Best store for sexy gifts

Remember the Seinfeld episode about Jerry's inept dirty talk ("The panties your mother laid out for you")? He could have benefited from Aural Sex 1: Seduction by Voice and Erotic Story Telling, a sexuality class offered at Grand Opening!. This woman-owned and female-friendly sex shop gives new meaning to the term "adult education," thanks to its numerous workshops for all sexes and orientations. Whether or not you choose to further your knowledge of burlesque, bondage, or bottoming, you'll find a great selection of massage oils, vibrators, and other aids and toys.

Denizens of Zion may have gotten steamy wearing little more than sweaty rags in the latest Matrix flick, but they would've looked a lot kinkier in gear from Hubba Hubba. The Central Square institution carries a wide variety of leather, latex, and PVC clothing, along with corsets, hoods, whips, paddles, jewelry, handcuffs, boots, and everything else you need to crank things up a notch in the bedroom. The friendly and knowledgeable staff will put the most awkward shopper at ease, yet will please the pickiest sexpert by special-ordering fetish gear.

Grand Opening!, 318 Harvard Street, Arcade Building, Brookline, (617) 731-2626; www.grandopening.com. Hubba Hubba, 534 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 492-9082.