Gay & Lesbian

Ryan Styles covers all the drag essentials

Paradiso
More glamorous than your average Soho fetish bunker, Paradiso Bodyworks operates out of two adjacent shops. Enter via Old Compton Street for leather, rubber and PVC fetish fashion and footwear, plus a lovely line in leather collars, leads and masks, including a sheepskin-lined blindfold at (£75). As the window display suggests, next door on Dean Street the focus is on boudoir chic, with girlie silk, satin and lace lingerie, vintage-look corsets and sequin nipple tassels (from £35). ‘Compton Street for the best shoes,’ says Woo.
Paradiso, 41 Old Compton St, W1 (020 7287 2487). Leicester Square tube. Open Mon-Sat 11am-7.30pm.

Party Party
Three-floor party shop with everything you need for fancy dress, plus a floor devoted to cake decorating. ‘This is great,’ says Woo. ‘I buy all my balloons here as well as fake blood, glitter, confetti, and coloured hairspray,’ adds Styles.
Party Party, 9-13 Ridley Rd , E8 (020 7254 5168) Dalston Kingsland rail. Open Mon-Thur 9am-5.30pm, Fri, Sat 9am-6.30pm. Feature continues

Peacocks
Woo recommends this department store ‘for hosiery and saucy little undies’.
Peacocks, 51-57 Kingsland High St, E8 (020 7923 4363) Dalston Kingsland rail. Open Mon-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 10am-5pm.

Pound shops in Hackney
‘You can pick up anything in these places, which can be transformed with an inventive mind,’ says Styles. ‘I turned three mops into a fab wig, you'd never guess!’

Ridley Road market, Dalston
‘Where else can you buy lace knickers for 50p?’ asks Styles.
Ridley Road Market, Ridley Rd, E8. Dalston Kingsland rail. Market on Mon-Wed 9am-3pm, Thur 9am-12noon; Fri, Sat 9am-5pm

Salvation Army, Hackney
‘Everything in here is 50p-£1. And they have a jumble sale every so often. It is very Sue Pollard but worth the rummage if you like little ’80s bat-winged jumpers. I’m not a cheap queen!’ says Styles.
Salvation Army, Local Community Centre Clapton, 122 Lower Clapton Rd E5 (020 8985 3902). Hackney Downs rail. Open Mon and Fri 10am-3pm, Tues-Thurs 9am-3pm.

Show Girls
‘The place to come for pole-dancing boots,’ says Woo. Latex couture is the order of the day at this small but stylish fetish boutique featuring pieces by Ectomorph, Murray & Vern and Inner Sanctum. Start with a £15 thong or splash out on a slinky Vampirella dress at £230 -–opt for a failsafe black or go superhero in red and gold
Show Girls, 64 Holloway Road N7 (020 7697 9072/www.showgirls.uk.com). Holloway Road tube. Open Mon-Thurs10.30am-6.30pm, Fri-Sat 10.30am-7pm.

Tatty Devine
Kitsch accessories with a quintessentially London flavour. ‘Where else does a drag queen buy her jewellery? Affordable, fabulous designs and a beautiful shop,’ says Styles. Increasingly known for ther laser-cut perspex necklaces (you can order one with your own name on for £25), Rosie Wolfenden and Hariett Vine have many other, largely kitsch, strings to their bow, like plectrum charm bracelets (£21) and earings in the form of tiny records
Tatty Devine, 57b Brewer St, W1 (020 7739 9009/www.tattydevine.com). Piccadilly Circus tube. Open Mon-Sat 11am-7pm.