MKM's Fetish Shopping in New York City.
Though the internet has given us access to a myriad of shopping opportunities, some things you should still touch before you buy. In my blog “The TOP TEN TOYS all dominants should have”, I recommended people visit specialized BDSM shops for some of the items, such as floggers and collars. [link to the blog] Latex clothes are also rather hard to buy without trying them on. So, as I have recently visited the Big Apple, I created a little map to help you peruse New York’s finest fetish & alternative shops. So put your walking shoes on and time to hit the streets!
We started at Purple Passion, where I bought my first steel boned corset over a decade ago. What a delightful shop with latex, leather, spandex, shiny mesh, in countless styles, shapes and sizes. So many toys, hoods, masks, corsets, and shoes! I lost three hours there and came out with a soft leather flogger for those sensitive body parts, new vampire gloves to replace my good ol' faithfuls, a cute silicone "doggie bone" gag, two jock straps for my pet and a cyber waist coat style top.
Purple Passion/DV8
211 West 20th Street, Chelsea NY
While walking to our 2nd stop in the West Village, we came across a little leather shop tucked in a basement flat on Christopher Street - London Leather. They have lots of leather and PVC fetish clothes, corsets, collars and impact toys, but no latex. It’s worth a look as it had decent prices and a good range. No actual website, but quite a bit of stock to check out…
London Leather
83 Christopher Street, West Village NY
https://plus.google.com/u/1/118261918624096788342/about?hl=en&gl=no
Across the road is another favourite: The Leather Man. Don't be discouraged by the name. Although it is primarily a menswear shop, they also cater for ladies. I saw a fantastic leather cincher for only $180 but unfortunately, it wasn't my size. We ended up grabbing a box of black latex-free nitrile gloves, a silicon tube attachment for my Hitachi wand (for forced orgasm training), a small red "hand-shaped" riding crop and some gorgeous army green leather pants. They even hemmed the pants to the correct length for my pet. Great service with a smile! By the way, both The Leather Man and Purple Passion offer a 10% discount for professional dommes. So be sure to bring your business card!
The Leather Man
111 Christopher Street
http://www.theleatherman.com/
Coming back to West 4th st, we attacked three neighboring shops: Tic Tac Toe (#161), Burlesque (#163? Can’t find it online, but they are all next door to each other) and Pink Pussycat (#167). They all had similar style gear. Lip service costumes, pantihose and stockings, lingerie and of course, shoes! I got some frilly undies, fake eyelashes and black and gold steampunk stillettos for a steal!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tic-tac-toe-new-york
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pink-Pussy-cat-Boutique/148762018558355?fref=photo
On day two, we visited the East Village, to check out the Baroness exclusive boutique. So much shiny, I was cross eyed with all her delightful designs. I grabbed some items for my pet and a black mini skirt to replace the one that ripped in Montreal Fetish Week.
The Baroness Latex Boutique, 530b East 13th Street (between Ave A & B)
http://www.baroness.com/boutique/
Of course we needed to make a stop at Gothic Renaissance; a feast of velvet coats, Victorian corsets galore, shoes & boots for ladies and gents, AMF molded leather corsets, plenty of custom made accessories and a multitude of styles from Vampiric to Steam Punk. You’ll need at least 2 hours to look through it all…
Gothic Renaissance
110 4th Ave, NY
https://www.facebook.com/gothicrenaissance
And around the corner, another gem from my Princeton days: Halloween Adventure. This is more focused on the Halloween style dress ups but you’ll still find a wide range of accessories, like the cute miniature top hats and steam punk goggles I got during this visit… A word of warning, some USA fetish parties discourage the use of pre-packaged Halloween costumes as “fetish wear”. So choose wisely.
Halloween Adventure
2 Entrances: 808 Broadway and 104 4th Avenue, @ 11th St. NY
http://www.newyorkcostumes.com/
For loads of shoes, including Doc Martin boots, and an interesting array of rockabilly, rock, punk, and goth attire, check another NYC must visit:
Trash and Vaudeville
4 St Marks Pl
http://www.trashandvaudeville.com/
Further south, we visited the Orchard Corset Center which was a delight to visit! If you don’t have a corset yet, this is the place to go. They will measure you and give you advice for which styles suit your body shape best. Their prices were also quite competitive!
Orchard Corset Center
157 Orchard St, NY
Wow! Two days and a total of 13 hours of shopping can be exhausting! So I opted for tapas dinner and a cab back to the apartment with so many bags that my pet could barely handle them all...
I LOVE New York!
Ms Kalyss Mercury
PS: Use my Google Map to follow the same circuit on your next visit to the Big Apple!
Article originally published on iFet.com, November 2014.