10 Best Shopping in Palm Springs, Palm Springs and the Desert Resorts

About 20 miles west of Palm Springs lies one of California's largest outlet malls, which hawks everything from bikinis and bags to sunglasses and stilettos. The complex's 180 stores include Jimmy Choo, Samsonite, Levi's, Saint Laurent, J. Crew, Armani, Gucci, lululemon, and Prada.

Find coffee-table books, greeting cards, home decor with cheeky and naughty sayings, candles, wearable souvenirs, and other eclectic items at this fun gift shop that celebrates the area's retro-modern lifestyle and desert dolce vita.

This 10,000-square-foot marketplace filled with boho bits and baubles, prints and other art, clothing, foodstuffs, dried bouquets, candles, and toiletries—created mostly by artisans and makers from Joshua Tree, the Coachella Valley, and elsewhere in California—feels like a brick-and-mortar Etsy. 

Celebrity designer Trina Turk's candy-color empire takes up a city block in the Uptown Design District. Designed by Kelly Wearstler, the light and bright adjoining showrooms create the perfect platform to display the splashy patterns, vibrant colors, and sophisticated poolside cocktail party aesthetic Trina Turk is famous for—in her resortwear as well as her accessories, pets, and home lines. It's the place to go if you forgot to pack a floppy hat, caftan, or a two-piece floral cabana set.

Like-minded boutiques, secondhand shops, furniture stores, galleries, and lively restaurants line this stretch of street north of downtown. The theme here is decidedly retro. Some places sell mid-century modern furniture and decor and photos of neon signs and stylish soirees while others carry vintage (or vintage-knockoff) designer clothing, pool party gear, and estate jewelry. One spot definitely worth a peek is The Shag Store, the gallery of fine art painter Josh Agle. If you dig the mid-mod aesthetic, breeze through the furnishings at Towne Palm Springs or a La MOD INC. Find several independent sellers under one E. Stewart Williams–designed roof at The Shops At Thirteen Forty Five.

A collective of galleries such as Galleria Marconi and Artize Gallery, working studios, and art-adjacent businesses like framers showcase works across multiple disciplines by a number of highly acclaimed artists. Support local artists new to the biz at the Stephen Baumbach Gallery. On the first Wednesday of the month, the galleries stay open from 5 to 7 for Artwalk.

In the Uptown Design District, Flannery Exchange is a photogenic mixed-use minimall with on-trend boutiques, an art gallery, the Café La Jefa coffeehouse, and Bar Chingona (which serves modern Latin food and sassy cocktails from an Airstream trailer). Grab a chaga-charged latte to sip and stroll through the shelves of stationery (Bobo Palm Springs), zero-waste goods (it refills), vintage threads (Joyful Living), and jewelry and gifts (Covet). Or pop open a canned kombucha to enjoy in a swinging chair on the sunny patio. Each vendor has different hours so check before you go.

Just off I–10 near the Desert Hills outlet mall, stock up on dried fruit, nuts, candy, and other road-trip treats at what was once a roadside stand owned by the folks who invented trail mix. Although the café serves sandwiches and other quick bites, a must-order is the date shake made with caramel-tasting, California-grown, Deglet Noor dates. (A vegan version is available, too.)

At this downtown fine-foods market, shelves and displays are filled with small-batch snacks, sauces, and sweets that make great edible souvenirs. There's also a selection of wine and beer, and the deli case—well-stocked with nitrate-free cold cuts, cheeses from boutique creameries around the world, pickled veggies, and fancy condiments—provides the starting point for yummy sandwiches and trendy charcuterie boards that would be perfect for a picnic or a pool party. 

Several independently owned, high-end, and Goop-approved boutiques coexist in an iconic E. Stewart Williams building to supply those with good taste in need of ceramics, abstract art, statement swimwear and sunglasses, planters, linens, throw pillows, jewelry, and so much more.