Victoria Secret’s Display

Skimpily clad mannequins in the windows provokes passerby

Shoppers are either horrified or fascinated by the window display at the new Victoria Secret store in Tysons Corner Center. The racy exhibit features mannequins dressed in thigh-high black nylons, stiletto heels, bras, garters and posed in, some say, sexual positions.

This has led church groups, parents and shoppers to send disgusted letters to the press and the head office of the large retail store. As the Washington Post reported, one woman walked by and huffed, “Little Shop of Whores,” while a father of a teenager daughter commented, “Slut wear.”

But others love the display and walked out of he store with bagfuls of purchases, confused as to why others are getting so incensed over it. But with some of the Victoria Secret displays of late, the mannequins are dressed in feathery thongs and bent over as if adjusting their heels- are these appropriate images to be in a family mall?

Some longtime customers refuse to make any more purchases until the display is taken down, while still others comment that it is semi-pornographic and insulting. This referring to the an inside store display of a mannequin crawling towards another who is lying down and her hip and leaning back on both hands. But others like the "dark side" of the store and think it's important for women to have that freedom of choice.

The biggest complaint is not the display itself, but the fact that it’s put in such a high traffic area in the public mall. Children and teenagers are frequent patrons and mothers are having a hard time believing that they would ever knowingly let their daughters go to the store to shop.

What do you think? Do you shop there? Will you continue to shop there?