Denise Pulse and Cocktails, Rotherham


“Our shop is split into two shops. Pulse is the sex toys and xxx-rated products, Cocktails is the fancy dress and novelties side. We have a strict over-18 policy for both sides of the shop as we have products that are risqué in each side. We fi nd it works really well having the shop split into two, mainly because some people don’t necessarily want to see the products that we sell on the other side. There isn’t much that we don’t sell really in the shop. I think it is ok to cross the fancy dress side of the party industry with


the sex products as long as it is separate and well sign posted. Sex and party go together well – they’re both all about having fun, after all! As we are a sex shop as well we don’t really get a lot of embarrassment with people asking for products as they know they are in a sex shop and nothing really bothers us!”


Julie Wood Quanta Fancy Dress, Birkenhead


“We stock the usual risqué outfi ts aimed at women aged 18-25. We get a lot of hens coming in asking for outfi ts – the shorter the better! We only really stock the tamer end of the hen and stag party items, like the sashes, whistles etc. We don’t stock anything too risqué as we have children come into the shop. If a customer was to ask for the items I would order the items for them but wouldn’t display them in the shop. If we had a lot of requests for those kinds of items then maybe I would consider stocking them, but they would have to be put at the back of the store and well sign-posted.


Ian Baxter Razzamatazz Ltd


“We have always carried saucy and funny items for hen and stag nights so that’s where our experience of this area comes from. We have never carried anything that we consider risqué or that might cause offence or upset and we have never had any negative feedback from customers. Mind you, considering some of the ones who come through the door normality is a broad church. They are not all locked up!


Our line is that ours is essentially a family shop and we wouldn’t want to carry anything that we would not have been happy with when our daughter was growing up and we still don’t. If you are comfortable with putting the product in your display window then you are probably not going to offend too many people. The problem has to be one of defi nition. Where does the line lie and who draws it? It’s going to be in a different place for each one of us. Many different types of people with different life experiences and different moral values and different levels of sensitivity run party shops. By defi nition that also must apply to the customers who frequent party shops.


If your customer base runs to those who indulge in the consumption (in the economic sense) of battery driven genitalia then they will fi nd you if you want to fi nd them. If however, you are trading in an enclave of Jehovah’s Witnesses and members of the Free North Church of Scotland (No religious bigotry to either persuasion intended) then you might go hungry selling synthetic pussies (no offence to cat lovers inherent in that remark either!) My guideline? Stick with the suppliers and products in this industry that you know and trust. Be true to yourself and sell the goods you are comfortable with. If you want to run a sex aids shop feel free. Your customers will vote with their pockets or their feet. Having said all this, what must it say about me that I only


considered the matter in the light of harder goods? Never gave a thought to the fancy dress element. Given the body shapes of some of the young ladies who buy the stuff, sexy isn’t the fi rst thought that leaps to mind…”


I think people get embarrassed having to go into a sex shop to get a sexy fancy dress outfi t, so as a fancy dress shop I do think it is something that we should keep in stock. You never know what some of your customers will ask for! I do think that if we were to stock certain items we would see a change in the calibre of people that come into the shop, you have to be so careful when you have families etc coming into the store.”


Janet Jay’s Fancy Dress, Leeds


“We stock some risqué fancy dress items, mainly the usual Rocky Horror or short super hero outfi ts. I think they are aimed at a younger audience. We do have men wear some of the sexier Rocky Horror outfi ts, but only if they are going to a themed Rocky Horror party. We don’t really get people coming in and asking for the sexier outfi ts. We do stock fi sh net tights and the sexy boots, but they are almost always sold as part of an outfi t. We are a family fancy dress shop so we wouldn’t really want to stock items that would offend anyone or the children that come into the shop.


I think you have to draw the line with certain items as we could be classed as a sex shop if we were to stock certain items. It sounds awful but we stock more upper class fancy dress items because of the area we are in. I wouldn’t want to change the calibre of people that come into the shop. I hate to sound fussy, but that’s the way the shop is. I think if we had a lot of people enquiring about the sexier products then maybe we would look into it, but to be honest we stock what people want to buy and cater for the area we live in.”


Party Patter 17


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