A Little Lingerie Company Tells Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret is keeping secrets. Victoria's Secret wants you to believe it's necessary. Victoria's Secret wants you to believe they have no choice.

Victoria’s Secret wants you to believe they have to charge you $2 more for larger cup size bras.

But do you really think so? Let’s think this through for a moment. First of all, lingerie suppliers don’t charge more for one size bra than another in a given style. How do I know this? Because I own A Little Lingerie Company and none of my suppliers charges extra for different sizes. Not even Panache Lingerie, which designs our very popular Caprice camisole with a built-in bra. This comes in sizes B to G cup, with up to a 42 in sizes up to DD and up to 38 in sizes up to G.

Now that's a size range.

And no matter what I order, whether it's a 32B or a 36G, they always charge me the same amount. That also goes for all my other suppliers. Take Volage Plus, for instance. Their Romance Bra costs no more for a 38C than it does for a 42DD.

So, if a supplier like Panache Lingerie, whose styles cover the range from AA to J, doesn’t charge differently by size, why does Victoria’s Secret, who only occasionally even goes up to a DD?

And here’s another secret: Victoria’s has a corner on the market. They are able to command the lowest production costs of anyone. So how is it they have to pass on this two dollar charge? Does it really cost them more to ship a 34D? More to package it? More to get it through customs?

Take it from someone who knows: women who need larger cup size bras or plus size bras do not need to pay more for a given style than anyone else.

So, why do it?