where they were from too. My goodness, all you have to do is turn on the TV or go to Guildford to Ann Summers.

I have to admit that it's refreshing to see more breasts on TV instead of exploding heads and blood soaked bodies.

From:

silme.livejournal.com

I agree -- to both!

From:

How long has Victoria's Secret been in existence? How long have they had a store in Tysons? And what have they been selling -- and advertizing in TV and magazines and the Web -- for lo these many years?

This fake innocence routine is getting tedious...

From:

...the Lane Bryant models are sexier.

From:

Hear Hear...or Here! Here! :-D

From:

Agreed! (Suddenly I'm flashing back to "I, Claudius" and Julia making fun of Tiberius's first wife "Why, she's so skinny if she turned sideways he'd be able to find her in the sheets..." Ah, the Romans, fans of the shapely and curvaceous. :-)

From:

And what have they been selling -- and advertizing in TV and magazines and the Web -- for lo these many years?

Shhhh...it's a secret. Victoria's Secret. ;-)

From:

Oh crap, the Secret's out! And they hid it so well in their storefront displays, too! Does this mean they'll have to change their name? "Everyone knows what Victoria's wearing to bed!" is a bit long, so I'm at a loss there...

From:

How about "Victoria's Not So Secret Secret"? With a wink wink nudge nudge icon? It's catchy, isn't it? Yep. I'm in marketing!

From:

There could be a TV ad of Eric Idle badgering Terry Jones for information about Victoria's You-Know-What, and asking which lingerie is his wife's favorite.

Hopefully it won't involve either one wearing the lingerie...

From:

stripyredkitty.livejournal.com

That doesn't sound really sound so bad, there are more important things to worry about.
As for whore-house it's not as if the models were actually posed doing anything. LOL to I'm from Europe! Who knows what she'd do if she saw the Ann Summers window at our local mall, let alone the likes of Amasterdam

From:

This has got to be one of my most-commented posts in recent memory! :-) Clearly I ought to have more lingerie posts. :-)

This *is* a new location in the mall for VS, and I remember thinking that the window I saw (which didn't have any handcuffs, though I'm perfectly prepared to believe that they had some in another window) was a little more risque than usual for them.

On reflection, I think that's because the lingerie was *on* mannequins. I can't *recall* seeing full-body mannequins in their windows before, only clothing by itself, or on lower-body or upper-body (with no head) dummies. It was also black, and their displays that I can recall are usually coloured clothing. But doubtless poses, accessories, etc. are part of what is attracting all the attention.

From:

Clearly I ought to have more lingerie posts. :-)

Please do! :-D

From:

I'd have been more inclined to post them on

silklover but...

From:

I have to admit that I find the headless mannequins wearing lingerie more than a little bit creepy!

From: