In 1988 we entered a sexshop in the famous Red Light District in our hometown Amsterdam, the Netherlands. At that moment the concept of Mail & Female was born!
W e were plodding through an enormous pile of porno and inept jokes to try and find something to our taste. There were in fact a couple of nice things which appealed to us, but when we wanted to know more about them we couldn’t get any help. The staff at the cash register hadn’t the least idea how to answer our questions about materials and sorts and sizes. We wanted tips, and were curious about the experiences of others. But it was clear to us that the world in which we found ourselves was not intended for us. Things had to change, and change for the better, we decided - so why don’t we do it differently ourselves? Far from porno, and with humor and love - and most of all, beautiful! We would create our own world in which sex was associated with freedom, love and good feelings. It was the era of Madonna, and we started with the assumption that there must be more women out there with the same needs we had.

That’s how our personal search began for what was available for women in the field of sex and the erotic. It developed into a firm that gives sex a place, starting from the thought that it is an important and valuable facet in life, a business that you could be proud of as a woman. Our goal was - and is - to make it possible to indulge personal fantasies in freedom. To accomplish that, we have always kept an eye on what was going on right around us - close to home, and close to ourselves. Our curiosity has always remained the motive.

In a couple of months Mail & Female ‘mail order service’ in erotic articles by and for women was a fact. In our first catalogue we already presented products of our own, in the form of silk and cotton open crotch slips. Enough of that nylon nastiness, promoted to women because ‘a woman was only going to wear it for 10 minutes’. We wanted things in which, above all, we ourselves could take pleasure! The catalogue sparked off a true wave of publicity. Our open way of dealing with the subject and fresh attitude were picked up immediately by the media. In general, the tone of the responses was ‘At last! Why did it take so long!’

It was a business that suited women, and fit with the times. After years of talking about sexual liberation and women’s own peculiar sexuality, we had decided to put that liberation into practice. Since then we have always felt that our ideas and positions have been proven right. There was no complicated business analysis or commercial ‘hole in the market’ thinking behind Mail & Female, just our own experience, surprise and intuitive response. We have changed quietly, with the times, as a reflection of what occupies women in the realm of the erotic.

Ours were certainly not modest expectations, it quickly appeared: the demand was there. Every day we carted sacks with packages to the post office. We got in touch with our clients via our first catalogue, with the slogan ‘indispensable in a time when women are in search of personal erotic experience’. This was the beginning of an unusual series of catalogues that also give a picture of the development of Mail & Female over the years. What is striking, as you leaf through them one after another, is that each is something which you wouldn’t ever throw away. They are timeless because they give an unforced, positive and fascinating image of the times in which they were done. Their words and pictures give a telling sketch of what was going on - and with hindsight, what often still seems universal and contemporary. That is perhaps because we always searched for a manner of communication that is indeed about sex and eroticism, but that doesn’t settle for the flat clichés. Right down to today we’ve never let nonsense creep in. We have always worked with self-directed photographers, models, graphic designers and text writers - real, semi- and rising celebrities who for Mail & Female dared to be themselves and keep up their reputation, by employing their own style when it came to themes like sex and eroticism.

The content of our catatogue started to become more explicit through the years. We and our customers loved it...
and we learned the most from the respons of our customers. They were the ones who showed us the way and showed us what women wanted. Our range of products expanded in quality and quantity, with jewelry, body products, video's, books and more lingerie.