Victoria's Secret and "tween" girls (defined on Urban Dictionary as "a girl ages about 9-14...too old for toys, but too young for boys.") is not something I would say goes together. When I think of Victoria's Secret, I think of lacy barely-there camisoles, free panty coupons, and displays of push-up bras and more. I haven't been to a Victoria's Secret in a long time - I've been stuck in maternity panties. At almost 26 years old, shopping there is appropriate (and feasible if I want to spend that kind of money). I would never think to take a tween there and let her pick out lacy panties, thongs, and boy shorts with sayings on the rear. That's not my cup of joe.
So why is it happening? It is due in part to the marketing?
They did have Justin Bieber perform during their televised "fashion" show, he definitely appeals to the younger crowd. Did that help them reach a younger crowd? Is the company that hungry for profit that they have to target their marketing efforts to a younger and younger crowd?
"No one wants to be the girl with the ugly underwear!" says the
mom blogger in this Good Morning America story.
I'm sorry, but if you've visited any store (Target, Kohl's, Walmart, etc) in search of girls underwear, you can find cute prints that do not leave butt cheeks hanging out, or have lace on them. And really, who is going to SEE a 9 to 14 year old's underwear? Hopefully no one but her and the person washing her laundry (more than likely her mom)!
I remember being 9 - my underwear was either solid colored or had polka dots or stars or hearts - plain and did their purpose perfectly. I think my mom would have smacked me if she saw me with lacy little things, or something with the word "sexy" on the rear.
I have an almost 1 year old daughter, so we have quite a few years until we reach the stage of needing to buy bras, so
what do you moms of tweens say? Are you okay with your 9 to 14 or so year old wearing Victoria's Secret?
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Comments (19)
I completely agree with you! Not to mention Victoria's secret is expensive! Buy a pack of cute-patterned underwear from Walmart for like 6 dollars and call it a day. They can be just as cute.
And some argue about panty lines for thongs...why should a tween care about that?? Now, when I was 14 I was a 36C, so I could argue that a PINK demi bra from Victorias could work for a girl that old, but once again...other stores have demi-bras for remarkably cheaper.
Not a parent, but I just don't remember caring about such things that young. I actually didn't even want patterns on them. All one color was great, and I just wanted them to be comfortable so I could play without them riding up or anything. When I started wearing a bra, my mother took me to Kohl's and we got some nice, basic, functional bras. At 14, I started worrying a little about the appearance what I was wearing underneath, but really only to the extent that I needed a good sports bra, cause the other girls might see it when changing for sports.
In what way is Victoria's Secret targeting a younger crowd? I guess I've missed this. Seems completely ridiculous though.
I buy my 6 yr old daughter cute boy shorts. They come in pretty colors/patterns, Hanes makes them, they're not expensive, and they cover. In 3 years, I don't believe I'll be taking her to a lingerie store, whose image and message is sex (even if they have "some" non-sexy lines) to buy her underwear.
Just like she won't be wearing a bikini.
Kids aren't little mini-mes. They're not just small adults. Victoria's Secret is not a store for kids. Have I ever taken them with me to shop in there, yes. For me. It's a "grown-up" store, and sexy is a "grown-up" thing - because sex is for grown-ups. I don't see the grey area here. This is black and white.
I am not a mom, but I do know that I am not interested in going to Victoria's Secret to shop for myself and have to navigate around a bunch of children. What if I am there with my boyfriend trying to pick out something intimate and there are a bunch of children running around? That seems EXTREMELY inappropriate.
I am sure that as time goes on young people/girls will become more and more desensitized to sex and all that comes along with it, and frankly I don't really care how they dress since the change seems to be inevitable, I just know that allowing them to invade spaces/situations in which adults are trying to carry on with adult activities...now there is a tricky situation.
Would adults in the store get in trouble for doing adult things, such as a couple shopping for lingerie, now because children have been thrown into the mix? Whats next, allowing them in honest to goodness sex shops?
Their Pink line is for tweens and teens. Mostly low class trashy stuff though. It should be embarrassing for a tween to wear something so teeny-bopper and tacky.But I guess that's what they strive for nowadays.
Who will see their underwear? Other girls in gym class/on sports teams at school. At least... I HOPE that's it. :|
A lot of kids start having sex at 13, so I think underwear is the least of a parent's worries.
Looks like many of you have forgotten about changing into your gym clothes at school, or into your jammies at a slumber party. Let's also remember that the 9-14 bracket is when most girls start physically maturing, and they're super conscious of what their bodies look like.
Not that I'm condoning sexy underwear for the younguns; I'm not. You don't necessarily have to buy them sheer lace or thongs, but a hipster or boy-short with a cute print isn't the end of the world. Why not buy them something to make them feel better about their constant-changing body image?
