PINK Line at Victoria's Secret

That's how the singer Pink got her name, by the way. He's right. However, my mother in law gave my daughter the pink perfume from VS when she was about 10, and I love it on her (and I hate perfume). And my MIL is the biggest prude (and my daughter and I are very conservative in her wardrobe). So I don't worry about it. I'm the only one who knows that's what it means, anyway.

(Eta - I've never seen the clothing line, so I just looked it up. OMG, my MIL would die if she knew the connection between her perfume and those clothes! They are so slutty. I suppose I wouldn't think it if it wasn't for the models and the poses they strike in those clothes. But I'd never buy those clothes for her!))

Oh jeez. Can we overthink this any more?
Let her have the sweatshirt. Someone associating "Pink" with a teenage girl's vagina is the least of his problems as she's going into high school.
Where's HIS head? Anybody that's thinking that, to begin with, is thinking that with or without a sweatshirt logo.

PS: I have a couple of Pink sweats, too. I sometimes wear them when I go to pick up my kids at school. Does that mean I am advertising my vagina to the elementary school kids there? Or maybe the teachers?
Good lord.

Edited: Y'all, it has been researched that yes it is a vulgar reference. Why are you defending it?

Whether it is my money or my daughter's money--vulgar is vulgar. I would not allow my tween in PINK.

According to urbandictionary.com, your husband is correct.

First I'd heard that it was anything other than a color >.<

ETA: I was always fortunate, I think, in that labels weren't important to either my son or my daughter. But given the connotation of the name and the general theme of merchandise from VS, I wouldn't have shopped there for her when she was a tween.

VS is all about sex. VS does not market to teens, they market to women. PINK = vagina. Your husband is right. What else did you think it meant? If you won't buy it written on her pants, then why would buy it written on her shirt? That doesn't make sense.

My husband cringes every time he sees a young girl wearing anything from that line, especially when PINK is written across the butt.

Kids have not rebranded it! It is NOT a CUTE girl thing. If anyone thinks that is true they have been duped by the teenagers plus being gullible and naive.

The Pink line is marketed to 15-22 year old girls/women.
I don't think it's a synonym for "vagina"!
The line with the undies with the suggestive phrases has been scrapped--too inappropriate.
But Pink is kind of like the gateway drug to shabbily made, overpriced lingerie, right? Lol
(SO glad I have a boy....but the sneakers are killing me!)

Yes, PINK is their junior/teen line, it's actually marketed to tween/teen aka "virginal" girls.
I'm no prude but I hate this kind of branding.
Love's Baby Soft perfume did the exact same thing back in the 70's.
Of course as a young girl I adored Love's Baby Soft, but as a parent looking back on those ads? Creepy and sooo inappropriate!
Anyway, no real advice here. I never bought my girls PINK items but I never stopped them from spending their own money on them either.
I just made sure they knew how I felt about it.

It's news to me, but not a surprise. That entire label strikes me as oversexualized and I would not buy it for my daughter. Generally, I don't have an issue with "branded" things and both my kids have plenty of AE things or Aeropostale things. But the PINK line of things has always struck a sour note for me.

I'd steer my daughter to a different store and let her look for a hoodie from elsewhere. Aeropostale routinely has theirs on sale for 50% off... You can pick up clearance rack ones (pull over or zip front) for under $25 on any given day.

I don't buy my children clothing from lingerie stores, period. VS is a sexy brand. I'm not OK with my teenage daughter wearing clothing associated with that brand, so she doesn't have any "Pink" in her closet. I think you should listen to your husband on this one. There are plenty of other brands out there that aren't associated with supermodels strutting around in very "hot" underwear...not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not something I want on my child. She's free to wear anything she wants when she's an adult.

It is absolutely a reference to the vagina. That is what men and boys think and that's what VS was thinking when they started the line. I actually asked my husband and male friends about this years ago because that was what I thought and sure enough they all said the same thing. There are lots of slang phrases that include the pink as a vagina reference.

I think it's kind of funny so many women have no idea or even think VS wasn't aware. Like they just randomly chose PINK to display across girls rears?

We have no issues with branded clothes. My kids pretty much get what they like. Thankfully what they like has never been an issue in our home.
I guess I would toss this one to Dad. If he is against it have him explain why. A good opportunity for a father daughter talk about boys/men and sexual attention. Maybe after that she won't want the sweatshirt anymore!

It's a color word.
Yes, it's the color of her vagina. She's a girl. It's no secret that she has one. It's also the color of her gums, her tongue, her brain, and most of her internal organs.
It's not a CFM invitation.
Let the kid have the damn sweatshirt.

