I’ll keep you my dirty little [Victoria’s] secret
Lisa Freak, VS swimsuit archive, Kathy Hilton's tag sale, Braceface 👙
I’m not going to share progress on my summer bucket list this week because summer is not technically over yet!!!!! We will talk about the infamous Victoria’s Secret swimsuit line today while it’s still over 70 degrees. Stay tuned later this month, once Freudian Slip fall is upon us, for my realistic Gilmore Girls Connecticut day trip itinerary and guides to Grand Theft Autumn and Ferreira Fall.
Today’s issue:
🛍 What I would’ve bought from Kathy Hilton’s tag sale
🎨 5 things you didn’t know about Lisa Frank
👙 I’ll keep you my dirty little [Victoria’s] secret, exploration of the VS swimsuit archive
📲Braceface, custom Hey Arnold! sneakers, return of the J.Crew catalogue, Disney goes punk, Kate Spade, and 7th Heaven’s complicated legacy
ICYMI, last week’s issue included pics of me on the first day of school and egregiously priced pseudo-vintage babydoll tops from Hollister and A&F, rating every “Wonderwall” cover that matters and also some that don’t, 90s bands reuniting, the A Walk to Remember soundtrack, and links for you! Forgot to mention that my favorite Liam Gallagher adversary is in fact his fellow Mancunian, the one, the only, Mel C. LIAM, COME N AV A GO IF YA THINK YA ARD ENUF!!!
Support Nicstalgia with a paid subscription for less than this Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper and folder set on eBay.
Huge thank you to Nicstalgia supporters who I will love forever: Janine, Marie, Liv, Mitra, CY, and Aleena! 💐💐💐
🛍 What I would’ve bought from Kathy Hilton’s tag sale
My algorithm is working properly, as I came across a video on my IG feed of @Lexiejayy perusing Kathy Hilton’s tag sale. First of all, I’m enthralled by the fact that the event was billed as a “tag sale”, which is regional American slang used primarily, if not only, in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. For the uninitiated, a tag sale is the same thing as a garage sale or a yard sale, all of which are technically different than an estate sale. This was also advertised as a *CELEBRITY SALE!*, with the proceeds benefitting Yogi’s House animal rescue. There was even a lemonade stand!
Luckily, some photos were posted online, as I could not make it to Bel Air. (Also I didn’t know it was happening until it was already in-progress.) Did I need designer clothes? No. Alice + Olivia visual merchandising props? No, I have enough of those. I’d be scrounging for rare, somewhat obscure fashion items from Nicky Hilton’s line, Chick, and her line with Samantha Thavasa New York.
I’d never heard of Samantha Thavasa – before my time – but apparently, Beyoncé, Solange, Paris, and Nicky had been in advertising campaigns. Nicky, Victoria Beckham, Penelope and Monica Cruz, and Tinsley Mortimer had handbag lines with the company. I love the silhouettes – the crescent and the bowler were 2000s staples. I really enjoyed a foil heart and star motif as well, of which there was no shortage of at this sale. Reminds me of my metallic gold and black cheetah print Betsey Johnson messenger bag that I used my first semester of college. (Yes, when my dorm room was pink, green, and zebra print.)
After I’d sweep the handbag table, including this bag with NICKY spray painted in graffiti style, I’d pick up a few other things:¹
Speaking of cheetah print, the club couldn’t handle me in this Giambattista Valli dress. This would pair perfectly with a pair of Charlotte Russe stilettos. There’s also a purple sash in the middle, over which I could put a large, patent leather, non-functional belt.
This Alexander McQueen bag (upper left corner) is everything. I love the netting, and if you look closely, you’ll see the handle is THE infamous skull scarf.
In the 2000s, you would’ve had to pry this Loop NYC x Andy Warhol Foundation bag out of my cold, dead hands. The black and white stripes. Factory Girl Edie Sedgwick. The Velvet Underground banana motif (which I had a dELiA*s graphic tee of; now it’s a pillow!) Now THIS was La Vie Bohème to me.
