I just received this letter from the one and only Miss Vera:
To Victoria’s Secret Corp.
Last night’s episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” will go down in crossdressers’ herstory as the night Victoria’s Secret invited men who like to wear bras to come in and try things on. Larry goes into the clearly marked Victoria’s Secret shop in order to buy a bra for his housekeeper and in the normal course of confusion, the saleswoman invites him to try on anything he likes. Students at Miss Vera’s Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls, NYC have told me that when shopping on their own, for themselves, they are treated with courtesy at Victoria’s Secret shops in locations across the country, but the invitation to try on is not so forthcoming. The experience I have had when taking a student shopping at V.S. is that the policy regarding try ons has not been consistent. How wonderful that managers and customers can now refer to this nationallly televised corporate seal of approval. It’s the usual smart marketing on your company’s part. Halloween is coming, the crossdressers’ national holiday, and, of course the party season follows, with lots of gift giving too. My advice to VS store managers: stock up on size 40B. Thanks Larry and thank you Victoria’s Secret for recognizing this sizeable segment of your customer base.
Cherchez la femme,
Veronica Vera
Dean of Students
Author & Founder
Miss Vera’s Finishing School For Boys Who Want to Be Girls
www.missvera.com
Miss Vera received the following response:
Dear Veronica,
Thank you for your e-mail regarding Victoria’s Secret Stores allowing men use of the dressing rooms. We are happy to assist you with your inquiry.
Victoria’s Secret does allow men to use our dressing rooms. However, because our primary target client is female and because of the sensitive nature of our product, there are specific guidelines for males in the dressing room areas. If a male client requests a dressing room at a busy time of day or there are female clients in the area, we ask him to come back at a time when the shop is less busy. If there are one or two females in the dressing rooms and it is a shop where there are additional dressing rooms free from female use, we will allow him to use a room free of female traffic. We hope this information is of use to you.
We value our reputation for excellent client service, and always take great interest and initiative in making changes which are beneficial to our clients.
We appreciate your comments and take them seriously. In fact, client suggestions and comments often provide direction for changes in future merchandise and services.
If you need further assistance, please reply to this e-mail or call anytime.
Thank you for shopping with Victoria’s Secret.
Sincerely,
Michelle B.
VictoriasSecret.com Client Services
Visit www.VictoriasSecret.com
Phone 1.800.475.1935 or (outside the U.S.) 1.937.438.4197
Fax 1.937.438.4290
The NY Post ran a story about this as well, which I’ve posted to the boards.