A not so new take on erotica.

I came across this while viewing the “The Ten Best Sex Toys” slide show in The Independent Monday.

Most of the items are overly refined takes on rather conservative stand bys (I guess hello kitty vibrators and triple penetration strap-on contraptions entries would be a tad much for prime time), but the Hot and Cold Ceramic Dildo, pictured left, caught my eye.



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Hot and Cold Ceramic Dildo - £109
Created in collaboration with ceramist Adele Brydges, this is an unusually sightly dildo, sealed at one end with a removable cork (just add cold or hot water in order to achieve the desired temperature).

The teaser was enough for me enough to find out more about the company that offered it, Coco de Mer , which turns out to be the world's first luxury erotica boutique founded and headquartered in London 's Covent Garden neighbourhood, with a US presence in West Hollywood, California and a soon to be open flag ship store in NYC.

While the "perversions" of the "aristocracy" are the stuff of legends, until recent decades, they too had to shop at seedy shops in the "bad" part of town, making do with low quality goods, not any more, perhaps we have finally reached the point where the fetishdom seen so often on the runways and in avant-garde photo shoots has come to high street

Luxury erotica boutiques are not your father's porn shop, nor your perpetually quasi-broke anti-establishment older brother/sister's head/punk/grunge shops, or even the brick and mortar outlets of the erotic E-tailers found on the web, they feature high quality goods ranging from designer lingerie and sex toys that double as works of art to rare books and salon culture in a very up scale atmosphere, espousing sexual empowerment, social activism, fair trade and environmental responsibility.

	Jade Engraved Dragon Dildo £169 Jade has always been associated with sexuality and was traditionally offered to the gods as a symbol of enduring love Catgirl: I'm soo getting one when they are back in stock.
	Double Ended Dildo £800 Beautiful Hand Blown Glass double ended dildo by St Martins graduate Shiri Zinn. Here is where they can use Catgirl and friends as technical advisors, look at the "stops" on that thing -just say NO to sharp edges.
	Lizard Print Spanking Paddle £45 Coco de Mer's own spanking paddle, is made from exquiste navy blue leather with a beautiful lizard print. Heighten the experience with matching bindfold, cuffs, or flogger... Serving Suggestion: Apply with vigour to the lower, fleshy part of the bottom to excite the erogenous zones. Vary the pressure of the spanking to keep your lover on their toes. If you expand the picture by clicking you will notice it has a pattern, if you smack your victim....I mean parter correctly it transfers to their bum, so watch what you wear the next day:D

As the market is still new, and hopefully growing, there is plenty of room for new designers; Michael Brown's Dildo Shoes came to mind. The straps upon the forefoot, are made from black patent leather, and egg shell finish cream. to create a stunning contrast. The spikes are in two lengths, and can be interchanged, with just screwing them off and change them.

Talk about fetishware, En pointe shoes with functional dildo heels.