Why a Vintage Victoria's Secret Panty Costs $150

Young vintage sellers and shoppers are passionate about old Victoria's Secret. But can the brand capture that same enthusiasm for its new clothes?

One day after opening her Depop shop during the pandemic, Kiersten Cruz decided to purchases her very first slip dress. “I knew that I wanted it to be vintage or two-thousands-era Victoria’s Secret,” she said. She found a light-pink one with dark, floral lace trim and a tie in the back, and posted a photo of it to her shop. “So many people were obsessed with it,” she said. She decided to expand the range of vintage Victoria’s Secret she was selling.

Then, Sabrina Carpenter’s stylist Jared Ellner’s team emailed Cruz to ask to borrow old Victoria’s Secret pieces for a photo shoot. Cruz sent over two light blue slips, one from 2006 and one from 1997, with no idea what they were for. In April, Cruz saw the reveal: Carpenter wearing the 2006 piece for a Coachella billboard. She also wore the 1997 piece for a post on Instagram, where Carpenter has nearly 40 million followers.

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Cruz had priced the 2006 slip dress at $40 in her shop, but after Carpenter wore it, she sold it for around twice that. The same slip appears to have recently sold for $225 on Poshmark in pink instead of blue.

The market for old Victoria’s Secret clothes has exploded in recent months, thanks in part to Carpenter, but also to a group of young, passionate vintage sellers like Cruz who extol its quality and the nostalgia it inspires. Vintage purchases have been booming in recent years thanks to the younger generation’s interest in sustainability, and easy-to-use re-sale platforms like Depop, with Victoria’s Secret items becoming their own trend. A representative from eBay said that searches for vintage Victoria’s Secret slips increased 75 percent from January to July of this year, while the brand’s old robes, nightgowns, and pajamas remain highly sought.

It’s a remarkable turn of fortunes for a brand that has struggled for positive buzz since it became embroiled in controversy in the wake of 2018’s #MeToo movement. The brand has been trying for years to outrun a slew of scandals, including its long history of casting very thin models, some of whom have detailed extreme diet measures; a former executive saying the brand would never cast “transsexuals” or “plus-size” women; and former parent company L Brands Chairman Les Wexner’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.