These Acne Studios platform sandals are simply perfect, but I already have a snakeskin pair of Michael Kors (RIP Kors shoe line) in the same silhouette, so I will survive without them.
Juicy bag is self-explanatory. Do I need one of the tracksuits they make now with my zodiac sign bedazzled on it? Yes.
I just really like this table and I would make it fit in my car by any means necessary.
I never knew I needed a mini pink piano until now.
🎨 5 things you didn’t know about Lisa Frank
Before we begin, allow me to introduce the three critical foundational texts:²
The Ugly Business of Being Cute is THE Jezebel (RIP) article that uncovered the drama, unethical practices, infidelity, lawsuits, and lots and lots of cocaine behind the rainbow.
OMG, It’s Lisa Frank!! from Urban Outfitters’ blog in 2012, when she started a partnership with them. This, along with “The World of Lisa Frank” - A Short Film, where Frank asked for her face not to be shown, is one of LF’s only interviews of the 2010s.
Foundations Magazine got the very rare interview, reprinted in VICE (A Rare Interview with Lisa Frank) and Refinery29 (Lisa Frank, CEO, Gets Frank About Lisa Frank, The Brand). The latter is a terrible name for an article, but the slideshow-as-a-story setup is super cool.
5 things you didn’t know about Lisa Frank:
Frank got the licensing from King Features for Felix, Betty Boop, Mighty Mouse, and Popeye and made buttons out of them. Spencer’s Gifts said they’d give her a million-dollar order if she could make them stickers. So yes, you could get a gag gift, a vibrator, and Lisa Frank stickers all in one place.³
She did a line with Ed Hardy, including folders, notebooks, binders, and more. This is kinda sick (good way) if you ask me!
She also did a limited-edition drop with Warner Brothers on a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. line. Intention is good, execution is terrible.
Lisa Frank had coloring apps called Lisa Frank Pic n’ Share (2012) and Lisa Frank Zoom n’ Color (2013).
ALLEGEDLY – the source is someone on Reddit who was her neighbor growing up – Lisa Frank used to give out pencils and erasers to her trick or treaters on Halloween. Forget full-sized candy bars, THAT’s the house I wanna go to!
So why are we talking about Lisa Frank today in particular? The brand has a drop tomorrow, 9/6, called Lisa Freak. Yes, people have made the is somebody gonna match my freak joke already. I personally am not a fan of this apparel; it’s cute, but better suited for kids. For adult apparel, from a branding perspective, I’d love to see Lisa Frank tap into its subversive side. Frank herself has said that she wants to remain a mystery. To keep people asking questions. To keep people wondering why she’s here. If I were her, I’d leverage her bad reputation to make art.
👙 I’ll keep you my dirty little [Victoria’s] secret
Every woman, Millennial and older, has some kind of relationship with the recidivistic specialty retailer. We’re grown up now, but I still shuddered when I first learned that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is coming back on October 15th. (Although if I got invited to go, I probably would, for old time’s sake.) Now this event used to be my SUPER BOWL. I had an unhealthy obsession with Adriana Lima and cursed God for making me only 5’2”. I would be too powerful if I was tall! Despite my dreams as an Angel were over before they could even begin, I could still dress like one. For teenage girls like me, before Pink really took off, swim rather than intimates was the coveted category.⁴
Swimwear was featured in the VS catalogue, of course, but it had a very broad product assortment, aka. more than what you could afford to print on paper. Enter: the website. Ahhhhh, the advent of e-commerce and the joys of early online shopping!! I remember when clicking on a color swatch to change it on the model was absolutely groundbreaking. Shopping for VS swimwear was likely the earliest example of me having an absurdly large amount of browser tabs open.
Today we will be examining the Victoria’s Secret swimsuit archive through a contemporary lens. Let’s revisit the categories: Beach Sexy®, The Miracle Bra®, Very Sexy®, Body by Victoria®, Sexy Coverage, and Victoria's Secret Pink®. Then we’ll look at how VS models present differently in present-day.
