Ummm, you are welcome, I think. : )

Thanks for the milk and cookies that is the America I know !

Well, Cathouse definitely is more from a classic male perspective. But Real Sex --and/or Cyber Sex, or whatever else they used to run, many years ago -- was actually more about fantasy and fetish, to the point that it was often more like an anthropological experience than an erotic one. (People who like to pretend they're horses! People who like to immerse themselve in latex! People who have no lives and watch too much HBO!)

Black. Boots. There you are ready to go...
I mean you have survived the big tech bathroom of horrors, right?
You are all over this.

Real Sex wasn't. Don't know about Cathouse. Do you know what kind of sex club this club is? Is this a meet up place or a place people "engage"?

PS: *Sigh.* This is what happens when they make you take sex ed *like* three times. The things I know. Would anybody else like to know about people who are *tree oriented*?

RachyLou, it's a swinging singles place. I included the Yelp link above. That's really all I know except they're super big on theme nights. Here's the link to the actual venue, which you must be 21 to enter:
http://www.playersclubsatx.com/

That's definitely one of the most interesting writing gigs I've heard of in a while! I have no useful insights, but was just going to be another person to suggest that your usual drapey top and cool jeans would probably be a nice balance between looking like you're specifically there to get attention and sticking out in a prim or awkward way or whatever.

And tree-oriented?!?

Rachylou, I am an environmentalist. Save the Trees is all I know.

( auto correct is driving me crazy. I called my son's teacher a slut because of it. Which brings me full circle to this post )

Oh I missed the Yelp link (and still don't see it). Forget what I said before - they have a dress code. You should dress to the nines.

I see it's "on premise."

***

Isabel ... LOL. Full circle indeed.

Aubergine... Trees. Full stop. It's all live 'n learn, eh?

OK, this IS nuts. I looked up the tree thing.. There is something called object sexuality. No kidding. It involves someone falling in love with an object. There apparently is a woman named Erika Eiffel who married the Eiffel Tower.

IK, go as a tree, maybe ? The Eiffel Tower would be over the top, no ? Not to mention risky. It drives women nuts apparently.

Isabel, my iphone once corrected "vagina" to "Vulcan." Maybe it's a "where no man has gone before" thing. Although "teacher" to "slut" is a bigger leap...

I am not dressing as a tree.

Rachylou, the link is in my answer to Vildy on page 1.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/players-club-austin

They do not dress to the nines. And it looks like the women are hot and the men are not, which strikes me as absolutely not shocking at all.

LOL . Yeah, no tree, potentially too attractive.

All I have to say is that YLF will not only help me look better for the next dinner party I attend, I will be THE best conversationalist. And for that I thank you ( and Rachylou ). : )

My thoughts on this:

I think you should dress for the situation. I went to this sort of club once, with a friend who asked me, strictly as an observer. I wore a slinky dress that had a high neck, and hit about two inches above my knees, and a pair of heeled sandals, because it was warm weather. (I have worn this outfit to an outdoor wedding on the beach). My experience was that, while people did come up and say hello, there was usually a sort of guarded watchfulness - so if someone actually gathers the nerve to make any advances, you only have to politely decline, and people in this setting are usually very respectful of 'No, thank you'.

If you are going to write erotica that sells (and makes you some money!), it needs to come from an objective, non-judgemental viewpoint. And if this particular erotica is based on your personal observations and experiences, again, your observations should come from an objective, non-judgemental frame of mind - especially if your goal is true, honest research and feedback from the people you observe and/or interview.

I guess what I am saying is, if you deliberately dress in a frumpy or ultra-conservative manner - people around you may change their behaviors or avoid your proximity altogether - even if you never so much as say hello or make eye contact.

Be prepared to see a very wide range of age, body types, and array of clothing, or, ahem, none at all. That didn't weird me out, because when I lived in Japan, I used to go to the local bathhouse. I am not really bothered by nudity. What did weird me out was that there was a food buffet - and clouds and clouds of cigarette smoke, because the venue allowed smoking indoors. Yuck.

At the end of our visit (we stayed about 90 minutes, I think), I didn't feel the need to burn my clothes, but that dress did have to go to the dry-cleaners for the cigarette smoke.

La Belle - Some good points. I'm not going to interview anyone though, just gather general impressions. And the Yelp reviews say it can be very casual (Austin is generally very casual so I am not surprised. If I were in NYC, you bet I would have to dress to the nines, although the sex club I mention in Brooklyn above was dirty t-shirts and jeans.)

