Agent Provocateur’s trademark baby pink boxes are to undies what a turquoise Tiffany package is to jewellery. Expect hyperventilation: from her, when she receives it; from you, when she puts it on. Originally founded by Vivienne Westwood’s son Joseph Corré and his then wife, in addition to bras, knickers and sizzling scraps of saucy silk, Agent Provocateur sell cutting-edge swimwear in distinctive strappy styles that tend to give rise to distinctive, strappy tan lines to match, yet still have lines of ladies queuing to buy them because they look hotter than the equatorial sun.
London sex shops aren’t what they used to be. Gone are the days of furtively peeling back a dusty old velvet curtain or sneaking off into some grotty basement to browse through a dusty DVD collection.
These days, the capital’s adult stores are often loud, proud and actually quite a pleasurable experience to, erm, be inside of. Not to mention way more diverse, with loads more places for women and queer people to get their kicks.
Whether you’re after a discrete little vibrator or a full-on latex maid’s costume, you’ll find it all in here, from saucy lingerie to sex toys, nipple clamps to ball gags. Go forth and let your freak flag fly, London!
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