The fact that LA’s Melrose Avenue is a great street for shopping is undisputable. From Clothing boutiques to home stores to cafes, it offers all that a shopaholic could possibly desire. And, speaking of desire, there’s something you might not have experienced yet on Melrose ... or ever for that matter!
Unless you are looking for it, you might miss the fuchsia pink sign for CoCo De Mer, which is off the main drag down a narrow passageway. CoCo De Mer is an erotic emporium offering a highly eclectic selection of pleasurable treasures. The name sounds like some kind of wrinkle cream, but the shop is actually named after a rare palm nut that happens to resemble a female bottom!
Coco De Mer sells everything from corsets to clitoris creams, so you can be secure in the knowledge that everything you buy is “ethically sourced”—Fair Trade spanking paddle, anyone? You wouldn’t expect anything less from a proprietor who’s actually the daughter of the Body Shop founder, the late Anita Roddick. As for other items, the lingerie is fabulous, the vibrating toy selection extensive, and when it comes to the glass dildos, there’s something of a blurring of the lines between form and function. Handmade by an artisan in Northern California, these really are exquisite works of art—the type of object that you could display on your mantle piece without fear of embarrassing your granny or your housekeeper unless, of course, they took a very close look.
While titillating, the merchandise is not offensive like some sex stores. Quite frankly, as I see it, it’s all in the way you look at it. Are the punched leather cuffs bondage accessories or merely fantastic pieces of jewelry? And likewise, the patent leather and chain corset belt—if it wasn’t prohibitively expensive I’d snap it up on the advice of In Style Magazine as my obligatory patent item for fall.
However, I must admit, my eyebrows did rise a bit at the sight of the Tally Ho Chair—a snip at $10,000 with its hand-stitched saddle and leather stirrups (special order only)! The staff (all female) are lovely and professional. When I enquired about butt plugs (I’ve never used one but was curious), the assistant, with her measured tone, might just as well have been selling me a vacuum cleaner.
One of my favorite things about Coco is the cheeky graphic that appears on their logo.
PREVIOUS PAGE
