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Gargoyle's
At times in New Orleans it seems there must be a Gothic convention in town, so great is the concentration of guys and dolls in black from head to toenail. If you're looking a little too cheery for such company, you can always swing by this little shop for some sinister boots and black garb. You'll be welcomed into the coven with open arms.
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Hové Parfumeur
Grassy vetiver, bittersweet orange blossoms, spicy ginger - New Orleans' exotic flora has graciously lent its scents to Hovés house-made perfumes for over 70 years. A brief sniffing visit will leave your head swirling with images of the Vieux Carrés magnificent past. Thus intoxicated, you can ask staff to custom mix a fragrance for you.
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Il Negozio
You might be fed up with closet-sized boutiques with a selection of three dresses all in size zero, but you needn't avoid this stylish store. It's a large old house, converted into a large store, with a lush garden out front. The merchandise includes an assortment of dresses, skirts, pants and blouses by European and American designers.
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International Vintage Guitars
In the Warehouse District, this is a small shop specializing in used guitars and amps. The collection usually features a few showpieces, but its stock generally consists of new Fenders, Epiphones and a few Gibsons. It's a convenient place to grab new strings if you busted yours while busking in the Quarter.
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James H Cohen & Sons
From the sidewalk windows, you might be inclined to pass this one by if you're not interested in guns. To be sure, Cohen & Sons does sell antique guns for people who like to play cowboys and Indians with authentic hardware. The choice of firearms here includes some remarkable specimens of flintlocks, colts, Winchester '73s and even a French musket or two. Suitable for that manly room in the house where Grandpa likes to drink his sherry.
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Jim Russell's Records
A dense emporium of used 45s, with some highly rare, collectable and expensive disks featuring all the blues, R&B and soul stars of the past. (Collecting Johnny Adams' singles? This is the place.) The used LPs have mostly given way to CDs, with an uneven selection available. Turntables make it possible to assess the quality of your purchases before you lay down the crisp greenbacks.
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Johnny Donnels
The gallery of a fine local photographer, whose work turns up in galleries, museums and publications across the country. The collection is anchored by some touchingly beautiful shots of the French Quarter, as well as revealing portraits of musicians and people in New Orleans. Donnels has a fine eye, and he's been shooting New Orleans for years.
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Kaboom Books
In the far reaches of the lower Quarter, Kaboom is a great book store to visit for its large and varied collection. Prices are often well below what you would expect, and the paperback shelves are packed with thousands of classics and mysteries and recent best sellers. You'll find something to read here, for sure.
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Kingpin Flea Market
A weekly flea market where vendors sell vintage and designer clothing and a whole host of interesting stuff. It's on the neutral ground between Lyons and Upperline Sts.
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Le Garage
Got to admit, we liked the name better when it was simply 'The Garage.' But why quibble over a little ironic Frenchness? The place is still a garage loaded with interesting stuff to paw through. Items for sale here include odd items of clothing, hats, army surplus, curtains, yellowed poll balls, tattered Mardi Gras costumes from yesteryear, knitted Coors can caps, furniture and oodles and oodles of objets d'arts to ogle, or even buy. Treasures galore, we tell you. Dive in.
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Leah's Pralines
If you've tried pralines elsewhere and decided you didn't care for 'em, we suggest you try some at Leah's before making up your mind. The creamy pralines are deadly. Try one with rum in it if you don't mind extra zing. Grab a whole box and send it to your friends back home. And throw in some of the pecan brittle or rum pecans while you're at it.
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Librairie Books
A jam-packed little shop of delights for the avid bookworm and collectors. The emphasis here is squarely on very old (and sometimes dusty) old volumes. You might dig up an ancient copy of Herbert Asbury's The French Quarter, or other tales of old New Orleans. And there are scholarly texts and ample material of more general interest as well.
