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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.
Merging the attentiveness of a spa with the old-world charm of a barbershop, this high-end men's salon caters to guys who prefer getting a hot-towel shave and a haircut while enjoying a whiskey. The front of the store is devoted to manly diversions, with shaving sets, contemporary and New Orleans–theme cuff links, pocket knives, wallets, bow ties (a specialty), grooming products for face and hair, and gifts.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with an array of pralines, made while you watch. The traditional version is concocted from cane sugar spiked with pecans, but other flavors include chocolate, café au lait, and even bananas Foster. You can also buy hot sauce, prepackaged muffuletta mix, and Bourbon Street glaze, as well as art and books about New Orleans, zydeco CDs, and logo cups and aprons.
You don't have to pay admission to enter this part of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the museum shop where you can buy ceramics, glasswork, decorative pieces, books, scarves, and jewelry by southern artists. The museum itself is filled with contemporary and folk paintings, mixed-media artworks, photography, and sculpture. Live music and after-hours events are held on Thursday.
The stylish, minimalist designs on the T-shirts, sweatshirts, tanks, and baseball caps at this shop focus on a love for the city and its spirit. Many proceeds go to nonprofits and community organizations. An additional store can be found at the Ace Hotel New Orleans ( 600 Carondolet St.) in the Warehouse District.
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.).
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.
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.
Owned by the ebullient Lauren Thom, Fleurty Girl—its name is a play on "fleur-de-lis"—is the place to go for New Orleans apparel, home decor, and gifts. The store is known for its T-shirts displaying the humorous catchphrases and iconography of local culture and New Orleans Saints pride. There's affordable jewelry, children's books, colorful rain boots, Carnival-theme gear, and fleurs-de-lis in every imaginable form. There's also a location in the Garden District, at 3117 Magazine Street.
A must for perfume lovers, this store has been creating fragrances since 1931. Scented oils, soaps, sachets, and potpourri have been made on-site for four generations and are sold all over the world. There are dozens of fragrances for men and women, as well as bath salts, anti-aging treatments, massage and body oils, antique shaving and dressing-table accessories, and new and antique perfume bottles.
Antiques lovers may want to set aside several hours to marvel at the extensive collection here. Rare pieces, such as furniture from royal families, join 18th- and 19th-century French, American, and English antiques, sterling silver, statuary, fine art, and jewelry in this 30,000-square-foot store, which opened in 1912.
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.
One of the city's premier men's stores has been selling high-end suits, tuxedos, casual wear, and made-to-measure apparel since 1924. Brands range from Brioni and Zegna to Ralph Lauren, Prada, and Hugo Boss.
The Southern Food and Beverage Museum documents and celebrates southern culinary heritage, so its gift shop, of course, carries some of the best cookbooks from the south. It also has food-related and New Orleans–centric gifts, cooking utensils, and vintage and modern cocktail tools and manuals.
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.
For more than a century, this locally owned jewelry store has been the go-to for upscale watches, engagement rings, gemstone jewelry, wedding gifts, top-of-the-line china, silver, crystal, and more.
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.
Mostly local and Gulf Coast artists are represented in this gallery, featuring high-end and reasonably priced contemporary crafts and fine art, including jewelry, blown glass, sculpture, furniture, photography, paintings, ceramics, and decorative accessories.
This co-op of regional artists showcases a wide variety of works, including handmade masks, photography focusing on New Orleans personalities and scenery, ceramics, blown glass, paintings, wrought-iron architectural accents, turned-wood bowls and vases, prints, jewelry, beads, and more.
This dreamy cottage of French and English delights has richly scented soaps, vintage and new linens, antique enamelware, collectible plates, and decorative accessories.
Inside this funky muraled storefront on a busy Bywater corner is a mishmash of thrifted art, clothing, furniture, and knickknacks ranging from junk to vintage, as well as some local arts and crafts.
The ladies here are focused on ridding the world of sagging bra straps and overflowing cups. With a sharp eye for measurement, the staff specialize in finding the right fit, whether it's something for work or for a more romantic occasion. The store also carries sleepwear and gifts. Next door, at 5515 Magazine Street, is Basics Swim and Gym, a fitness and swimwear boutique from the same owners.
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.
Among a selection of well-worn tees, vintage Levis, fur coats, and motorcycle jackets, as well as hand-drawn tarot cards, local fragrances, art books, and fine jewelry, you'll find choice gifts to take home.
Opened in 1843, this old world–style shop offers about three-dozen fragrances for men and women, including a 200-year-old formula for men's cologne. It will custom-blend perfumes for individuals based on assessments of body chemistry, personality, and scent preferences. The shop also sells perfume bottles and toiletries.
This small, charming shop specializes in Limoges boxes with design motifs ranging from small red beans—a favorite food in New Orleans—to baby carriages. It also has antique walking sticks, Venetian glass, and English Staffordshire porcelain.
A pottery studio on a busy corner, there is always a nice array of unique vases, planters, bowls, and mugs for sale here. As a proud supporter of social justice movements, Byrdie's donates 20% of its revenue to nonprofit causes. It's only open on weekends; check the website for workshops and events.
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 dog boarding facility has a retail shop that stocks an array of gourmet pet food and treats, designer bowls, toys, health products, canine fashions, and doggie-themed home decor.
Master clockmaker Josef Hirzinger and his apprentices repair and restore 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.
Twice a week, this farmers' market pops up in Mid-City with between 30 and 40 local farmers, fishermen, bakers, and more. The smaller Thursday market takes place 3--7 pm where the Lafitte Greenway meets the start of Bayou St. John, while Sunday's market is a bigger affair (especially on a beautiful morning), bringing in hundreds of locals from 8 am until noon at the western edge of City Park in the parking lot of Tad Gormley Stadium. Crescent City Farmers Market often invites musicians, local authors, and more to entertain at the market as visitors shop.
