Victoria’s Secret published its first catalog in 1977, the same year Roy and Gaye Raymond founded the company.
The original business began with a store at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. From the start, the company paired physical retail with mail-order selling, allowing customers to browse lingerie privately at home. That catalog approach became central to Victoria’s Secret’s growth, especially before online shopping became widespread.
By April 1982, the company had already mailed its 12th catalog. The catalog cost customers $3 and generated 55 percent of the company’s $7 million in annual sales that year. Its imagery presented lingerie as romantic and tasteful, helping distinguish the brand from more utilitarian department-store underwear.
A common mix-up is confusing the first catalog with the 1979 edition, which was described as more sensuous and closer to an upscale version of a Frederick’s of Hollywood catalog. Victoria’s Secret continued publishing catalogs for decades, eventually discontinuing them in 2016 as digital commerce and online marketing replaced the traditional mail-order model.