When it comes to clothing, lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret is famously skimpy-friendly—except when it comes to their employees. A Victoria’s Secret worker says she was forced to buy new clothes mid-shift when her spaghetti strap top was called out for violating the employee dress code.
In a TikTok with almost 3 million views as of Saturday, content creator and VS associate Zahavah Suissa (@zahavahsuissa) documents in real time as she purchases Victoria’s Secret clothing and changes during her shift, allegedly at her manager’s request.
“I’m going to scream at work,” Suissa begins quietly, walking through the store, “My manager is making me buy clothes from Victoria’s Secret because I’m not in uniform.”
She sets up the camera to show her outfit: A short, black one-piece bodysuit with spaghetti straps.
“Girl what…we’re in the middle of a heat wave!” she says.
As Suissa picks out her clothing (settling on a black jacket and long black pants), she continues to vent.
“There’s literally pictures of naked women on the wall, so why is it wrong for me to wear a spaghetti strap? Make it make sense,” she says.
“I just put everything over [my outfit], because we’re in a heatwave and I’m going to have to change after,” she says, fully dressed, as the video ends.
@zahavahsuissa How is this allowed??? #retailworker #victoriassecret #worklife ♬ original sound – zahavah suissa
Viewers are split
In the comments section, viewers were divided in their opinions on Suissa’s wardrobe choice and her manager’s alleged decision to make her change.
“Girl, that’s the dress code. I don’t dare show up to my work in shorts and a tank top just cause it’s hot. That’s life,” one user wrote.
“As a Victoria’s Secret employee…THANK YOU. The dress code is so ridiculous. How do you have formalities but then leave it up to the manager’s discretion? Make it make sense,” wrote another viewer.
“The way I would spend hours clocked in trying on clothes,” quipped another user.
“We were only allowed to wear business black or current appropriate Pink outfits, so no spaghetti straps unless a current jacket is over it. Just dress code,” an apparent former VS employee shared.
According to Victoria’s Secret’s Associate Handbook, employee attire varies depending on the job. VS employees are told to “refer to [their] onboarding materials, operating procedures or talk to [their] manager” for specific dress requirements for their role.
The handbook specifies that employees “are not required to purchase or wear company merchandise,” but “may be asked to modify [their] dress or remove accessories to comply with our company policies or safety protocols in our facilities.”
Given that each Victoria’s Secret store location has its own variation on dress code (aside from the standard “all black everything,” as one former VS employee put it), enforcement of dress code policies could also vary. However, some viewers of Suissa’s video felt her manager should have given her more options.
“As a former manager for VS, the new policy is she should have given you an hour to go home and change instead of making you wear [new clothes],” one such viewer opined.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Suissa via email and Victoria’s Secret via email for more information.
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