The best New Orleans souvenirs are the ones a local would actually keep: things you'll use, ideally with a joke only the city gets, and never anything sealed in a plastic sleeve next to a rubber alligator head. If you want to bring home a piece of New Orleans that won't end up in a donation bag by spring, start there.
We have some history with this question. Dirty Coast started in 2004 as a response to what was passing for local apparel on Bourbon Street. We didn't love the T-shirts with the crude jokes and the "Big Easy" in a font that looked like it was printed during a hurricane. We wanted shirts that felt like New Orleans, the kind you'd wear to the grocery store, not just the airport. Twenty years later, we've watched what people carry out of our shops on Magazine Street and Chartres Street, and some patterns are pretty clear.
What Makes a Good New Orleans Souvenir?
A good souvenir passes two tests. First, would you use it on a regular Tuesday back home? Second, would somebody from here look at it and nod?
The embarrassing ones fail both. The novelty beads go in a drawer, and the shirt with the joke about your liver is funny for exactly one evening.
The good ones carry a little of the city with them, whether it's a smell or a design that rewards people who've been here. A customer once called our shirts a secret handshake, and that's still the test: it only makes sense if you know.
Our Best-Selling New Orleans Souvenirs (According to What People Actually Buy)
We don't have to guess here. Here's what has moved most in our shops and online over the past twelve months.
The street tiles on your refrigerator
Stand on a corner in one of the old neighborhoods and look down. The street names are set into the sidewalk in little blue and white tiles, and people photograph them constantly. Our New Orleans Street Tiles Magnet Set turns those letters into refrigerator magnets, so you can spell out whatever you want. It's our single best-selling product of the past year. It does sell out, so if it's in stock when you're reading this, don't think too hard about it.
A coin for the decisions that matter
The Heads or Tails Crawfish Coin is a heavy, antique gold coin for settling arguments the Louisiana way. It's one of our most popular small gifts, especially with anyone who needs a way to decide who's peeling and who's pouring. It fits in a pocket and costs less than a cocktail on Frenchmen.
A deck of cards worth keeping out on the table
The New Orleans Playing Cards give each suit a piece of local culture, with Mardi Gras Indians among the face cards. It's the kind of souvenir that gets used every holiday at your aunt's house, which is the whole point.
New Orleans Gifts for the Kitchen
New Orleans is a food town, and a lot of the best souvenirs end up in the kitchen.
The Believe In The Trinity Tea Towel, designed by Burton Durand, is a reminder that onions, celery and bell pepper (the holy trinity of Creole and Cajun cooking) will never do you wrong. The Po'Boy Patent Tea Towel lays out the city's greatest sandwich as if it were filed with the patent office. Both get used, washed and used again, which beats a framed print of a riverboat.
If you're bringing something back for someone who loves a boil, The Last Boil Koozie recasts a famous dinner with a crawfish spread. It's good for any cold drink, anywhere.
Souvenirs That Smell Like New Orleans
Smell is the shortcut straight to memory, and it's one of the things people miss most after they leave. Our Night Jasmine Candle is for anybody who has walked home on a warm spring night under somebody's flowering fence. The Coffee & Beignet Candle is for the morning after. Each burns for around 40 to 50 hours, which is about how long it takes to stop missing the city after a good trip.
Small New Orleans Souvenirs That Fit in a Carry-On
Not everybody has room for a tea towel. For the people who travel light:
- Louisiana Wildlife Pins and Patches: Louisiana birds and gators in enamel or embroidery, for a jacket or a bag
- Stickers, which are cheap enough to buy a stack and hand out to coworkers who keep asking how the trip was
A Shirt Is Still the Best Souvenir
We're biased, but a good shirt gets worn for years and starts conversations in airports. The trick is picking one that says something specific.
Be A New Orleanian. Wherever You Are. is the line Blake sketched on a sticker at Mello Joy coffeehouse in Lafayette after Katrina, when a lot of us were scattered. It became a way for displaced New Orleanians to find each other, and it still works that way today. King Gator, one of our earliest designs, was made with New Orleans designer Alexa Pulitzer, and it's still one of the shirts people come back to.
If you're shopping for a kid, King Gator Kids is the same design in a smaller size and was one of our best-selling kids' shirts this past year.
Christmas Ornaments From New Orleans
If your trip lands anywhere near the holidays, an ornament is the souvenir that comes out of the box every December and tells the story again. The Happy Almost Mardi Gras Ornament captures how New Orleans actually thinks about the season: Christmas is nice, but Carnival is coming. The glittery Crawfish Boil Ornament puts a whole pot of crawfish on your tree.
Bring Home Something With a Little Lagniappe
There's a word here, lagniappe, for the little something extra a shopkeeper throws in. The best New Orleans souvenirs have some of that built in. They're useful and a little funny, and they remind you of a specific corner or a joke you had to be here for.
Come see us on Magazine Street or Chartres Street, or browse the full collection of New Orleans gifts and goods online. Either way, skip the rubber alligator head.
New Orleans Souvenirs FAQ
What is the most popular New Orleans souvenir?
At Dirty Coast, it's the New Orleans Street Tiles Magnet Set, inspired by the blue and white street name tiles set into the city's sidewalks. It was our best-selling product over the past twelve months.
What are good small New Orleans souvenirs?
Enamel pins, embroidered patches, stickers and the Heads or Tails Crawfish Coin all fit easily in a carry-on and cost less than most cocktails in the French Quarter.
What New Orleans souvenirs are good for food lovers?
Tea towels like Believe In The Trinity and the Po'Boy Patent are popular, along with crawfish boil koozies and New Orleans scented candles like Coffee & Beignet.
Leave a comment
All comments are moderated before being published.
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.