When I was in grad school, I took a job at Victoria's Secret. I thought it would be super glamorous, what with the black jackets and dress shoes, but it turns out that retail is retail no matter how pretty you look.
I did alright there, if I do say so myself. I was the resident expert bra sizer and beat my credit card opening goals almost every day. I left work smelling great and feeling good -- other than the calluses on my feet and ache in my back.
Of course, I also had to unpack and cut down thousands of boxes, hang panties with two small strips of fabric on flimsy plastic hangers and climb on a huge ladder to change teeny, tiny light bulbs.
There was this one particular fragrance at Vickys called Love Spell that was the bane of my existence. Every hillbilly in Kentucky (where I worked) wanted to slather that stuff over every inch of their skin. I don't think it was so much the fragrance itself as it was the combination of Love Spell, cigarettes and trailers that infiltrated our store.
After two years working there, I made lots of good friends, bought a small fortune in lacy underwear (that now lives in a plastic bag in my closet because I can't stomach throwing it out) and developed a hatred of holiday mall shopping that haunts me to this day.
That's just one of my ridiculous jobs, and you can read all about another at Erin Margolin's excellent blog, Road to my Writer Roots!
Also? Look what I did this weekend:
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12 comments:
I would love to have worked there in my younger years. I love nothing more than buying new sexy underwear. I would spend a small fortune.
Nice video. I would never have made it as VS employee. I worked at a salad bar in college and I always got in trouble for not selling enough fountain drinks (as opposed to the free water).
I could totally see you rockin' the Vicky's!
Man, I love VS! And you're an expert bra sizer? I need you to fit me, woman!! You know, once I'm out of the maternity and nursing bras... :)
Should I have known you lived in KY? Why did I think it was just West Virginia and Florida. I feel like a bad blog friend now.
I worked at New York and Company. No bras, but a looooot of women trying to cram their size 10 butts into size 6 pants.
And a lot of stealing...not by me!
Retail does suck to work in, especially during the holidays. But I do love VS, especially their online selection. At least you got discounts on their stuff.
Jessica
http://mytimeasmom.com
Ha! I think I owned love spell in high school. It was purple right?
I've never done retail - I know my limitations when to dealing with rude people. On behalf of every woman who has ever left a dressing room a complete mess, I apologize.
I spend way too much there already, so I cringe at the thought of the damage I'd do if I worked there.
Yet we wants the lacy bras and panties, precious!
What's the over/under on the hot-chick-o-meter that you had to help size their bras?
I am putting it at 70% ugly.
And?
Taking the over.
Remember when you got me a holiday job at Vicky's Secret and it had been 4 good years since I worked retail and after the first day I was like "ah hale no"? Good times.
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