Shopping in Greenwich Village: The best stores and boutiques

The PPB's main focus is on couples looking to invigorate their sex lives with props, potions or costumes. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and the store carries a huge number of toys, starting with cheap bullet vibes and topping out with $100-plus extreme dildos. The company's been in business since 1972, which makes Pink Pussycat a trusted name for dommes and submissives alike.

You’ll be transported to Paris once you step inside this opulent bath-and-body shop. Rich burgundy carpets, gilded wallpaper, a gloriously huge chandelier and a mahogany desk that serves as the checkout area set the stage for the luxurious fragrances ($50–$300), candles ($20–$400), lotions, and soaps from brands like Diptyque and Annick Goutal. Curiosity cabinets house many of the store’s exclusives—the West Village outpost is the only location in the country to sell several items, including candles by Les Secrets Ladurée Paris.  

Murray’s Cheese has been New York City’s most famed and beloved, vast and varied dairy purveyor since it first opened in Greenwich Village decades ago. Today, it has additional locations in and outside of Manhattan, as well as availability via large retailers throughout the United States.  Here at home, you can still consult Murray’s top cheesemongers at its charming Bleecker Street shop, Grand Central outpost and Long Island City locale for samples, including proprietary cave-aged varieties prepared right here in town. They’ll also help you match your picks to charcuterie, jams, spreads and crackers for a veritable feast you can source all in one spot.   You can even learn a bit of the trade at Murray’s downtown flagship via burrata and mozzarella-making classes, or lessons on wine and cheese pairings. The classic address also hosts a mac and cheese pop-up, replete with that titular item, sandwich melts and cheese flights, among other menu items. 

Every weekend, more than 40 independent clothing and accessories designers set up shop at this bazaar, giving patrons the chance to buy a variety of unique wares direct from the makers at up to 30 percent off what they'd normally retail for in stores.

In operation since 1965, this friendly West Village institution sells all manner of fetish attire, as well as books, sex toys, magazines and plenty more.

Designer Marc Jacobs’s West Village empire continues to expand with the opening of this high-fashion bookstore, which has replaced the beloved Biography Book Shop. Though Biography’s blond-wood shelving remains, its memoirs have been replaced with coffee-table tomes, such as House of Versace ($26), artist Dawn Mellor’s namesake book depicting nightmarish renditions of pop icons ($35) and shutterbug Mario Testino’s photographic ode to muse Kate Moss ($700). It’s not all glossy photos, though: Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl ($25) leans against a dishy book about Hollywood scandals ($25). There are also Marc Jacobs–branded souvenirs galore, including condoms packaged in matchbooks ($2), broken-heart compacts ($5), USB cassette tapes ($15), lipstick-shaped pens ($4) and canvas Bookmarc totes emblazoned with a pixelated lightbulb ($20)—perhaps the only MJ handbag that falls within your budget.

This stationery store—with exposed brick, cheerful floral wallpaper and a pink overhanging lamp—exudes West Village charm. It’s owned by sisters Amy Swanson and Beth Salvini, whose family has been in the printing biz for three generations, and nearly everything is designed in-house and produced on an old Gutenberg-style press. Aside from note cards and stationery, GLP also offers notebooks, rubber stamps, labels, gift tags and striking wrapping paper ($3–$5 a sheet).

This San Francisco hatmaker expands with a second NYC location (the original is in Park Slope). Brick walls, a black tin ceiling, a leather lounge chair and Edison-style lightbulbs provide an old-timey vibe—fitting, since the company began in 1895. Even the merchandise harkens to the days of yore, with a wide range of fedora styles for ladies and gents, including short-brimmed leather ($100), satin-banded straw ($50) and summery plaid ($54) variations. Guys can don any number of newsboy caps ($38–$110), while women can get a sweet retro look with all manner of cloches ($34–$140). Goorin does contemporary styles too, as evidenced by wildly printed ball caps ($34) and trucker hats ($25). Gals should stop in for summer’s must-have floppy sun hat ($350–$490), such as our favorite red Panama straw version ($140). 

Look for the deep blue awning on Bleecker Street and venture inside to scope out high-end paraphernalia from brand names like Sheldon Black, Medicali and JBD. The clerks are reputably knowledgeable and can service all your tricked-out pieces and one-of-a-kind accessory needs. Make sure to ask about Illadelph Glass products—they’re beautifully crafted and come in many different iterations.

Globe-trotting flair abounds in this trendy boutique chain’s straightforward space. Score a streamlined daytime look with the help of effortless denim (J Brand), slouchy totes (Jerome Dreyfuss), paper-thin tees and cashmere knits, or curate a killer evening ensemble with hard-edged costume jewelry, Felix Rey sequin clutches and strappy metallic Loeffler Randal sandals.