Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
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.
T-shirts and bumper stickers with the phrase "Be a New Orleanian. Wherever you are" deeply resonated with displaced residents after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, locals leave it to this shop's shirts, stickers, and hats to both satirize ("New Orleans: So far behind, we're ahead") and celebrate local culture in a clever way. The store has a Lower Garden district location ( 1320 Magazine St.) and a French Quarter location ( 713 Royal St.).
This upscale women's clothing store provides on-trend apparel, shoes, and accessories from contemporary labels such as Diane von Furstenburg, Halston Heritage, Vince, Red Valentino, and Alice & Olivia.
Geared toward fashion-forward college students, this store resembles a sorority-house closet jammed with hip, flirty, affordable clothes, shoes, handbags, and accessories, ranging from casual to dressy, by brands such as Kensie and Tulle.
This high-end resale shop on a busy section of Maple Street supports the local Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra by selling previously owned designer clothes, from casual to formal wear, as well as shoes, handbags, and jewelry. The shop also sells consignment items.
A boutique in the lobby of the Ace Hotel features local and small designers of hip, unique menswear. Small gifts and accessories from other local shops are also available. Next door, the Marfa-born Freda boutique sells boho women's clothes.
Racks are filled with a mix of natural fabrics and stylish but comfortable clothing that stay on trend. The combination makes this shop a favorite stop for fashion-conscious mature women as well as college students looking for skirts, jeans, shorts, dresses, blouses, casual shoes, handbags, and jewelry.
The first floor of this venerable New Orleans retail institution is devoted to outfitting men with classic suits (white linen and seersucker are very popular), sportswear, shoes, ties, and accessories, as well as the store's signature crawfish-logo polo shirts. The second floor is filled with dressy, casual, and formal wear for women.
A smaller version of the locally owned Perlis boutique on Magazine Street, this shop features such items as polo shirts and neckties with crawfish logos, as well as everything from Hawaiian shirts to boxer shorts printed with images of Tabasco products and New Orleans themes.
You're as likely to find designer duds by Diane von Furstenberg and Dolce & Gabbana as Ann Taylor and J.Crew on the racks of this upscale consignment store. New consignors come in every day, adding fresh inventory.
Label-loving locals as well as celebrities in town shooting movies are known to shop at this designer clothing liquidator. The tiny boutique is busting with deeply discounted apparel, shoes, and accessories by major designers, such as Marni, Balenciaga, Michael Kors, Phillip Lim, and Prada. Contemporary lines, such as Serfontaine Denim, Steven Alan, Yigal Azrouel, and Alexander Wang, have also been spotted on the racks. The stylish, friendly, and eminently helpful sales staff has created a loyal cult of frequent shoppers.
RADA, Malìparmi, Grade & Gather, and Loess are just a few of the high-end brands available here. The boutique also carries handbags and jewelry.
Although the clothes may be stylish and contemporary, this beloved local boutique's approach is decidedly old-world elegance. Owner Yvonne LaFleur custom designs hats for all occasions, and her store is always infused with the soft scent of her signature perfume line. The romantic fashions here run the gamut from casual dresses and flirty skirts to lingerie, ball gowns, and a whole room filled with bridal dresses in a variety of styles.
