Description
This article is from the Fetish Fashion
FAQ, by Per Goetterup pg@login.dknet.dk with numerous
contributions by others.
3. Fetish Shopping Guide - Reviews: The Pleasure Place:
Reviewed spring 1994 by Ms. Margo <margo@netcom.com>
The Pleasure Place used to be part of The Pleasure Chest chain,
but the two Washington stores - the other is in Dupont Circle -
broke off on their own. The stores themselves haven't changed,
despite the change of name. The Georgetown store is the sort of
place that one might go to buy a gag gift or bachelor party
tidbit. The front of the store has a selection of lubes that is
fairly good along with the "novelty "items, such as "pussy in a
can" and wind-up jumping penises. Even though the store has a lot
of that sort of stuff, they manage not to be overtly sleazy. The
sales help is pleasant, but every time I'm in there I get the
feeling that they really don't know their stock very well. Next to
the gag gifts is a selection of adult toys, with the standard
packaged dildoes, vibrators, and butt plugs, along with blow-up
dolls. In a case near the front door is a very small selection of
piercing jewelry. I was surprised that some of it was in unlabeled
bags - no maker indicated. This certainly isn't where I would go
to buy body jewelry, but it might do in a pinch.
There is a low glass display case that has silk underwear for men
and women, as well as some of their sequined items. The wall
behind the cash register has their T-shirts. Most have a gay
theme, but they had a nice one with silk-screened nipple clamps on
it, which I ended up buying for one of my submissives. The counter
near the cash register is scattered with condoms of various types
along with condom cases, condom jewelry, and condom key rings.
The racks on the wall opposite the cash register have a small
selection of lingerie, which leaned heavily to spandex. I did find
some Catherine Coatney clear vinyl items, though. The prices were
well in line with what I would have paid through catalogs. The
size selection was small. Prices seemed to be in line with the
quality. A clothing rack in the middle of the store has lingerie
on one side, T-shirts on the other. The lingerie was mostly of the
lace, tulle, and net variety. There is a large selection of
greeting cards and postcards in the back of the store. I bought a
number of really nice black and white cards with fetishy themes to
send to friends. The very back wall has an assortment of blow-up
dolls and sex-related party items.
The display case that reaches from the cash register to the back
of the store has an assortment of items in it. There are a few
stacks of T-shirts, some cock rings, nipple clamps, collars, and
small leather restraints, some videos, but most notably there are
books. I saw The SM Safety Manual, Leather- folk, Coming to Power,
and a few other good titles all in one glance. Again, the accent
is gay, but many are very applicable to straight play as well. I
was happily surprised to find that they carried such quality
titles.
In the very back of the store is a small area that is closed off
with a chain. This is where the serious fetish wear is kept. I
took a quick glance and immediately saw something that caught my
eye. In the middle of one of the racks full of black latex and
black leather were three leather bras. One was white, one was
bright yellow, and one was blue. The best thing though, was that
hanging down from one of the bras, a tag with the French flag
could be clearly seen. This was no ordinary leather - this was
Pierre Balmain! Couture leather. I didn't think that they were
being imported into the US anymore, so these must have been
hanging around somewhere for a while.
You need to ask someone to unlock the chain, but the (very
attractive) lesbian woman at the register was happy to open it up
for me without making me wait. She hung around a bit in the back
room with me until she was reasonably sure that I wasn't going to
steal anything. The bra was a long-line blue leather bra.
Everything on the bra, including the straps, was leather. The
price was $110.00 - a little steep for the item. I have been
assembling a blue-leather outfit, and this might be just the
thing. It was a size 34, so it may or may not have fit. I asked to
try it on and the saleswoman showed me to a dressing room in the
back of the store, next to the back room.
The dressing room was large, with a mirrored wall and a stool to
sit on. However, it was part of a pair of dressing rooms, one of
which was being used to hold extra boxes, bags, and general junk.
It felt a bit like changing in a warehouse. I was really hoping
that the bra wouldn't fit so that I could say, "Awww. Can't get
it." But of course, it fit perfectly. I looked at it in the mirror
for quite some time - which caused the saleswoman to poke her head
in to check that I wasn't stealing shopping bags - and finally I
decided that it was just the wrong color. The rest of my blue
leather outfit is bright jewel blue, and this bra was a dusky
cornflower blue. Since the saleswoman was busy with someone else,
I hung it back up in the back room and looked through the rest of
the items. There was a small amount of latex available, and a
large amount of XTC leather lingerie. There were some chest
harnesses, some hoods, and a few whips. There was basically enough
items in the back room to fill an average household closet. Not a
lot, but certainly much more than your average adult shop. I
didn't spend as long looking as I would have liked, since I did
have a plane to catch.
My purchases at The Pleasure Place were a dozen cards and a
T-shirt. This isn't the best fetish wear shop in the world, but it
is a "standard" among adult stores, and has the advantage of being
open late in the evening. You may not find anything wonderful
here, but you will find good quality items at fairly reasonable
prices. The store in Dupont Circle is more gay ori- ented, and has
a larger selection of leather goods - at least it did the last
time I was there 5 years ago.
OVERALL: The Pleasure Place
Service:
Pleasant, but observant.
Atmosphere:
Dark and slightly tawdry, but not sleazy, more gay oriented.
PVC:
A few scattered pieces.
Leather:
The basics, prices are average.
Latex:
Small selection, average prices.
Shoes:
None.
Bondage Gear:
Standard items, prices in line with most "adult" shops.
Lingerie:
Moderate selection, mixed bag on quality. Average prices.
Extras:
Stockings, cards, adult toys, piercing jewelry, condoms, key
rings, lubricants, videos, books, gag gifts.
Georgetown Store:
The Pleasure Place
1063 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
(Georgetown)
Washington, DC 200007
U.S.A.
Phone: (202) 333-8570
Hours:
Monday-Tuesday 10 AM-10 PM
Wednesday-Friday 10 AM-10 PM
Sunday Noon-7 PM
Dupont Circle Store:
The Pleasure Place
1710 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 200009
U.S.A.
Phone: (202) 483-3297
Hours:
Monday-Tuesday 10 AM-10 PM
Wednesday-Friday 10 AM-10 PM
Sunday Noon-7 PM
Note: Some prices are from memory and are subject to the fail-
ings of that system.
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