Jackson's previous video "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" was the "first inkling" of the contrasted image developed with the release of the "Janet" album and "That's the Way Love Goes." The transition is regarded as iconic and commended by many critics. Maureen Sajbel of "The LA Times" stated Jackson abandoned "the masculine clothes," becoming "refined and softened to a model-perfect feminine image." Sajbel wrote "Jackson's svelte figure is poured into black bell-bottoms and crop tops. She wears silver hoop earrings and wide cream and silver chokers that have sent adolescents streaming into stores asking for "Janet Jackson necklaces." "Entertainment Weekly" declared it Jackson's earliest foray into being "not just a cherubic pop star but a confident, self-sufficient, and sexy grown-up," calling the "slinky, body-revealing" video "the first volley."