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The Crescent City's shopping is as eclectic as its music, food, and culture. In local boutiques and specialty stores, you’ll find everything from rare antiques to novelty T-shirts, artwork, jewelry, fashion, and foods that represent the city's varied flavors. Up and down Magazine Street and throughout the French Quarter, you'll spot old-world influences intersecting with modern trends, making it easy for even the most discerning shopper to find something new to treasure.
New Orleanians have a deep love for their city and its culture. For shoppers, this translates into pride-centric merchandise, including jewelry and clothing bearing city emblems, such as the fleur-de-lis—the stylized iris design associated with New Orleans since its early days—and Mardi Gras masks, black-and-gold Saints symbols, and humorous statements about political issues and local personalities. Residents strongly support local entrepreneurs, and there are many homegrown stores selling locally made goods.
Make sure to pay attention to some of the city's artwork. Posters designed around Jazz Fest and other special events, for example, often become collector's items. In the thriving arts districts, you'll find contemporary works by local artists alongside renowned names in the art world. The sounds of New Orleans—Dixieland, contemporary jazz, rhythm and blues, Cajun, zydeco, rap, hip-hop, and the unique bounce beat—are available in music stores, such as Louisiana Music Factory and Peaches Records, and at live-music venues including Preservation Hall, Snug Harbor, and House of Blues. Bookstores stock a plethora of local books on photography, history, cooking, and folklore. Clothing stores focus on items that wear well in New Orleans's often intense heat and humidity, with styles ranging from the latest runway fashions to vintage frocks and styles by local designers.
Named for William Faulkner, who rented a room here in 1925, this bookstore is designated a National Literary Landmark. It specializes in first editions and rare and out-of-print books—mostly by southern authors—but also carries new titles. The store keeps thousands of additional books at an off-site warehouse and hosts an annual Happy Birthday, Mr. Faulkner! Festival that salutes Faulkner and new southern writers.
At this book shop, college students, locals, and visitors alike sift through the crowded shelves and tables of new, used, and rare books in all genres, including children's. The shop also hosts book signings and creative book clubs, including a silent one.
New and used books focus on local history, the arts, modern fiction, and out-of-print works, including a fine selection of antiquarian books and obscure titles.
This small store at the Rink boutique shopping center is packed with works of history, fiction, and cookbooks by local, regional, and national authors; it was the first stop on novelist Anne Rice's book tours when she lived in New Orleans. Autographed copies and limited editions of her titles are usually in stock, and the store hosts frequent author events.
The building's contemporary architecture stands out, and the attractive layout inside invites customers to leisurely browse a wide selection of works with an emphasis on architecture, art, and fiction as well as books of local interest. The store hosts frequent book signings.
