There seems to be two main companies that sell bras, underwear and other delicates for young women. Those are Victoria’s Secret and Aerie. Now I’m not trying to bash on Victoria’s Secret here, I’ve bought a few of their bras and they’re nice. But I devote most of my delicates to Aerie for multiple reasons.
Walking through a Victoria’s Secret Store, you see their sexy Victoria’s Secret Angels on the walls, lots of animal print, and paints of pink and black. The mannequins are all over the store in a soft shade of pink and underwear that may or may not be practical. It kind of makes you feel like you wouldn’t want to walk around in here with your Grandma.
On the other hand, when you walk into an Aerie store you see neutral colors, natural looking girls, and bright lighting. Aerie’s undergarments look more relaxed; like something you wear everyday versus something you wear to attract a mate. I don’t think my Grandma would even blush in here.
Going onto the Victoria’s Secret website, you can see their models. None of them look very much like me. That’s probably because Victoria’s Secret Angels must meet strict limitations, which are being 5-foot-9 with the desired measurements of 34” -24” -34”. Which does not look very much like me or most women I know.
Going on to the Aerie website I feel like I can relate to the models. They started the hashtag, #aeriereal, meaning they stopped airbrushing their models. They left all the tattoos, stomach rolls, beauty marks, etc. If you search the hashtag you can find positive messages that promote REAL bodies being beautiful.
When I’m shopping for delicates, I’m shopping for myself. I want something cute that will make me look good and feel good about myself. Aerie has recently partnered with the National Eating Disorders Association. Aerie's global brand president Jennifer Foyle told Business Insider, partnering with National Eating Disorders Association's was the "perfect union" and she hopes the campaign will help instill body confidence in young women and encourage more of its customers to spread the word and become brand ambassadors.
No, I don’t think that advertisements are the main cause of eating disorders, but I do believe they can negatively affect all girls who think Victoria's Secret models are the standard of beauty. Yes, those girls are beautiful, but so are you. You should love your body the way it is. This is how your body was made, and that's okay.
Not only does Aerie have a more self-loving goal, but the prices of Aerie are much more realistic. At Aerie you can get seven panties for $27.50. Victoria’s Secret on the other hand gives you five for $27.50, so two more pairs of underwear from Aerie for exactly the same price. A nude push up bra from Victoria’s Secret is $46.50, while from Aerie a nude push up bra is $29.95. Just from the price difference you can love yourself more. With that extra $15 you didn’t spend on one bra you can go pick out a new shade of lipstick.
Victoria’s Secret is a great brand that has been selling intimates for as long as anyone can remember. Their products have a great quality and can probably make you look great. But Aerie makes you look great and is a great quality company overall. They create stores that don’t make you feel embarrassed to bring your grandma to, they want their delicates to be something to inspire you to be happy and not just for some man, and they are supported by the National Eating Disorders Association because they leave their models real. This is why I choose Aerie.