Actually, the company says their "Pink" line is aimed at college students... NOT 9 year olds.
Victoria Secret is first and foremost a LINGERE store that also happens to sell panties. 9 year olds have no business in a Lingere store. PERIOD. I can't believe this even a discussion. If people can't tell the difference between Target/Walmart and stores like Victoria Secret and Fredricks of Hollywood... there is something wrong with you. I take my kids to Target all the time, and we never even see the panty/lingere products so No, it's not the same thing.
Although, I personally think the mom is the one pushing the idea of "cute" underwear on her daughter, but for the sake of the argument, let's assume the daughter wants cuter panties. No one is disputing the idea of a 9 year old may want cute "boyshort" or "hipster" underwear That is NOT the issue. The issue is that you can buy cute underwear for 9 year olds at places other than a lingere store.
If you watch the story, the little girl has NO IDEA what Victoria Secret even is... she doesn't WANT to go there. Her mom is pushing this on her. So VERY VERY SAD. If she starts with "cute" panties from a lingere store at 9, what do you think she will want when she is 11 or 12?
From my experience, it is always the overly permissive mom who is too lax on rules and responsibilites, wants to be their kid's "friend instead of their parent, and as in this case allows little girls to shop at lingere stores. They are always the first to say... "OH MY... these kids grow up so darn fast these days". It infuriates me! I feel sorry for this little girl. I would be willing to bet this is not the only area where her mom is pushing her to grow up faster than she needs to just so mom can have a friend.
I think under 14 is young. I always knew what VS was but I didnt start going in there until high school. They send out free panty coupons all the time so when I went to the mall with friends, mom would give it to me so I could get them. I didnt start shopping there until I was 18.
There are tons of tween stores that sell cute underwear. Leave VS to the older girls.
I don't see why the mom can't buy cute panties for her daughter from the other stores? I mean, there are cute options that aren't from Victoria's Secret. Let's not forget, VS can be pretty pricey and she will outgrow them quickly. (Even if they are Semi-Annual Sale prices of $2.99 and up!) My mom never thought to cave in for whatever I asked for, she provided the basics that she thought were sufficient--including Little Mermaid printed panties when I was a little girl. My future daughters will buy whatever underwear they'd like when they can reasonably afford to do so, but before that, they better find Hanes panties in a bag cute enough.
Well, I did got my little sister (she's in 8th grade) some very plain cotton underpants(girly briefs and hip huggers) with left over coupons from VS, and they fit her well. She doesn't even care what her panties looks like as long as they are cotton and comfortable for her.
From age nine- 11, she was still in her Disney underpants. The Juniors and VS panties would not fit her during that stage. Now, she's pretty developed (she wears my size), and will be taller than me.
if they come out with a line of metal chastity panties, i would be interested if i had a daughter.
I HATE seeing young high school girls in Victoria's secret buying thongs and push up bras. There are hip huggers and regular panties there that are pretty good quality so I wouldn't be surprised if girls went there for those but when girls that are in high school run off to buy g, c, and whatever other letter strings, it irks me.
I remember seeing a YouTube video of some high school girl showing the stuff she got from there and explaining how she asked her mom to buy thongs. One of her reasons were "I just didn't feel comfortable in regular underwear, and it left ugly lines that showed through my tights." Um, maybe it's just me but I'm pretty sure everyone was comfortable wearing underwear for at least the first 13 years of their lives, so I don't see how that just suddenly changes one day. Unless you're wearing the wrong size. And if your under wear is showing through your tights, it means your shirt isn't covering your ass (I'm a 'tights are not pants' person). The whole reason for her wanting to wear a thong seemed stupid to me.
I never was embarrassed of funky colored underwear, in fact, I still have a majority of underwear with prints and polka dots all over and I'm 21 years old! I understand everyone needs the standard colors of underwear (white, black, nude, etc) but other than those moments when I will need to wear them, I wear whatever is comfortable.
I think it's inappropriate. The first time I ever bought anything from VS was when my step-mom gave me a gift card there for my 17th birthday. I felt a little embarrassed, but at the age where it was ok to go there. I bought a plain striped bra and a pair of wave underwear with a flower on the side.
I didn't buy anything "sexy" there until I was 19..maybe even 20.@mycontinuity@xanga - also, sad but true. Can't imagine having sex at that age. It was weird for me at 19 o_o
@Teeter - exactly. VS is a lingerie store. not for kids.
If you want your child to have cute undergarments then go to Target or Kohls. No need to spend the extra $ on the VS brand. First time I shopped there was for my honeymoon haha and even now the only time I purchase anything is when I get a free panty coupon in the mail. I will admit that their leggins are really nice, albeit expensive, because they're thicker than most stores sell but I still wouldn't allow my 9-14 yr old daughters to shop there.