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Louisiana Music Factory
Here's your first stop if you're looking for music. The selection of new and used CDs delves deep into New Orleans and Louisiana musical culture, with recordings from the 19-oughts all the way up to this week. You're sure to walk out of this store with sacks of CDs from the region's bottomless talent pool.
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Lucullus
Take a peek in the window of this shop and you'll see a battery of ancient copper pots that appear to have generations of dents tinkered out of their bottoms. Owner Patrick Dunne is an advocate of using, not merely collecting, culinary antiques, and that's what his shop specializes in. Follow his advice and add more ritual and elegance to your life with an antique café au lait bowl, or an absinthe spoon for creating your evening cocktails.
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Magazine Antique Mall
Hard-core rummagers are likely to score items of interest in the dozen or so stalls here, where independent dealers peddle an intriguing and varied range of antique bric-a-brac. Bargain hunters aren't likely to have much luck, though.
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Maple Street Bookstore
Shopkeeper Rhonda Kellog Faust advocates for the anti-racism group Erace and she is a storehouse of local knowledge. The book store, which includes a children's section, was founded by her mother and aunt more than 30 years ago.
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Mardi Gras Mask Market
The main point of Mardi Gras is to wear a mask. If you're unprepared for this, never fear, for an astounding selection of high quality handmade masks is available at the outdoor Mask Market. Artisans from around the country show their wares in stalls set up in Dutch Alley, behind the French Market, Sunday through Monday leading up to Mardi Gras. A live music stage is set up there too.
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Marie Laveau's House Of Voodoo
Choose your pick of potions and browse the selection of books on the occult. Shipping is available.
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Mary Jane's Emporium
Alack and alas, no Mary Jane is sold here. (New Orleans may be permissive, but it's still in the USA, where pot-smokin' is done on the QT.) Nevertheless, this is an essential stop for smokers of legal tobacco products, including finer brands of cigarettes not sold at your basic corner store. Also, a variety of apparatus for the smoking of unsanctioned herbal products and such is sold here. Alright, it's basically a head shop.
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Maskarade
Definitely the place to go if you've cottoned to the local penchant for masking. This shop deals in high quality masks by local and international artisans, and the selection includes everything from classic Commedia dell'arte masks from Venice to more way-out designs for your wigged-out end-of-Mardi Gras state of mind. If your nose is too small, many of the selections here can correct the problem.
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Meyer The Hatter
This place is a cluttered asylum for people who are mad about hats. If that doesn't include you, then we'll have you know that New Orleans is a hat town, and hats are good. A brim shades the forehead, covers up the sweaty mess New Orleans turns your hair into and makes you look fuckin cool. This shop, just a half block from Canal St, has a truly astounding inventory of world-class headwear.
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Migon Faget's Boutique
The shop of a celebrated jewelry designer. Faget is a native of New Orleans and a Newcomb College alumnus whose original designs are often inspired by patterns she observes in the natural world. Animals, flowers, seashells and coral are common motifs in her work.
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Miss Claudia's
This shop will serve as your wardrobe department if the look you're after is straight out of Matt Helm movies or 77 Sunset Strip. Try on some old suits, ties, striped shirts, knee-high boots, fake fur coats and short skirts, whip out the credit card and shimmy on down Magazine St.
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Moss Antiques
Watch your head when you enter this gallery of low-hanging chandeliers. Oof! Too late! Moss is a Royal St institution in the local antiques trade. Only the finest quality antiques and objets d'art are sold here. You'll find the perfect thing for your Garden District mansion. Or perhaps you can take home the busted chandelier they made you pay for.
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Ms Rau Antiques
With a massive 30,000 foot showroom (you'd never know it by passing by on Royal St), and after nearly a century of doing business, MS Rau ranks amongst New Orleans' most venerated dealers of antiques. It's a little over-serious - these are the sorts of frosty antiques that require their own insurance policies - but it's a family business and the professional salespeople are quite approachable. And for that very special trinket for that once-in-a-lifetime occasion this is a pretty good bet.
