62 Best Places to Shop in Amsterdam, Netherlands

You'll feel like you've traveled back to the Roaring '20s when entering this hat shop, with its flapper-style cloches, flatcaps, and fedoras. Purchase bespoke sinamay hairpieces and modern men's and women's hats in every style and color.

Besides exhibiting highlights of its collection, this design collective also sells a number of its irreverent, often artfully industrial, furniture, and home accessories. What began as a decidedly Dutch group now comprises designers from all over the globe who have together cultivated an international reputation for groundbreaking conceptual design.

Much-lauded Dutch footwear designer Fred de la Bretoniere has been selling men's and women's leather footwear since 1970. It's no surprise that his handiwork—combining simplicity, style, sustainability, craftsmanship, and quality—has been entered into the permanent collections of several Dutch design museums. This is the shop to find a classic style that still lets you walk with your own unique verve. There is another location on Utrechtsestraat 77 in the Eastern Canal Belt and at Van Baerlestraat 44V in Oud-Zuid.

By the beginning of the 18th century, Amsterdam had a virtual monopoly in the diamond industry in Europe, so when diamonds were discovered in South Africa in 1869, there was a windfall for Amsterdam's Jewish communities, a third of whom worked in the diamond trade. Built in 1879, the headquarters of GASSAN was once home to the Boas diamond-polishing factory, the largest in the world, where 357 diamond-polishing machines processed around 8,000–10,000 carats of rough diamonds per week. Today, GASSAN offers polishing and grading demonstrations and free hour-long tours, in more than 27 languages, of the building and its glittering collection of diamonds and jewelry. After the tour, have a stone set to your taste by one of GASSAN's expert goldsmiths. There are other locations in Centrum, Museum District, and at Schiphol Airport.

One of the Netherlands' most popular stores offers original and affordable own-brand household items, clothing, stationery, gardening tools, and bicycle equipment. Shelves are also stocked with other goodies cherished by the Dutch, such as smoked sausages, traditional candy (think cinnamon candy canes and salty licorice), and pink cream custard cakes. You could call it the Dutch equivalent of Target in that you walk in to buy one thing and leave with a lot more. See the website for other locations.

Filled with teak-wood canisters and jars bearing Latin inscriptions, fragrant with the perfume of seeds, flowers, and medicinal potions, this health-and-wellness store has been in operation on Nieuwmarkt since 1743. Gold-lettered wooden drawers, barrels, and bins contain not only spices and herbs, but also teas and a daunting array of dropjes (licorice). There's a second location at Westerstraat 107 in Jordaan.

This quirky concept shop, owned and operated by two sisters, is home to their own clothing label mixed in with a unique collection of vintage and handmade items. Shop for funky clothes and accessories including colorful sunglasses, clunky boots, and hip jewelry. A second shop is located at Bilderdijkstraat 194 in Oud-West.

Head to this gem for wooden toys (the house specialty) for kids ages 12 and younger, pretty dollhouses and furniture, bright toy scooters, and animal-shape rockers.

Established in 1994, the city's first "smart shop" promotes mind-body awareness. Besides the usual "natural drug" suspects, you'll find a selection of "harm reduction kits," said to speed recovery following a hyperconscious weekend. In the back of the shop you can experiment under the safe guidance of the knowledgeable staff, accompanied by loungy beats.

This quaint, canalside shop has been hand-making its own brand of soap since 1996. More than 70 different scents are available, ranging from amber to verbena and nearly every color of the rainbow. The shelves also stock sweet-smelling souvenirs like body wash, knit towels, and perfumes along with gift sets for men, women, and kids.

Textile lovers will be in heaven during a visit to this so-called patches market, taking place along the Westerstraat on Mondays from 9 am to 1 pm. Located adjacent to the Noordermarkt, vendors sell a myriad of colorful fabrics, from embroidered Asian silks to Indonesian batiks and beautiful prints from Africa and Suriname.

On Saturdays, Noordermarkt's salt-of-the-earth sister, which runs down the length of Lindengracht from 9 to 5. Established in the 1890s, it now has more than 230 food stalls where vendors offer all the basics, including produce, fruit, flowers, cheese, fruit and more.

Founded by Oger Lusink in 1989, this store takes "dressed to the nines" to a 10 in its self-proclaimed goal to "bring Latin style" to its clients. In addition to the house fashion collection, which is made in Italy, Oger offers all the top Italian mens- and womenswear brands. Some also find the handsome shop clerks to be a draw.

This tiny, venerable book market is snuggled in the heart of the University of Amsterdam's meandering edifices. Booksellers in this 17th-century alleyway have been hawking used and antiquarian books, prints, and sheet music daily since 1879.

Named after the Surinamese slang for "shoes," this boutique sells an exclusive selection of sneakers from brands such as adidas, Puma, Nike Air Jordan, and Diadora, as well as apparel from Patta’s own label. Coveted collaborations on limited editions have given the store a certain swagger in the city’s street-wear scene.

Building on her family business's 50-year heritage, Madeleine Pauw's elegant designs are particularly suited for sophisticated women with a penchant for timeless, well-cut investment pieces. Visit the Pauw Mannen Luxury Tailoring store for men at Van Baerlestraat 88-90 (020/671--0967), just a few doors down; see the website for more locations.

This reputable purveyor of fine antique silver and jewelry has been in business since 1823. A miniature silver windmill with moving sweep makes an elegant souvenir, or treat yourself to an exquisite set of pre-worn pearl-and-diamond earrings or gold cufflinks.

This venerable company offers an up-to-date collection of jewelry, watches, and luxury accessories from brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chopard, and Gianfranco Bigli, as well as their own Highlights Collection. Check the website for information on their Patek Philippe, Hublot, IWC, and Rolex boutiques, Diamonds Boutique, and Vintage Watches store.

This modern skating outlet stocks ice skates in all styles, from wintertime canal gliding to hockey, and is also the Netherlands' largest in-line skate shop. You'll find top brands such as Rollerblade, K2, Powerslide, Viking, Raps, Bauer, CCM, a large variety of noren, the most popular style of speed skates for adults, as well as training skates for children.

Redolent of a bygone era in a rural New England town, this browse-worthy shop sells used English-language books on all subjects and many a secondhand paperback.

This shop started out in 1935 as a specialist in English hats and caps. Later, they added pullovers, tweed jackets, tartan scarves, and many other trappings of the English gentleman to their inventory. The cozy shop may be small, but there's plenty to choose from—and they still sell hats, too. There are also locations in Oud-Zuid, Nieuwmarktbuurt, and Amstelveen.

This mainstay of the Museum District is a noted purveyor of all the sartorial classics that style- and status-conscious men aspire to, with made-to-measure suits and labels like Corneliani, Piacenza, Profuomo, and Scuderi.