Monday, March 02, 2009

Stacey's Secret

Have you seen Victoria Secret's new swimsuit collection? Or, rather, I should ask, have you seen their new swimsuit campaign? Here's a taste:


Apologies for the sub-par photography--yes, that's her foot next to her bikini bottom. This spread appears street side at their new flagship store. I have to confess, sometimes I lie on the beach like this myself. I find that not only does it attract more attention, but it also happens to be a great quadriceps stretch.

12 comments:

Cupcake said...

Her lower body looks like that of a child...

And she looks drugged...

And helpless...

I don't see how this is appealing at all. VS seems to cater to the male public rather than women - and in turn women buy it to please the men who are into this.

Anonymous said...

Who lays (lies) like that in a bathing suit?

I hate ads like this. I agree that this is for the men, not women.

azusmom said...

Oy.
(BTW, my daughter's physical therapist told me that this is one of THE WORST ways to sit or stretch, 'cause it hurts the tendons and ligaments.)

Leigh Purtill said...

This is SO bad for her knees. LOL!

Harriet said...

I think it's a yoga posture.

Anonymous said...

*sigh*

i believe that is alessandra, my fav VS model. she's also my fav thinspo

okay... modeling is an artform. expression. medium. tool. idealistic. movies also fit this description.

you must understand the intention of both genres.

after seeing lord of the rings, one did not exclaim 'oh that was just AWFUL! i've never seen an ELF before!' BECAUSE it was understood the intention of the movie was to be entertaining. mission accomplished!

the intention of this ad was to be beautiful. done and done.

it's ridiculous to be incensed about a modeling pose. it's a POSE. it's a picture. let it gooooooooooooooo

and in response to kristin's comment about how she fails to see the appeal of the ad b/c it cater's to men...

the world of females revolves around men. female competition often consists of the battle to be 'crowned' the most beautiful/desirable. thus being appealing to men. the most popular girls were the ones who understood how to be pleasing to men.

women are infamous for sacrificing one another in the pursuit of men. i personally have experienced and participated in backstabbing a friend in the quest for male attention.

VS models are, aesthetically speaking, the ideal women (to most men). flat stomachs. toned. tan.long lush hair. large breasts (which are super uncommon for women with flat stomachs). the models have similiar bodies to those of playboy, maxim, etc.

why not, then, drap these 'ideal women' in your merchandise in order to seduce women to buy them? buy our products and be the perfect woman!

that IS the beauty industry!

tell women they are inherently lacking in ... EVERYTHING, and then offer the 'solution.'

the kicker?

women KNOW this and buy into it ANYWAY!

i today bought a bikini top that will guarantee me male attention this summer... from victoria secret!!!!

inside the store was a beautiful poster of alessandra in this very bikini. she looked stunning.

mission accomplished...

Whiner said...

"the world of females revolves around men."

... Is this a joke? Please tell me you're trying to mock the stupids by coopting their language, what with the "females" vs "men" as well as the complete disregard for women's own desires...

The world of some women revolves around men. And hey, if that's what they want, that's what they want. I certainly wouldn't want to forcibly drape girls in sackcloth and tell them to stop looking sexy.

Humans are infamous for sacrificing their friends in the pursuit of mates. Not just women. Men compete too.

However, it benefits someone to perpetuate the myth that the only thing women think about is shopping and looking pretty for the mens, and to tell those that dare to say otherwise that they're Doing It Wrong...

Anonymous said...

Hey, if you're interested in women who have a sort-of-borderline-ED, please check out my blog some time!

I'm 31, reasonably sensible, a steady size 8/10, good job, good education, no Mensa member but not a complete prat either...

... and a terrifying amount of my life revolves around food!!

My blog is at www.thenewadventuresofjuliette.blogspot.com - hope you find it useful!

Juliette x

azusmom said...

pangsofbeaut,
So, it's all OK as long as it sells stuff? It's an art form? Like film?
I highly doubt that anyone came out of "Lord of the Rings" feeling badly about the shape of their ears.
A few decades ago, white performers put on blackface and went on stage. It was considered entertainment. People enjoyed it. It was harmless, right?
Wrong!
It was harmful and offensive. And people don't do it anymore. The images we are bombarded with in the media today are NOT harmless, either. They reduce women to objects. Girls as young as 5 are developing eating disorders. This is NOT harmless behavior.
I'm not trying to jump down your throat here, and I REALLY apologize if it's coming off that way. But I see so much damage from these types of images that I can't keep quiet anymore.

eatinginbalance said...

I really, really like your blog. That's all, I guess. :)

brooklyn_bound_F_train said...

It actually doesn't bother me either. She looks like a dancer in a Martha Graham coreograph. Kinda glam. I like. It doesn't look all sexual in that trashy Sports Illustrated way. Although, their wesbite is a pretty Sports Illustrated trashy if you look.

But it does look like a 'double' hurldlers strech. Which I don't do, but some people do. Actually I don't stretch. Bad me. Anyway...but really, if I could by some miracle stretch like that and I were down at Coney Island and I wanted to, I sure as hell would. That's the fun of the beach, people wear and do all kinds of crap they would be self councious about if they were anywhere else. Like drink at 11 AM half baked and naked for example (hence me ALWAYS looking drugged at the beach.) Or examine their moles and stretch marks. Being at the beach is like an alternate reality, a parallel universe. I find it entertaining.

Being not American born, I'm pretty ok with people lying around naked or mostly naked. If a hairy german drinking beer on his porch in (very) tightie whities at 10 AM doesn't bother me, this certainly doesn't either. Now if he were sitting there with his pinkie in his mouth giving me some trashy look...ok, I wouldn't like that so much.

Oh and the 'through the window' photograph adds a nice indicental light effect that I kinda of like.

Maya said...

No, it isn't "trashy", but it IS silly. Not unlike many of the silly pics in the catalogs showing models just a sweater with boots! Show me ho to put and outfit together (they do that as well) I do not normally lounge around in just a skirt and pearl necklace!

BTW, I LOVE my VS clothing and swimsuits...suits I never where in water because they are too pretty!