• Shag Brooklyn

  108 Roebling St., at N. 6th St., Williamsburg; 347-721-3302

  Any place that sells a vibrator can call itself a sex shop. Shag is subtler; it sells ideas about sex alongside the paraphernalia, which is why demure vintage baby-doll nighties are displayed alongside burlesque headdresses, iPod-compatible vibrators, and art pieces. Downstairs, you can take classes in porn writing and rope bondage, or have sculptor (and co-owner) Samantha Bard cast your (or your boyfriend’s) member and make a custom, high-grade silicone dildo ($390 for the vibrating version).

From the 2010 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine