Fourth of July Weekend = Small Town America
U-Turns on Route…read more1 = Is That a Gay Fetish Store?
I'm a firm believer that only by wandering and exploring without a map can you find the real gems on your trips. Well, there's not a lot of wandering in costal Maine, there's only one main road, but who would have ever thought we'd end up spending out 4th of July with Hell's Angels at a leather store for a bikini bike wash?
Venue:
Naked Leather has this purple and red sign hanging along Route 1, with a somewhat naked person on it, and it definitely draws eyes. We passed it, I missed it, and a u-turn was pulled--rather dangerously--so as to get a second look. A fetish shop? A gay fetish shop? A leather/BDSM/Dominatrix/sex shop??? In Wiscasset??! We were so confused the only way to find out was to venture inside.
The first thing I noticed was the big screen TV, and by big, I'm talking 60" or so... A living room in a sex shop? Okay, not the first time I've seen this, but with kids toys? Interesting. And, is that a kitchen back there? Do I smell cookies? Now this is just getting downright odd. Or confusion, for all it was worth, was well established. What looked like a house from the outside, was indeed one. A home and a store in one.
Meg and Mike, the owners and operators of Naked Leather live in their store: the living room is the entry way and cash register, what used to be a bedroom is a showroom. The kitchen is still that, but the open dining room houses their four-poster bed and upstairs is the office and kid's room. The walls are lined with leather pieces, everything from bomber jackets to biking jackets, lingerie and women's clothing, some chains and whips, and everything a biker could want or need.
Mike jokes (a lot, about a lot of things) that when people ask if they're a bike shop or a lingerie shop, he say "well, bike, but we sell just as much of the sexiness, and it sells well." He also says that he can have breakfast in the kitchen with his wife.... and I'll just let your mind wander with that one.
Meg and Mike are good people, funny, inappropriate, welcoming and friends with Hell's Angels. Overall it's a great experience that you won't want to miss. We liked--or at least were so intrigued by it--we made our way back for seconds during the 4th. The bikini bike wash, that yes I was going to participate in, got rained out but there were still more than happy to welcome us for some beer, some hot tubbing, some burgers and non-stop Spongebob (for the kid, obviously, not us, we weren't that rebellious).
Selection:
Helmets, jackets, gloves, pants, chaps--assless or otherwise--add some corsets and chains and some sex toys and you've got Naked Leather. The walls are lined with racks and you can try anything on. The leather's of good grade, and called "naked" because it's mostly untreated and not blended. It'll last you a long time, that's for sure, and if you're so inclined to get on a bike up in Maine as most people seem to be during the summer, this store will deck you out right.
Naked Leather can be found at most major bike rallies and smaller ones in the North East and along the Eastern Seaboard, if you see them be sure to stop in and say hi. They'll probably invite you over for some BBQ and beers, then try and take you out later that night--get you all trashy and trashed. Like I said, it's the unplanned that's the most fun.
