14 Best Shopping in New Orleans, Louisiana

Anyone with a passion for playing dress-up and a flair for the dramatic will love this place filled with custom wigs, wild accessories, makeup, and hair products. The shop provides essential resources for Mardi Gras and Halloween costumes as well as ample creative advice.

Mignon Faget is the most famous jewelry designer in New Orleans, and her upscale sterling-silver and 14k-gold collections reflect her love and fascination with botany, nature, architecture, and the city's culture. Elements of bamboo, fleurs-de-lis, honey bees, red beans, and iron balconies have all been inspirations. Faget studied sculpture at Newcomb College at Tulane University and started out as a fashion designer in 1969, but she quickly gave up clothing to focus exclusively on jewelry. Her work has been featured in museums and shops around the world, but her biggest fan club remains right here in New Orleans, where her pieces are instantly recognized. In addition to her boutique on Magazine Street, she has a gallery at the Shops at Canal Place.

New Orleans–based designer Candice Gwinn puts a retro-romantic spin on the women's fashions she creates. Inspired by styles from the 1940s to the 1950s, the Trashy Diva line includes dresses, blouses, skirts, coats, jewelry, and upscale shoes with vintage flair and modern fit. The Trashy Diva lingerie shop, located at 712 Royal Street, features corsets and romantic evening wear. An expansive Trashy Diva shoe, clothing, and lingerie boutique is also located in the 2000 block of Magazine Street.

This century-old, locally owned jewelry store carries upscale watches, engagement rings, gemstone jewelry, wedding gifts, top-of-the-line china, silver, crystal, and more.

Master clockmaker Josef Hirzinger repairs and restores all types of new, vintage, and antique watches and clocks at his two-story shop. He also sells many brands of new watches and clocks, ranging from miniature and mantel styles to large grandfather clocks.

Owners Terry and Sylvia Weidert create a variety of chic, art deco–inspired designs in 14- and 18-karat gold and platinum.

Silver jewelry adorned with the fleur-de-lis is the main attraction here, but you'll also find items that carry other New Orleans icons such as crowns, masks, hearts, and architectural details. In addition to jewelry, the store sells handbags, handmade paper, glassware, wood and ceramic boxes, batik scarves, ironwork, and more. Another location is at 818 Chartres Street, in the French Quarter.

You'll find yourself in a good mood after spending just a few minutes in this store surrounded by Gogo Borgerding's brightly colored jewelry designs. Her vibrant cuff bracelets, made of sterling silver and anodized aluminum, are the store's signature pieces. The boutique also carries her sterling-silver necklaces, rings, and other items, as well as works by a few other artists. A quirky blend of kitsch and high-end, the shop also features offbeat items like paint-by-number sets and taxidermy.

From fedoras to flat caps, you'll find hats of every style and shape at this national chain with a local sensibility, including straw toppers perfect for strolling the streets of the French Quarter. Another branch, at 2127 Magazine Street, offers custom millinery for those looking for a personal fit.

One of the South's largest hat stores has been in operation for more than a hundred years and is currently run by the fourth generation of the Meyer family. A favorite of locals and out-of-towners, the shop carries a large selection of fedoras, tweed caps, Kangols, cowboy hats, and just about any type of topper you can put on your head.

Preppy motifs and New Orleans pride are the twin hallmarks of this line of locally designed accessories. You'll find belts, neckties, pet leashes, wallets, hats, headbands, bags, glassware, and totes emblazoned with tiny Crescent City symbols—fleurs-de-lis, sno-balls, pelicans, hurricane swirls, streetcars—all in repeat patterns. There is also a location Uptown, at 3308 Magazine Street.

Gemologist and gold- and silversmith Ken Bowers designs contemporary jewelry in gold, silver, and platinum and carries a selection of antique pieces.

Silvia and Juan Asturias operate this business near the French Market, where Silvia's fleur-de-lis and flower-inspired designs share space with other silver jewelry from Chile, Mexico, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, and elsewhere. There are also coral pieces, gift items, ceramic dolls, and more.

Designer Tom Mathis creates custom wedding and engagement rings and other in-house designs and also repairs jewelry. The shop also stocks a variety of contemporary designs by local, national, and international jewelry artists.