E-Bone and Victoria's Secret

All bullshit aside, I spend a lot of time reading business magazines and listening to podcasts about business, negotiating, real estate, etc. I am always particularly interested in the history of businesses, specifically how they got their names.

For example, back in the day I used to throw an annual party that turned out to be one of the biggest throw downs in Hampton, VA. For the last three years of it, I hired this band called “Exit 173.” One time while talking to them, I asked them how they got the name for the band. They told me they were traveling in Tennessee once in the early days (before the band was formerly a band). During the ride, they were contemplating what to call the band when they came upon the exit there were supposed to take, which happened to be Exit 173. Thus, the name stuck.

Business history is littered with both good and bad names, some names borderline stupid or absurd. For example, there is a local law firm called “Notable Attorneys.” I’m quite sure that some one could and would read the name of their firm as “Not Able Attorneys” and come away with a connotation different that what was intended. Then there is the “Gun Skill” (guns kill) shooting range, a talent agency called “Cast Raters” (castrators), an online movies database called “KnowsPics.com” (nose picks), and finally my favorite: a motivation consulting company called “DO! DO!”

For some reason, trivial things like that interest me. One business name that has always baffled me was Victoria’s Secret. Knowing that the store sells lingerie and the like, many people have always thought that that is where the name came from: the founder’s name was Victoria and her secret was what she was wearing underneath her clothes. Hmmm. That’s logical. But now the truth comes out.

Turns out that Victoria isn’t a Victoria at all, but a formerly “Victor” who had gender identity problems and decided to start the process to become Victoria. Legend has it that Victor grew up an only child of a couple who divorced because the wife left the husband for another woman. As a result, Victor grew up being exposed to everything “woman,” and eventually thought that he should be Victoria instead of Victor. Having the support of his Mom and Mom, he started selling women’s under clothes at parties like Tupperware, hosted by women in the privacy of their own homes in hopes of funding his eventual sex change operation. The business became so succesful, he decided to take it mainstream, all the while parading around like a woman, calling himself Victoria, building a business empire that spans the globe.

But now, for the first time, we all know what Victoria’s Secret really is. It isn’t lingerie at all. It’s this:


So now that the truth is out, I wonder if it will still be called Victoria’s Secret or E-bone’s Night Out?