I'm sorry I gave you the impression I was judgmental. I do believe I can write good erotica without wanting to perform the acts personally or in public, though. That's why it's fantasy. My goal is to seee how women interact and behave there, because the Yelp reviews say some women feel worshiped and empowered by going, and I want to see how that works so I can channel it. Or if I don't see it, ignore it.

I have a general question.... Will we get an update on this venture in the Off Topic category, please?

I used the wrong word. I should say... don't worry about censoring yourself via style your style, because I think Angie has the right of it. What you wear is less important than being able to give a firm "no thank you" without feeling funny about doing so.

And yes... what Deb said! If you're good with telling the story

I didn't know public places like this existed, but live a protected life. My first thought is to wear lots of Spanx, top and bottom, under your clothes and footwear you can run in but that can do damage if you kick. Seriously. I'm relieved that you are not going alone.

You lived next the shortbus place? I love that movie. So unexpectedly feel-good in a weird way. I watched the mini-feature on how they collaboratively made it and that was interesting too. But yes, they made the club and all the patrons look very attractive, plus you had Justin Bond singing.

I would dress to fit in, but not entirely outside my comfort zone, if that makes sense. You will get fewer looks and less suspicion if you blend in, and having someone with you will almost certainly help eliminate unwanted attention. But I would think you wouldn't have as "authentic" an experience if you dressed "normally" while, say, everyone else was in costume. You should at least wear club wear. But these clubs tend to have a lot of regulars, and you won't get as much attention as you might think, just by virtue of being new. A lot of people would wait until they had seen you a few times before approaching you, so I doubt you will have any trouble just observing.

You may be asking the wrong crowd. Ask Google.

I don't know anything about swingers clubs, or sex clubs, but it was really fun reading through this thread!

One day we were reading our local free weekly paper, and there was an article about someone we knew who sewed sex wear. Knock me over with a feather!

IK, did you see this in the club rules?

For Men, please dress to impress. No sneakers, sandals, ball caps, t-shirts, shorts.
For Ladies, sexy, wild and see thru are always acceptable. At a minimum, think business casual…

I'd have to agree with the person who mentioned something silk. Silk is always sexy, even if it's a more covered-up outfit. And definitely something you feel comfortable and attractive in! I think to get the best perspective, you'll want to look like you fit in there.
And I also want to hear the continuation of this story!! ; )

I'd totally go with you if I were there. I find all kinds of human variation interesting as an anthropologist, be it sexual proclivities, religion, dress sense, food, what have you.

I suppose I spent enough time in goth clubs in my youth to not be at all intimidated by fetish gear, weird costumes, and so on. While you do of course want to maintain your minimum safety awareness like you would on any night out, I don't think it is inherently more dangerous because it is an overt "sex" club. Probably the opposite, really, since you say they don't serve alcohol and I would imagine the regular patrons are keen to avoid trouble.

I would wear whatever I would normally wear to a bar (nice jeans, low heels, interesting top, some sort of funky jacket, big earrings) and just hang out at a table and watch.

The danger is not necessarily acute... but you know, after the broad "education" of my youth, I do think I have to say there are other "slow" dangers when it comes to going subcult. And I don't mean germs, although that's a big yuck if you ask me. A lot of my peers when I was young had parents into the various scenes out there - it's not a great life for the children.

What an interesting fashion dilemma.

I think I would wear jeans or dark trousers, boots or loafers or similar flat shoes, some sort of dark jacket or flowy top. Something casual, funky but not too form fitting or cleavage oriented.

I hope it does well for you.

You probably have all the replies you need, but I say dress normally for a night out. Be prepared to re-buff a lot, but for the sake of research you'll want to chat people up. You'll be fine. Have fun, be curious and open-minded!

I would want to look attractive like I'm going out for the night, I wouldn't want to do jeans and sneakers, in a way out of respect to the other people there (because you don't want to act above them), but also so that you feel good about yourself. Going out for the night, as in out for dinner or drinks and music in a more chic way not pizza night.

I'm really impressed that you have taken this on. I think it takes creativity and courage to take on an assignment like this.

I would wear something like this ( the pic) it's sophisticate and not revealing. It still blend you in without screaming for attention. Make sure you wear it with black tight.
Also, I also believe that our attitude would send out the message what we really want and what are we here for
I'm anxious to hear the result of this research:)

You should just be natural and casual. Something that is pretty in a natural way, not in a way that says you are looking for anything. Like a reporter, in fact! Jeans and a t shirt with a blazer and ankle boots...something...intellectual? Glasses....

Post your article after! Sounds great!