A Day Outside Victoria's Secret

I work at the mall. When I have a break at work I sit on some nearby couches. These couches have been provided for shoppers who need to take a moment away from the stress and hardship that apparently accompanies buying a pair of sandals; it is a small quiet space where people can come to escape loud stores, sore feet, and frequently annoying friends. I sit and I draw an eclectic mix of folks. I don't know anything about them save what they look like, but I generally like these people.

Across from the couch is a Victoria's Secret. If you don't know what that is, it is an underpants store. They intend to sell underpants to women. They do this by putting their underpants on women and taking pictures of them. Then they make the pictures 10 feet tall, put them in the front of the store and point a bright light at them. I've never sold underpants to anybody, but that seems like one way to do it.

In any case, when Lauren Kolm told me I should go draw at Victoria's Secret for our gendered spaces project, I did it from the perspective I was accustomed to. I took my sketchbook to the mall and drew for a good long while. These are the illustrations I made from those observations.