Looking to pick up a bargain on sexy toys, accessories and outfits? Happy hunting. The city of London has dozens of sex shops providing mainstream sex toys, DVDs and adult material through to specialist fetish outlets.
Initially illegal, many of these shops were regularly raided by the police unless shop owners paid their bribes. Many of these original stores consisted of two zones; a formal and public reception room where innocuous goods were on sale and a secret backroom where more hardcore material was available. Under the Indecent Displays Act , all licensed adult shops in the UK were, and still are, required to ensure that their goods are not on public display.
The act requires them to:. Today, London is still a tale of two cities when it comes to sex shops and you can find a wide array of retail outlets from trendy outlets and national chains to the dark, windowed emporiums that evoke a nostalgia of sleazier days. The capital city is often in the headlines for firsts in the UK as well as across Europe and the sex shop industry is no different with sex shops in London regularly featuring in the news.
In , Harmony the now national web based sex shop expanded its operations in London from its initial retail outlet in Soho to an expansion of a flagship store on Oxford Street. The news was greeted with outrage by local trade group, the Oxford Street Association.
A spokesperson at the time suggested that the proposed opening was:. The shop was the brainchild of Kathryn Hoyle who decided to rise to the challenge of pioneering a break away from what was previously found to be a misogynistic trade. Situated in Soho, this hacienda style restaurant has two dining locations. The first can be found on Moor Street and is a street-level taqueria with a colourful menu and mainstream location.
