The Macktivist: Trash the World Can Handle
By R. AlvarezFrom the September 12, 2008 issue | Posted in Columns , Culture | Email this article
Dear MLNIMNoT,
In an age rife with ecological instability, I’d like to applaud your efforts to cultivate the kind of trash this world could use. Tarting up the one we love is an all-too-rare chance to invite our partners into our fantasies and an opportunity for them to explore safe and dirty possibilities behind an indefatigable mesh façade.
For those hesitant to buy someone else’s peek-a-boo panties, here is an inspirational quote from Dolly Parton: “There was this lady … She had this beautiful peroxide hair and had it piled on her head, red nails, high heel shoes, and I just thought she was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. And mama said, ‘Oh she ain’t nothin’ but trash.’ So, I thought, ‘That’s what I wanna be mama, I wanna be trash!’”
The great news here is that many of your standard platform (not stiletto) fetish boots are pretty comfortable even for those unaccustomed to walking six inches above ground. Ponytrot — don’t walk — to the shoe corridor on 8th Street. I highly recommend the Village Shoe Revue (29 W. 8th St.).
A pair of panty-line thigh-high vinyl boots will only hurt you $75!
CORSET: Maybe the pro-doms know something that I don’t (and speak up if you do!), but a cheap corset is not easy things to find. The cheaper you go, the more function you lose: zippers, not lacing; piping, not whalebone; and so on. Corsets are a complex piece of technology, so whenever possible, just hand the college fund over. Good old reliable Trash and Vaudeville (4 St. Mark’s Place) has a salivatory sale rack stocked with three or four corsets to choose from. Corsets can be bought for $30 to $70 and promise to hold in and offer up the proper bits. The store also has an amazing shoe store in its basement where more fetish boots may be fondled.
PANTIES: God bless the slowly rotating panty-o-sphere at stores like Wet Seal and Strawberry’s (901 Avenue of the Americas and citywide). Go out and grab five absurdly sleazy pairs of panties for $12.50.ETC: Cheap and amazing, etc., is the kind of thing you can pick up at toy stores and delis if you’ve got the right eye. Here’s my quick list: Village Paper Party Store (18 Greenwich Ave.) has an unbeatable ceiling-suspended mask selection; collars and cuffs abound at Trash and Vaudeville; slutty stockings can be captured at Sock Man (27 St. Mark’s Place) and cheap sex toys, porn and lascivious help can be found at Fantasy World (192 7th Ave South).
MLNIMNoT, I tried to be both socially conscious and sleazy in my store selection, but this multiple goal was not easily met. Just promise me you won’t buy American Apparel, and I’ll absolve all other consumerist sins.
—R. AlvarezEmail your sex-related questions to sex@indypendent.org.
3 Responses to “The Macktivist: Trash the World Can Handle”
September 25th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
hey fuego fuego–
right you are, the toys folks know their work cold– and though fantasy world can bump up their costs a bit they also are wayyyyy trashier in a really delightful way! in fact i came out of that excursion with a new dick weight for my friend and a five minute floor show of one disenchanted clerk flogging the other which was all acrylic nails and rolling eyes…i repeat: delightful! your story of decadence and degradation fills my heart with joy, thanks for sharing~
September 25th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
just in case you happen to be on the west coast or prefer internet shopping to the flesh version, you must know about Dark Garden. they are mostly a custom order sort of place (read: not cheap) but they also have off-the-rack options. this is not bargain basement but it will be something unique special and totally cherished forever and ever. just in case you win the lottery: http://www.darkgarden.com/
September 15th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I found the hottest corset for my girl on September 14, 2001. After the attacks on the WTC, when everything south of 14th Street was shut down, the stores all had 80-90% off liquidations sales. There was an old-school black corset with serious strappage that went for $500 retail, and I picked up for $75. Many nights of decadence were enjoyed.
On the cheap aside from the Osama Bin Laden Sale? Good luck. Cheap corsets don’t actually work, and the materials will be more uncomfortable than they are by design.
You also forgot to mention that Babeland has an well-chosen, relatively affordable collection of gear like chokers, collars and other bondage gear. Much cheaper than Trash & Vaudville which sells overpriced junk. They do have a fine selection of fetish shoes and hip boots. Also try Purple Passion (in Chelsea) where the pro-doms shop. Those year-round halloween shops have surprises.
One good trick is that a little goes a long way. You don’t need to buy the whole floor. One or two show-off items will more than set the mood.