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.  

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).

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.

This Meatpacking District boutique is named after owner Kilian Hennessy (he’s also a descendant to the creator of the top-shelf cognac brand). And much like the ingredients in a great cocktail, all of the fragrances here are totally intoxicating. Apple Brandy (a unique accord of apple liqueur and woods, $235) is a top-seller—it’s inspired by the Big Apple. Ask the staff for a free sample and take it for a test drive.

Though anyone could get turned around below the haphazard Christmas lights and records plastering the basement ceiling, music nerds will be happy to get lost in this bi-level vault of new and used CDs, records, DVDs and posters. The shop is overstuffed with a great selection of rare vinyl, including jazz LPs from the ’50s and ’60s; rock albums from the ’60s; and British, Japanese and German imports. The bands run the gamut from never-heard-of-’em to Top 40—and the prices are just as varied.

This West Side tattoo and piercing studio has attracted visitors from across the world, drawn to a team that has built up a bit of a reputation for their work. A quick look at Red Baron Ink’s Instas (they’ve got dedicated accounts for their tattoos and their piercings) gives a pretty good indication why.  Much of that reputation has been established through their tattoo expertise, with 11 in-house artists offering everything from traditional to realism, blackwork, neo-traditional and Japanese. And, well, anything you want, basically. Right now they’re looking to really get the message out about their piercings, which look pretty awesome to be fair.  The small but mighty two-person team of Elizabeth and Xavier boast more than nine years’ experience with piercing and professional body modification. There’s a very solid roster of jewelry suppliers including market leaders like BVLA, Modern Mood, Tether and Tapawa. Expect some seriously beautiful pieces here. Definitely worth checking out. 

Run by former Daniel sommelier Jean-Luc Le Dû, it’s no surprise that this sleek-but-casual wine boutique boasts a remarkable assortment of French varietals ranging from $10 to $200. Free wine and spirits tastings are held in-store every Saturday from 2-7pm.

New Zealand–born designer Rebecca Taylor brings her feminine, flirty women’s label to the Meatpacking District with the opening of her second Manhattan store (the other is located in Nolita). Each month, she handpicks her favorite movies and books (such as the cookbook Good Things in England, by Florence White), as well as home accents like candles and pillows to sell in the Parisian-inspired shop, which is decorated with ornate moldings and a tin ceiling. In addition to wardrobe musts, such as floral-print jumpers ($375), tulip-print ballet dresses ($375), scalloped leather jackets ($695) and python messenger bags ($275), the boutique offers sterling-silver dolphin necklace and bracelet charms ($110–$125) created by Taylor and her jewelry-making sister, Tory. Proceeds from the charms will be donated to the Oceanic Preservation Society’s campaign to save the dolphins in the Pacific.

You can curse French women for their louche glamour or beat them at their own game. Provençal native Ludivine Grégoire's charming eponymous boutique provides an excellent arsenal of sweetly chic labels such as Vanessa Bruno, Les Praires de Paris and Noro, which uses très raffiné fabrics like muslin and cotton sateen.