Have impending midterms got you down? Why not go shopping? How about a brand new vibrator? Or leather restraints for that special someone? A good, satisfying shopping experience at one of Boston's sexuality boutiques may be the perk you need to relieve some of that "academic" frustration.
Whether you desire fetish or frills, latex or leather, the Boston area sex shops surely have something to tickle your fancy. The idea of shopping in a sex boutique may make you giggle in embarrassment, but according to Kim Airs, the "proprietrix" of Brookline's Grand Opening! "The toughest step is over the threshold." Once inside these diverse and intriguing establishments, your interest is easily aroused.
Each of Boston's few sex shops has its own distinct specialty. A shop "especially but not exclusively for women," Grand Opening! (not just a clever name) immediately calms the most self-conscious shopper. The shop is definite stand-out on the scene, and it has won Best of Boston three years running. Its hardwood floors and lilac-covered walls create a welcoming environment.
"Everyone's welcome for sure," Airs said. "If you've ever had sex or even thought about it, this is the store."
The clientele is 62 percent women, a high average for a sexuality boutique, but Grand Opening! is meant for everyone. The shop's unique approach includes displaying sex toys outside, intimidating and often pornographic packaging, and encouraging customers to reach out and touch the items. A wall of vibrators, dildos, and other toys beckons the interested browser to lay hands on the Rabbit Pearl, the Zippy Pickle, the Zinger Ringer, or the Wonder Lips.
The boutique sells many books covering topics from sexual health to sado-masochism and numerous types of videos, condoms, and lubricants. It also has novelty gift items and sexual accessories like handcuffs, whips, and kitty condom purses.
Grand Opening! offers book-signings and special classes for the public in everything from S&M to strip-teasing. ("Honey, I was thinking, maybe we should take an S&M class...") According to Airs, "You go to a class to learn, not to be judged." Because of this open-minded approach, taboo topics are openly discussed.
Airs is far from your ordinary shopkeeper, as she wants to change the personal lives of others by opening them up to new, fun possibilities. "There are few things in life that are so vast and so intimately personal," Airs said about sex.
Across town, another shop serves a seemingly different clientele. With metal steps from the street and dark walls, Eros Boutique boasts a mysterious and fantasy-evoking environment, befitting its specialty fare. The store's focus is mostly S&M and fetish, and it stocks a wide selection of harnesses and gags. According to Eros Boutique's website, "You will surely find a gag to fit in your slave's mouth." The shop sells a wide variety of nipple-clamps, ranging in bite, sure to make you scream anything from "Ow" to "I think I just saw God."
Eros Boutique also stocks difficult to find medical fetish equipment. It has a glass case filled with anything from the gynecologist's forceps to heart defibrillators (yikes!). It caters to the role-playing fanatic, stocking latex, leather, and vinyl costumes. You can find the latex nun, the rubber French maid uniform, the latex school girl dress, and a PVC police uniform. Although the boutique is not a shop for the squeamish, it also carries a wide array of vibrators and lubricants.
If it's outrageous clothing you seek, Hubba Hubba is the place to be. Originally a second-hand clothing store when it opened 23 years ago, owner Susan Phelps moved the clothing line into punk, then seamlessly into bondage gear. Hubba Hubba is filled with anything from velvety goth to plaid punk, bondage pants, leather dresses, lace corsets, and even latex dresses and skirts. There are racks full of confusing leather items, straps, buckles, and spikes, which I recommend only to the professional. Alongside all of the gear are sex toys and feather-ticklers, and the tallest, highest-heeled patent leather boots around.
Shoppers at Hubba Hubba mostly look for club gear, bondage equipment, or something to inject a little fun into their wardrobe or sex life. Phelps explained that many of her customers are "couples who want to spice up their relationships. They want to inject a little enthusiasm into it." She also said that sex shops in Boston have their specialty clientele and that, in her eyes, "Hubba Hubba is the one with the biggest world view. We have gear for both genders and everyone in between."
If a gag gift is what you seek, novelty sex shops may be more appropriate. Sweet & Nasty has a hilarious selection of X-rated chocolates like the Mr. Average, The Perfect Penis, and the Makin' Bacon (use your imagination), and features a wall of the strangest gift items imaginable - think penis dash-ornaments and a giant stuffed schlong. You can also have naughty cakes made for any occasion, with open candy legs or very impressive frosting frontal nudity, a perfect gift for a friend's 21st birthday.
Oddly enough, Condomworld does not have a very extensive selection of condoms but stocks many different vibrators - at Newbury Street prices. It is a good place to go for edible undies, penis gummies and boobie pasta. It also has Pecker Partyware and a ding-dong dish soap dispenser - say that three times fast! In the back are a few somewhat scary apparatuses, one called the Postmaster.
Sales at Boston's sex shops are highest at Valentine's Day and Christmas, but suprisingly, Kim Airs and Susan Phelps both said that their sales increased after the Sept. 11 tragedies. Airs said, "Sex is incredibly life affirming. It's physical contact with another human."
"People were coming in for the intimate stuff," commented Phelps.
Just as sexuality is diverse, so is the sex boutique market in Boston. It's got it all, from clothes, to toys, to videos, and everything in between. So put down that textbook and go out and purchase some excitement or maybe just browse and see how the other (satisfied) half lives.
Grand Opening!
318 Harvard St. #32
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 731-2626
Eros Boutique
581 Tremont St. #A
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 425-0345
Hubba Hubba
534 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
(6170 492-9082
Sweet 'n Nasty
90 Massachusetts Ave. #A
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 266-7171
Condomworld
332 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 267-7233
