Now most subs think the process of meeting a dominant woman or prodom is a pretty difficult one – actually, you should all think yourselves lucky, just try and imagine what it was like before the advent of the Internet! When I first started we put coded cards in newsagents windows – we’d sometimes get comical responses when someone got hold of the wrong end of the stick (pun intended 🙂 ).
We also put out personals in contact mags where you were given a code and interested parties would write to you, it wouldn’t be unusual to receive a sack of replies but the process of responding to them was epic. Later, with the revolutionary introduction of the mobile phone contact mags allowed phone numbers and if Mistresses think they get wank**s and no-shows now; it’s nothing compared to the days before caller display, back then you’d receive weird, deep breathing (keep talking I’m almost there) and even threatening calls, pretty much on an hourly basis. We were treated as a free sex phone call service. We didn’t even have appointment times for new clients we just booked in everyone and hoped for the best.
Now if I was playing spot the domme, we’d have: Mistress Caroline, Mistress Teresa May, Miss Parker, Mistress Severity, Mistress Annette, Mistress Patricia, Mistress Eve/Karla, Mistress Xena, Mistress Zena, Mistress Anna (Brighton), Mistress Anna, Mistress Kate & Mistress Suzanna.
See also: DDI Domination Directory International – A Glorious Revolution
Wow . i do really love these contact magazines nostalgia pictures. They really take me back and no mistake. Keep me coming i say. More more more 1
Back when we were kids huh?
On no, this article makes me seem really old – when actually it’s just that the internet has just changed everything very quickly and dramatically over the last 10-15 years – well that’s my excuse & I’m sticking to it.
PS. Can I come along and then write up a blog about Club Isis, sometime?
Mistress Sidonia;
Prior to the internet men in Canada and the United States never had it so lucky to find magazines with advertisements about Doms. Censorship in porn mags and what could be printed inside and where they could be sold were heavily restricted and limited to certain Adult book stores in Red districts and limited in certain pharmacies an often more popular venue. Certainly not in a Playboy magazine. Penthouse maybe. The Swank mag was more liberal and inviting to such advertisements. Of course the internet changed all that. Respected Mistresses don’t belong in a wankers porno mag anyway. In all honesty I still think the U.K. has the best and most beautiful Mistresses in the world.
Takes me back a bit. I contacted one of the big publishers of the said magazines who said that the internet won’t change their business in any way and that they won’t go on-line. 10 years rolls on and yes what they are on-line in a big way lol
Ah yes-the internet changed us all, it’s difficult to place yourself in a time when it didn’t exist. Contact magazines or nothing-but how attention I gave to those grimy dark photos trying to fill out their imperfections with my imagination. A few square inches and so much promise.
Of course the reality never matched my fantasies.
Mistress Sidonia, I do remember when we first discussed the idea of you making a membership web site you were rather dismissive of the idea also?-or are my memories confused?
You’re right I was very dismissive of the idea initially, believe it or not, I wasn’t sure there’d be enough interest. And, I didn’t even show my face in contact mags so that was also a huge consideration back then.
Thank you for the memories. It’s quite difficult to see the Mistresses in the magazines (which I do remember by the way!). Would you know if the Mistress Patricia in the photo’s is the one that operated in East London? I visited her over a long period of time,
It is indeed, the very lovely Patricia.
Would you know if she is still happily retired Mistress ?
The very lovely Mistress Patricia is indeed retired. I was proud and privileged to be her partner and slave for fifteen years.
Whilst she still lives in East London she is contemplating moving back to the north to be near her mother.
Miss SVB you can come to ISIS at any time as my guest.
c
xx
Hi Ms SVB Have you any pics of you from those contact mags? Or any higher res pics?
ade
Thanks for the little walk down memory lane, Mistress. About 15 years ago, I started worked in a peep show in London Soho. I love it, but it wasn’t very regular. I felt quite empowered, being untouchable behind a glass window, yet making men hard at my will.
