The “Valigia Rossa” turns me on to the door-to-door sex scene

by Ilaria Lonigro - 2016.10.13

We were in line in front of the bathroom dying to try the gel that was going to drive our clitoris crazy. Each of us had some on our finger, thanks to the Madame with the “Valigia Rossa” (in English “Red Suitcase”). She’d arrived punctually at 9:30 as planned. We cleared the snacks off the table, that we had brought in preparation of the hot evening in store for us. “Ila, why don’t you come to my friend’s house tonight for a Red Suitcase event?” Thanks to a speedy Google search, I had no doubt that I was going to have fun and immediately accepted the invitation. The Valigia Rossa is the company specialized in promoting “interesting” products to groups of girlfriends who organize in-home gatherings. Like the Tupperware parties for housewives 30 years ago. Except here we are not talking about plastic containers for leftovers from dinner. The Valigia Rossa is the Italian company that peddles sex toys.



With the competence of a sexologist, the sense of humor of an old friend, the discretion of a doctor, and the warm smile of a hostess, Samantha, seemed more like Mary Poppins than a door-to-door sales rep. She pulled vibrators of every conceivable size from her bottomless bag together with strawberry and champagne flavored lipsticks that could not only pump up one’s lips, increasing the blood flow, but could heat them up as well.



I had no idea that to keep the vagina nice and tight, you needed to do exercises. As Samantha tells it, instead of firming up one’s arms and legs, there are special “weights” designed for that too. They are little spheres that get progressively heavier for women with prior experience. While standing up, they get stuck up there and held into place, by tightening everything up and defying gravity. In theory, this should be done for a half-hour each day. It’s supposedly the only way to avoid the prolapse, that usually happens with age and pregnancies. With the accompanying loss of sensitivity for not only the woman, but for her partner as well.



That evening, everything passed under our very curious, amused and sometimes embarassed eyes: whips, feathered fans, vibrating diamonds and portable remote-controlled vibrators, stretch bondage bands and nipple accessories. The girlfriends present for the evening’s entertainment, some in couples, some moms of only 2 months or 5 years, others without kids, all driven by the same, healthy curiosity about what novelties this market for sexual well being had to offer. “My husband is usually a penny pincher, but, tonight, he made sure my wallet was full” confessed one woman. “Here he is, my new “+1”” retorted another, while she held a beginner’s dildo in her hand, with the assuring name of “Amorino”, Italian for “little lover”.



The groups of women who invite Samantha into their homes are of all ages, from 20 to 75. When they are moms, the appointments usually take place in the morning, while the kids are at school. A testimonial to the fact that the Valigia Rossa is going full speed ahead with wind in its sails, is the fact that the “door-to-door reps” have left their previous jobs for this one: “Tomorrow, we have our national convention. Women from all over Italy will be coming and, to be sure, the people working security at the airports will have a good laugh when the suitcases filled with all of our gadgets go through the metal detector”. Before booking an appointment with a group, Samantha asks that a minimum amount be guaranteed from the purchases. If the target is not met, she charges for the visit. I have no intentions of revealing what we all bought, but what I can say, is that after meeting with us, Samantha was sure that she had made the right career choice.