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.

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).

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.  

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.

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. 

We may have found a Manhattan space smaller than your studio apartment: At 188 square feet, Monocle magazine’s latest shop (the three-year-old publication has stores in London, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Hong Kong) is about the size of a closet. Yet it somehow manages to pack in an impressive array of home decor, travel gear, stationery, books and men’s clothing from worldly labels like Tomorrowland, Drakes and Aspesi. Particularly of note are the brand’s exclusive designer collaborations that cater to its well-traveled, discerning readers, such as elegant Valextra leather notebooks ($208), woody perfume by Comme des Garçons ($100) and Matsuyama Sugi body soaps ($34), which encapsulate the cedar scent of the Japanese national tree.

The clearance rack at this hip minichain is always worth checking—we’ve scored knee-high leather boots for under $40. Of course, the window displays are pretty tempting too—seeing how they’re always stocked with the latest designs from Seychelles, Dolce Vita, Chelsea Crew, Navid O Nadia, Naughty Monkey and more.

French high fashion comes to two of New York City’s most stylish neighborhoods: the West Village and Soho. Opening within weeks of each other, the pair of retail locations hawk high-end Parisian apparel ($105–$1,730) and accessories ($80–$565) for the fashion-forward woman with deep pockets. Maje’s chic clothing isn’t for shoppers on a budget, but those looking to splurge on luxe conversation pieces can do so on lamb’s-wool jackets ($1,730), elegant cape dresses ($450), modish metal-plaque belts ($140) and heeled tassel loafers ($460). Opens Nov 3.