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DeMask
- Orgasm Rating
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- Address 144 Orchard Street New York, NY
- Hours M-W, F: 11am-7pm; Th: 12pm-8pm; Sa: 12pm-7pm; Su: 12pm-6pm
- Phone 212-466-0814
- Website http://www.demask.com
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Leave it to Amsterdam, that wide open city, to bring S&M paraphernalia and fetish fashion out of the closet and into the mainstream. Originally an English rubber and leather apparel manufacturer, DeMask opened its first retail shop in The Netherlands in 1989. The New York location-the only one in the U.S.-opened in 1998. The company is planning to open more stores around the world within the next five years. Perhaps a decade from now Demask will sit side by side with the Gap and Banana Republic at malls nationwide.
There's nothing subtle about the latex-clad mannequins which grace the shop's windows. Inside, moody track lighting illuminates purple and black fixtures and the unmistakable smell of rubber tickles your nostrils. Ambient music further enhances the sexy vibe. And if you like what you hear, you're probably in luck, as DeMask carries on CD much of the background music it plays. The shop's main floor is devoted primarily to apparel and footwear, including latex dresses and skirts, catsuits, masks, and halter tops. As you'll quickly realize, fetish clothing here does not come cheap-latex dresses will run you around $175 and catsuits can gouge your wallet for as much as $400.
To view the hardcore stuff, take the metal stairs down to the basement. But be forewarned: This is no place for the uninitiated-DeMask doesn't carry Pocket Rockets or other mainstream sex toys. Instead, display cases present S&M accoutrements like paddles, enema bags, gynecological tools, inflatable butt plugs, ball weights, nipple clamps, and even an electro-shock kit.
Thankfully, the sales help is rather unobtrusive. You can browse undisturbed for hours in your own private Marquis de Sade fantasy, but rest assured, if you ask for assistance these folks are happy to provide it, and are quite knowledgeable about their products.
"We believe that fetish clothing is really for the new millennium," says the store's manager. He says the store attracts customers from across the board-from bankers to prostitutes "to Chinese grandmas looking for a raincoat." After all, rubber is water-repellent.
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