Justine Harmon

Frederick's of Hollywood.

So there was no in-between shop.

We either had slutty lingerie or we had white lingerie.

And this was the time when women were just climbing the ladder to pierce the glass ceiling.

And they were wearing business suits.

And he always felt that the business suits were great for climbing the ladder, but it took away from their femininity.

Roy Raymond realized that women yearned to feel both powerful and feminine at the same time, and his stores evoked a bygone era.

The small, intimate spaces were furnished with Victorian decor, ornate rugs, and Tiffany lamps.

He sold silky, demure teddies and provocative lace bras in sumptuous reds and powdery pinks.

Early catalogs featured models who were thin and white with romantic tendrils framing their faces.

And this is what I learned from him in business.

It's not that you go in and you copy someone else.

You go in and you create from nothing.

You bring something in that doesn't exist.

You find what's needed and wanted.

Now that to me is a brilliant business move for him.

So he created business.

a market and a need that women went, oh my gosh, look what I get to try on.

Because they didn't have that before.

The catchy name, Victoria's Secret, Roy came up with that too.