Hoi Polloi

The owner is very charming. Most items are tres chic! It’s small and very personable. Reminds me of shops in the EU. I can always find something in here that I want to take home.

Hoi Polloi means ‘the many’ in Greek. Well shout it out to the masses: There are many many reasons to buy copious amounts of pretty things from the Hoi Polloi Boutique in New Orleans’ French Quarter. I can be a tad verbose so I’ll cut the long list to 3 reasons: 1. The merchandise — unique, beautiful pieces for any occasion. 2. Exceptional, over and above customer service– Lisa and Caroline are the perfect blend of delightful banter, low-​pressure, honest opinion and excellent taste. 3. Supporting small businesses applies every day, not just November 24^th — it’s what makes the world go ’round. To illustrate the points above, here is a little story: I’d been looking for the perfect dress for a holiday party for oh, approx. 3 months. Only when I walked through the Hoi Polloi door did I find the perfect dress. I don’t live in NOLA, so I bought the dress, stuck it in my suitcase and flew 3,000 miles away to Canada. 2 nights before the event, I take out the dress and realize I grabbed the wrong size (my mistake, not the store’s). I sent a panicked email to Hoi Polloi at 6am EST, got a response 10 minutes later (5am NOLA time!), and 2 hours later the correct dress was on a UPS overnight shipment. These gems of ladies navigated the onerous customs forms — no small feat! Dress arrived in my happy little hands by 10am the next day — with a very sweet card and handwritten note from Lisa and Caroline wishing me a great holiday party. Now I fully recognize that the words above depict ‘first world problems’… poverty not eradicated, dodo birds not brought back, and the climate did not reboot. But rewarding good behavior is always appropriate ;-) For a gift to yourself or a gift for that deserving goddess in your life, Hoi Polloi is your destination in New Orleans.