Beach Sexy®
I miss the pricing! Tops were $19 and up, bottoms $15 and up. This line was actually my favorite. “Beachy, bright and right on trend.” Popular prints & styles were dots, paisley, beads, boho, crochet, push-up, low-rise, extremely lazy photoshop, and egregious retouching.
The Miracle Bra®
“Removable padding for maximum push-up.” You should not be allowed to say maximum push-up and tankini in the same sentence btw. Who are these for?
Very Sexy®
“The most glamorous suits on the surf scene.” For the record, this copywriting is not good. The Venn Diagram of Victoria’s Secret swimsuit shoppers and surfers is two circles. Very Sexy® swimwear is essentially the antithesis of a rash guard. When they said, “Pick your top & bottom sizes separately, select styles”, we thought they were being soooo generous, rather than being like, why would you assume everyone’s body is directly proportional to your arbitrary sizing convention? One-size two-piece bathing suits should only be sold for children on those two-piece plastic hangers from department stores.
Body by Victoria®
“Clean, modern styles with a sleek look & feel.” BBV was about coverage, as opposed to a demi cup or balconette, and support, like a bra versus a triangle bathing suit top. My only question is – full coverage of what??
Sexy Coverage
Sexy Coverage is “simply sexy swimwear with more bottom coverage”. Again, where is the coverage, exactly? It’s important to remember that no extended sizes were offered beyond DD, there were no DD models (only A-B cups with push-ups or C cups with implants), and only low rise was available. If you wanted coverage, *1•3•5 Sales Associate Voice* You can try Lands’ End. This was very aligned with the culture of the 2000s, where you had to be sexy for men at all times, but also self conscious if you didn’t naturally meet the ideal beauty standard. Sexy coverage is an oxymoron.
Victoria's Secret Pink®
I didn’t see most girls wearing Pink swim; it was too unsophisticated. Wearing the sexier lines was the equivalent to stealing your mom’s lipstick or borrowing her too-high-for-you heels. Because many of us didn’t need lingerie, wearing VS swim was a way of feeling mature and confident in our evolving post-pubescent sexuality. Pink swim had a lot of stripes, dots, and metallic accents. Pattern mixing was considered more juvenile then than I think it is today. As far as Pink is concerned, girls more so liked the sweatpants with PINK on the butt, 5 for $25 underwear, and free gifts with purchase. (Namely, the polka dotted stuffed animal dogs and massive tote bags.)
VS Today
Like other problematic fav Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret has had to keep up with the times for no other reason than supporting the best interest of its business. As someone who grew up in arguably the most body-negative decade of all time, the 2000s, I do appreciate seeing body diversity. Not even the slender models need to have six packs, body modifications don’t skew natural proportions (although now you’ll see BBLs on some models instead of breast implants – especially in fast fashion), and white Brazilian women are no longer representing a ‘curvy’ build or ‘diverse’ ethnicity.
At the end of the day, we don’t want to look like the models in the pictures. We just want to have an idea of how we might realistically look in the bathing suit. During the summer, we deserve to go outside, to the pool, to the beach, and feel good about ourselves. This is a fantastic shift from being as far under the male gaze as humanly possible (at least in the context of clothing) to a more neutral gaze. As
and Sabrina Carpenter can attest, 2000s-era VS is back. Unfortunately, the toxicity around body image, diet culture, and the battle for female body autonomy never left.
📲 I’m just a simple girl in a high-tech digital world
“The returning catalog will ship in early September, as J.Crew tries to capitalize on momentum fueled by nostalgia.” I personally love the idea of catalogues coming back. dELiA*s, Victoria’s Secret, and American Girl catalogues were so important to me growing up! And while e-commerce has facilitated a more seamless shopping experience, versus placing a mail or phone order, it’s still nice to just look every once in a while. Although I’m not a J.Crew fan in particular, my favorite jacket I’ve ever owned in my life is theirs: a bright royal blue peacoat with a funnel collar.⁵ J.Crew catalogue starlet Demi Moore –you will always be famous!