Well, I never made that connection myself, but now that I have, I can never "unsee" it. Do guys REALLY think that? Ew.

Never been a fan of VS and Pink. Guess that won't change anytime soon.

If your husband knows this association that would be enough to deter me. Personally I won't purchase anything from their store. I used to buy my sister gift cards from there and decided I was through doing that as well. What sealed the deal for me was my young son (age 5-6 at the time) covering his eyes anytime we walk past because it embarrassed him. Then I thought about how I would soon be responsible for teaching him to be a gentleman and how I wanted him to behave toward young ladies. VS doesn't line up with what I want for my daughter or son.

Blessings!
L.

Yuck! Though my 15 year old DD has some very tasteful sweatshirts, yoga pants, and sweats from PINK, my feelings towards this for teens have really soured. I'm also turned off by the expense, and the fact that they are so coveted. My 12 year old is now interested. I'm not going to forbid the whole brand if they spend their own money, but I've decided personally, to not to shop for them in that store anymore.

Unfortunately, your husband is correct in that slang meaning. IMO - I wouldn't even be taking my 7th grade daughter into VS to shop around and try stuff on............in the first place........What is she, 12 or 13 yrs old?

My 12 year old owns many items from Pink, mostly because if you buy them online, you can get long and extra-long lengths for the yoga pants, etc. She wears a size 0-2, and has an inseam of 35", and that's hard to find! We don't have a whole lot of choices, but I think there are many cute and age-appropriate things from Pink, so I don't mind shopping there for her. Some of the yoga pants say "Pink" on the waistband. She also has a couple of sweatshirts from there. My husband has seen her in these items and has not objected in the least - and if he knew it to be slang for any part of the female anatomy, he would have said so! I'm puzzled by your husband's assertion, frankly.

I had NO idea that is what pink was referenced to .....but regardless, there is NO way I would let my daughter, as long as she is in my house, where something that promotes VS. That store is not intended to teenager or younger in your case.

I have never heard of it being a slang term for vaginas! I mean it very well could be but I don't think it common knowledge. I have several sweatshirts from there that say pink I just thought they were comfy. If it were me I would buy it for my daughters(mine are still little though).

I thought pink was kind of a solidarity thing for fighting breast cancer, though not necessarily at Victoria Secret. Regardless, your husband is really off on this one...

I never understood the line. Not to offend, but it often reads slut to most I've discussed this with....I'm always horrified when a young girl is sporting the line.

We should expect more as consumers, maybe we would get more in return.

S.

Yeah pink is a slang term for vagina. I wouldn't get my teen a shirt or anything from there.

No one has ever heard "2 in the pink, 1 in the stink"? Vulgar, but it's a thing. Victoria's secret is an under garment and lingerie store first, that happens to sell clothing, perfume and makeup.

It use to be weird to me to see teens in VS clothing, but I think the teens have changed the marketing intent which is kind of cool... They rebranded the pink brand to just be a cute teen girl thing. I think it all goes back to intent. If the girls are wearing it in a an innocent way then it's an innocent thing.

VS is too expensive and is getting to be hairline close to being Frederic's of Hollywood.
It's not something she 'needs' to fit in to middle school - she only thinks it is - and there are any number of fads running around through school which come and go on a daily basis.
Your/her money would be better spent elsewhere.
It wouldn't hurt to respect your husbands point of view on this instance - take a united stance on it and say 'No' together.

I think your husband is right.

I guess I just assosciate Pink with Victoria Secret, which is a lingerie store that is SUPER sexy and not appropriate for young girls.
I did dink around on the internet and saw that "pink" is slang for vagina.
If my husband was that opposed to it because he didn't want his daughter wearing something that is basically advertising sexuality, then I would defer to him. (And I usually don't defer. lol)
L.

Didn't know about the reference.

I thought it was pink for 'girl power'.

But now I'm thinking is that we're they get the colors for birth announcements from? Girl (pink). Boy (blue)?

Hmmm

I agree with him that's what I thought of too. Remember that song Pink it was about sex. And obviously victorias secret is all about sex so I don't think young girls should be enticed into wearing something that's cute. It always starts out as something cute but to other boys its not about cute but sexy. Good luck!

It is not an overt reference. It is a marketing ploy. VS needed to expand their market so they put together a line and marketed to teenagers. I work at a high school and it is everywhere. It is very much a peer pressure thing. Even though men might make the connotation, it was not intended. They just wanted to get girls into the store at a younger age.