The Best Shopping in New Orleans

In Part Two of “My Hometown: New Orleans,” local designer Angèle Parlange shares her favorite shops for everything from chocolates to fine French antiques

“The Best Shopping in New Orleans” is Part Two of My Hometown: New Orleans with Angèle Parlange.

When we decided to venture down to New Orleans for a visit, we couldn’t think of a better tour guide than designer Angèle Parlange. Having settled back in the Big Easy after a seven-year stint in the Big Apple, she has her pulse on what’s hot in the new New Orleans, yet remains relentlessly faithful to her old flames. Here’s where she suggests we shop for everything from chocolates to fine French antiques.

best shopping in new orleans
Angèle Parlange gathering treats at La Riviere Confiserie, New Orleans (Photo: Eugenia Uhl)

Whether you’re a chocolate aficionado or merely have a sweet tooth, don’t miss La Rivière Confiserie. It’s where I discovered Henri Le Roux dark chocolate and learned that the first pralines weren’t made with pecans or in the South, but made from almonds in 17th-century France.

Best Shopping in New Orleans
Perch, New Orleans, LA (Photo: Eugenia Uhl)

Locals all flock to Perch for swanky glassware, unique lamps, and (of all things) custom dog beds.

Best Shopping in New Orleans
Karla Katz Antiques, New Orleans, LA (Photo: Eugenia Uhl)

For exquisite antique European furnishings (many of which are surprisingly comfortable) head to Karla Katz Antiques. Karla is more than just a collector—she is a curator in the fullest sense.

Best Shopping in New Orleans
Angèle Parlange outside of Dunn & Sonnier, New Orleans, LA (Photo: Eugenia Uhl)

Dunn & Sonnier Antiques & Flowers is my go-to for peonies, tulips, and special-occasion centerpieces and bouquets. They don’t do arrangements—they create art.

Nadine Blake is an eponymous gift shop as charming as its proprietor. You’ll find everything from pencils to pajamas there.

Best Shopping in New Orleans
Angèle Parlange at Antiques on Jackson, New Orleans, LA (Photo: Eugenia Uhl)

Antiques on Jackson is the closest you’ll get to Le Marché aux Puces without a passport. The shop (formerly a fried-chicken dive) has one of the most extensive Florentine decorative collections I’ve ever seen. Buried beneath the gilded treasures are rarities like Louis XV curtain tiebacks and antique Bibles and books.

Best Shopping in New Orleans
The Grove Street Press, New Orleans, LA (Photo: Eugenia Uhl)

For bespoke journals, wrapping paper, and stationery visit The Grove Street Press. I keep my desk stocked with their quirky illustrated cards. My favorite features a fashionable dog driving a convertible that reads, ‘She understands sit and stay: She simply prefers to roam.’ It defines me.

Best Shopping in New Orleans
Lucullus, Patrick Dunne’s antiques shop, New Orleans, LA

Lucullus’ collection of culinary antiques offers a feast for the eyes and the mind. Its owner, Patrick Dunne, is a wonderful raconteur and the authority on all matters pertaining to wining and dining. Ask him about a set of absinthe glasses and you’ll find out why the spirit should never have been deemed illegal.

More of Angèle Parlange’s New Orleans Guide