Disney goes punk! Tomorrow, A Whole New Sound cover album will be released with “reimagined covers of your favorite Disney songs”. New Found Glory, Simple Plan, Yellow Card, We The Kings, Plain White T’s, BOYS LIKE GIRLS, Bowling For Soup, and more are featured. I remember when the Disney albums featuring Jessica Simpson, Ashley Tisdale, etc. came out. Usher’s “You’ll Be In My Heart”? Incredible. This is a brilliant move to appeal to Millennial Disney Adults and parents, and I’m all for it.
@naecustomkicks designing custom Hey Arnold! sneakers is the cleanest, most satisfying painting video you will watch all week. I guarantee it.
I enjoyed this piece from the WSJ, The Enduring Legacy of Kate Spade’s Witty, Misunderstood Life. The late designer was bubbly, effervescent, and quirky, with a subversive edge. She embodied joy and eclecticism, “giving glamour an off-kilter spin”. Similar to Lily Pulitzer, whose story I’ve shared here, Spade was way more fun than the preppy presentation of her brand. The question is, “After a company changes hands multiple times, and its founder dies, can its original vision endure?” It depends. But one thing’s for sure, Kate Spade was definitely a Pink and Green Girl™, no doubt.
After some of the actors from 7th Heaven reunited at 90s Con, they decided to start a rewatch podcast. I didn’t like 7th Heaven – too cheesy and wholesome with religious overtones for me – but I did enjoy this piece from the LA Times. It gets into the Monster debate, an exploration of morality and pop culture. Are we allowed to still watch 7th Heaven even after we know one of its principal actors committed crimes? If we do, is it possible to separate the art from the artist? Will this show’s reputation forever be soured, particularly because it was supposed to be a show that pushed Good Christian Family Values? I personally think you can watch what you want, even if it’s “bad”, reconcile that things were different then and that they wouldn’t be acceptable now, support new art forms that don’t reinforce old stereotypes or problematic tropes, and most importantly, remember that our culture equates money, fame, and status with morality. We hold actors to this pious expectation when they are usually more disturbed and problematic than non-famous people. They shouldn’t be your role models in the first place.
Just found out Braceface is on Prime Video. Do I still remember the entire theme song? Yep.
🦋 Social butterfly
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¹ I really don’t go by Nicky, but on rare occasion when I do, that is my preferred spelling.
² I also thought The Lisa Frank Website: What is it Really Saying to Young Girls? from the Gender and Technology Spring 2009 class at Bryn Mawr College was really interesting. I totally would’ve enrolled in this course! My take: Lisa Frank’s prime era in the 90s only featured animals, and internet access was not yet the status quo. Therefore, we did not have access to a website with information about the animal characters’ anthropomorphic qualities. It was just an animal on a Trapper Keeper. Not that deep. However, in the early 2000s, human female characters were introduced. They were walking stereotypes. My gen was too old for this, but I’m curious if any Gen Zs remember these characters, whether their personas had any affect on young girls, or if – like Millennials – no one cared and just wanted a cute folder.
³ I never shopped at Spencer’s due to them being tacky and offensive, but their history is very interesting. The company was established in 1947 (!!) and their first retail store opened in 1963 (!!) Their biggest flex is that they own Spirit Halloween.
⁴ For my final project for my Apparel Production class, in the summer of 2009, I had to put together a lengthy PowerPoint presentation exemplifying different apparel silhouettes. Most of the pictures I used were from the Victoria’s Secret’s website, which I find hilarious and slightly concerning. I would do anything to see this presentation again. I’ll never stop looking for it and for my Apparel Production textbook that I think I finally got rid of.
⁵ You couldn’t tell me nothing in my J.Crew peacoat and coordinating plum, cashmere-lined genuine leather gloves, DVF iPhone 4 case, and Michael Kors genuine pebbled leather Jet Set adjustable shoulder bag. This was 2013!
