Diamond Broussard did not let the rain stop her from shopping with one of her favorite clothing lines, at the campus representatives with VS PINK. Bakkar, a junior finance major, has been a VS PINK campus representative since May and she helped organize the event. “We helped them pick the best spot on campus, which was Crampton, to hold the sale so that they could get the most traffic,” she said.
She also said that Howard’s VS PINK campus representatives will be planning other events this year, including an on-campus recycling drive and a community service project. According to Sarah Hoekzema, manager of the PINK Marketing Department, Victoria’s Secret does a fall tour every year to promote their PINK brand.
“We want to bring the convenience of buying the brand to campuses and also give students a sneak preview into their school’s collection,” Hoekzema said.
This is Victoria Secret’s third annual VS PINK campus tour and the first time the tour has stopped at Howard University. Some of the other schools on the tour this year are Syracuse University, Michigan State University, and West Virginia University. In between classes, shoppers panned through racks of the new PINK loungewear such as tank tops, hoodies, sweatpants, and $2 and $20 mix and match t-shirts. There was also outerwear such as knitted sweaters and fur vests. Students crowded the table of the new Howard VS PINK Collection that featured red and blue t-shirts with the Howard Bison logo, adorned with sequins and rhinestones. There were also hoodies and fleece vests with the Bison logo that featured fur lining in the hood. Dominique Washington, a freshman psychology major was not interested in buying any of the VS PINK Howard items because the styles to her lacked originality.
“The stuff they have for Howard doesn’t look much different from clothes I could buy for much less somewhere else,” she said.
Around 11:30 a.m., the rain started pouring down forcing the event workers to cover the clothes and relocate them under their tents.
Around noon when the rain stopped all that was left from the Howard VS PINK Collection were the t-shirts proving that the weather didn’t dim their sales. “In the first hour the clothes were being bought up! Even in the rain,” said Hoekzema. Marie Smith, a senior finance major, missed out on some of the Howard gear, but enjoyed being able to shop in between classes, and happily purchased a PINK track suit for its look and comfort. “I heard about this yesterday and looked forward to shopping on campus. They have nice Howard items and their stuff is really comfortable,” said Smith. “It’s good for lounging around and when you have an 8:10 class.”
Dorian Ball, sophomore, sports medicine major, liked the clothes but took a peek at the price tags and turned away.
“Some of these clothes cost more than the books I paid for this semester. I’m going to wait for the sale,” said Ball.
Those who missed out on Thursday can still purchase the exclusive PINK Howard collection online at VSPINK.com beginning October 15th.