I knew nothing about the kinky scene or any clubs (I thought that Tor ture Garden was just a fancy dress club), and the cards, the shops, the little glimpses into a world I could more or less suspect existed, were very titillating. But I didn’t know where or who to turn to, my only experience was going to gay leather clubs, like the Hoist (maybe in its earlier incarnation), with my male gay flatmates. They introduced me to ideas such as Power Exchange, and of course, shared their leather videos with me.
But I was convinced that hetero people would never do that in real life, at least not the people I knew. All I knew is that I wanted a strapon, and I wanted to use it on a man. But I couldn’t imagine any straight (for lack of a better word to define them) being interested in it. How wrong I was! Fast forward many years, and all I can say is that it’s my gay friends who envy me these days.
Pingback: A little walk down memory lane « Ms Tytania, London Dominatrix
Dear Mistress Sidonia,
Thanks for your great website and blog! You are truly one of the most gorgeous femdoms in the world. Please continue your excellent contributions to the web…Your beauty and talent make-up for any aging you seem to personally experience. Best always! Stephen
i hope to know how to contract Mistress Sidonia , and also how i send to her some of Gifts ?? if any help then i will be thanksful
slave
sherif
I had my first experience of female domination in 1977 in Liverpool and I found the lady through one of those contact magazines. I used to find the magazines ever so exciting but when I moved to London they became redundant because there were explicit adverts from Dommes inc. phone numbers in notice boards in areas like Soho. I remember one particular notice board in Newport Court. I admit to occasionally having phoned numbers just for the thrill. On one occasion I visited a lady whom I had previously phoned for the thrill (several times) and her maid recognised my voice. I was fined £20! a lot of money then on top of the fee.
It was through one of the notice boards that I met the famous Lindi St Clair and I was a client of hers for several years. I wonder what she would have made of todays internet scene?
Oh Mistress Sidonia how I remember those days lol the last time I was free to actively serve Professional Mistresses was between 90-2001 and I wish the internet was around then, may have prevented some poor experiences. One example was a Lady in Manchester whose idea of a session was to leave me tied to a chair with a BDSM movie playing then come back in the room after 45 mins and wank me off before sending me on my way 🙁
I had copies of most of the contact mags you have pictured, I see one of my favorites is missing. DDI International, do you remember that one 🙂
I remember contacting Mistress Caroline to book a session but at the time she would only session with those 40+ 🙁 now I’m old enough and she has retired, sad!!
After some searching, trial and error I did find a good Domme in Birmingham, she used to go by Mistress Myisha then changed to Queen Isis., now retired also I believe. I sessioned with her for years, used to go over for 9am and stay the entire day, occasionally overnight 🙂 It didn’t start that way but progressed to that. She’d play with me until her next appointment then gag me and restrain me in her coffin or another room while another slave was there, oh what a time :-).
I found Maxficsh.com to be a good site that I found around 2000-01 which links led me to your website just before I was leaving for the US and before the concept of the English Mansion, a site that has kept my submissive yearnings alive this past decade, for that I am forever in your debt Mistress Sidonia 🙂
Submissively yours,
slave steve
One of my first attempts to meet a Mistress was through an ad in one of those B&W A4 contact magazines. I was so nervous on the phone I couldn’t quite get out what I wanted to say. She assumed I was a pervy caller told me where to go and put the phone down. Thank goodness for email.
Mistress I am really looking but not for Sex just to be working as a Slave but I don’t have money and everyone asking money what can I do
Fond memories of contact mags. Compared to cards in phone books they were a huge leep forward. Cards more than often led to hookers with whips. I remember writing to Mistress Caroline and then waiting for an approval letter with a phone number, the nervous phone call and finally an appointment. People complain about no same day appointments. She was my first real encounter with a PROPER Mistress. What happened to her?
Then mags with phone numbers a real revelation. I fondly recall a phone call where I was told there’s no sex, which was exactly what I wanted to hear and somewhere in Streatham I met the finest group of Mistresses I had,and have ever encounted oh happy days. My only regret was being too nervous to find out from them about the wider scene. I know what one of them is up too but what happened to Mistresss Kay and Katie? Happily retired I hope.