Campus Chronicle

Issue date: 3/5/02 Section: Features

Media Credit: Brian Melehan/Chicago Flame

Whips, handcuffs, exotic lotions and shirts with suggestive slogans like "Take Me Home" are just some of the things that might cause discomfort in people walking past Taboo Tabou, a sex toy shop in the north-side Clark and Belmont shopping district.

Indeed, Taboo Tabou is about the more curious side of life.

Between locked shelves of sex toy vibrators and a wall of leather whips stands an orange-haired sales associate, who did not want to reveal her name. She is lacing up black vinyl corsets from a box of strings, straps and random vinyl. After lacing them up, she tosses the finished products on the floor along with others.

"I don't know how to explain it," she says as she pulls the vinyl corset strings tightly, referring to how she ended up working in a sex shop. "I just kind of ended up here."

Taboo Tabou at 906 W. Belmont Ave. actually is one of a chain of three stores that sell cigars, clothes and sex toys. All three are owned and managed by Mark Thomas. The business has been open for about seven years.

"This isn't a dirty store, though. We don't have porno movies or old men in trench coats walking around," the sales associate says as she resumes her corset lacing. The days of the week at Taboo Tabou are Saturday afternoons; Valentine's Day and Halloween are its busiest times of the year.

Half of Taboo Tabou sells clothes, purses, hosiery, gloves, swimsuits, shoes, furniture and even vintage cartoon dish sets. Almost any outfit style, from club wear to geek chic to alternative fashions can be put together from the various racks and crates of clothes in the shop.

A portion of the side wall is dedicated to a shoe display that spans floor to ceiling. Among this plethora of footwear are boots, shoes and clunky, chunky or barely-there sandals.

Taboo Tabou's adjoining stores, Silver District and Blue Havana, also have plenty to offer.

Silver District sells watches, chains, bracelets, necklaces and rings. The collection of the latter is the most impressive, with entire cases and cabinets devoted to them.

Not all the jewelry is mainstream. Many of the pieces have peculiar shapes, textures and settings. The range of jewelry runs the gamut from delicate-looking to heavy, chunky pieces. The store's prices are relatively reasonable and there always seems to be a sale.

A popular smoke gallery, Blue Havana sells designer lighters, matches, tobacco, cigar paper and individually wrapped and boxed cigars.

Whether it's for buying or browsing, Taboo Tabou is sure to be an interesting place to visit. It is accessible by the Belmont stop on Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line el train.

With a phone number like (773) SAFE-SEX and a Web site address like www.etwisted.com, the fulfillment of sexual fantasies has never been easier. As some of Taboo Tabou's ads state — with a background picture of women in leather bikinis with erotic toys, massage oils, lingerie, condoms and whips — it's a place to "Keep Warm."

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