Sex Tour: Purple Passion (New York, NY)

I’m constantly searching for Sex Tour recommendations–especially for places in New England. Purple Passion is a New York sex shop that came highly recommended to me by multiple sources. I decided to check it out with my boyfriend, Salem, and our friends, Ruby and Shale–two New York locals who know Purple Passion well.

I can usually tell in the first thirty seconds whether or not I’ll like a sex shop I’m in. There’s a lot that I take in as soon as I enter a shop, and Purple Passion just gave me a really good vibe from the start. We checked our bags (a fairly common practice in the city) at the front counter and followed Ruby to the first section.

Selection

We started off by browsing dildos, naturally. I mentally checked off how many of those on display I owned, noting a lot of great products by Tantus. In addition to a great silicone selection of dildos, Purple Passion had a really nice glass toy selection in the case at the front counter and a big range of anal toys from beginner-friendly to monstrous. They also featured an open display of working vibrators in the front section of the shop. We tried a few, debating which wands were stronger and which toys on display I’d recommend to others.

I, for one, am a really big fan of shops that have display toys available for testing. I think it’s a really important part of the in-person shopping experience that you don’t get when you buy online. Especially for those looking to buy their first toy, it’s important to be able to see and feel different products to figure out what the best fit is without spending your money and working by trial and error. By having toys out for customers to try, shops are putting out a message that they care about the quality of the product they sell and that they want customers to be happy with what they buy.

Sex toys were just the tip of the iceberg at Purple Passion. In addition to having a nice stock of high quality body-safe sex toys, the shop also carried books, and a huge selection of kink toys, clothing, and lingerie.

When I say “kink toys,” I don’t just mean a few impact toys. Sure, there was an entire wall dedicated to paddles, crops, canes, and whips, but they also carried cuffs, collars, hoods, mitts, masks, medical toys, tail plugs, gags, and more. Their kink selection is one of the best I’ve ever seen in a physical store. There were so many styles of everything with different material options. I’m talking silicone cuffs, Lexan paddles, leather padded gags, and tails made of horsehair. They had very specific fetish items and unique toys like panties with a vampire glove style crotch, funnel gags, and–dare I mention–inflatable farm animals. Clearly, they’re stocked to fit any pervert’s needs.

The clothing sections were impressively diverse! There were costumes, corsets, lingerie, and tons of latex and leather. They had clothing for people across the gender spectrum and fetish-specific options, too. Purple Passion also has a stock of items for trans individuals or for gender-play including wigs, heels that come in extended sizes, padded panties, silicone breast inserts, and masturbators specifically for trans men.

All in all, the selection was wonderful and I was really happy with the variety.

Atmosphere

Purple Passion gave me a good feeling from the start. Just from walking in, I was able to see that the store was clean and organized. Products were displayed beautifully and in a way where you could see everything without having to dig around. Expensive and breakable items were in a glass case, but everything else was open to touch and explore on your own without much assistance. I felt welcome to explore on my own throughout the store.

By the front door, there was a bulletin board with other resources, social events, and businesses advertised. This shows me that

Purple Passion is invested in the community. I also noticed a little piggy bank by the front counter for Planned Parenthood and that made me feel really good about shopping there. It felt great knowing that my purchase came from a store that promotes things that are important to me, like accessible sexual health services and education programs.

Staff

I spotted three staff members during my visit, and all were pleasant, but not too talkative. I spoke with each of them, but had to initiate the conversation each time. This is arguably a better approach than having an employee breathing down my neck, though!

One staff member manned the front desk, and two were positioned in opposite sections of the store. When I decided to purchase something on a high shelf, an employee was easily accessible to assist me. When my partner wanted to try on a pair of cuffs to make sure they’d fit, another employee jumped in and helped us.

The employees were able to hold conversations about the products, showing they were well-educated in the selection. They didn’t seem pushy and were perfectly pleasant to chat with while we browsed.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed my time at Purple Passion! While it was my first time shopping there, it absolutely will not be my last. I may have to make a stop there every time I go into the city now, because their kink toy selection really won my heart.

I highly suggest Purple Passion to anyone not intimidated by BDSM, because that is definitely a big focus for them compared to more mainstream sex shops. They’re a clean, respectable shop with really affordable pricing and an amazing selection.

A big thanks to Ruby and Shale for introducing us to this great store!