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.

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.  

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.

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.

Find more than 140 traditional Scandinavian candies—including the boat-shaped raspberry jelly hallon batar and the salty black licorice kanverade haxvral—at this sleek, whitewashed shop in the West Village. The storefront also carries pantry items (Swedish meatball mix, crisp bread and cloudberry jam) and designer ceramics.

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.

This West Village smoke shop has products at every price for every type of smoker—there are glass pipes and rolling papers and hookahs and flavored tobacco and grinders and vaporizers (and more). Also, the people who work here are knowledgable and helpful about the vast inventory without being pushy, a rarity in smoke shops.

Guilt-free shopping surfaces in the West Village with this nonprofit thrift shop’s second store (the original is in Gramercy). Both donate all proceeds to the United Jewish Council of the East Side (ujces.org), which works to preserve the Lower East Side community. Sift through men’s and women’s clothing ($30–$600) hanging from reclaimed pipe racks, and browse accessories ($15–$400) displayed in an original Tiffany jewelry case. We spotted accessories such as Versace ($60) and Pucci ($80) neckties, Fendi leather handbags ($95) and Givenchy platforms ($100). The threads pack the same designer punch, with 1990s Betsey Johnson grunge dresses ($120) and a ’70s Yves Saint Laurent patterned blouse ($175). An Etro military jacket ($165) and vintage Nick Cave concert tee ($65) are highlights for guys.