The Shopping Guide: Lima

Lima

boutiques are known for their wonderful mix of folk traditions and modern flair. Look for stylish housewares, colorful accessories and alpaca wool and pima cotton clothing with beautiful embroidery. Here is our insider guide to Lima shopping, including 10 can't-miss boutiques.

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“Devoted to Design” and “Committed to Heritage” are the mottos of Escudo’s founders, Chiara and Guiliana Macciavello. The two Peruvian sisters, who studied design in London and worked for European fashion companies before returning to Lima to open Escudo, are fiercely committed to creating stylish modern clothing that is based on exceptional Peruvian alpaca and cotton fibers and the master craftsmanship of their team in the rural mountains of Huancavelica province. Their designs blend a trendy fashion sense with folkloric charm, so you may find a jean jacket with traditional Peruvian embroidery or soft alpaca ponchos in traditional neutral colors and with a bright vivid trim.

Indigo Housed in a former residence on a quiet street in San Isidro, this lovely boutique sells high-quality crafts from around Peru displayed in small rooms, each devoted to a different category: jewelry, handbags, alpaca scarves and shawls, and pillows and housewares.

Dédalo’s home—an attractive colonial-style mansion in Barranco, with wide columns and massive wood doors guarded by Botéro-esque cow statues—signals the high-quality of the goods inside. What it doesn’t indicate is just how large the store is. Dédalo is really a mini department store purveying the best of Peru’s products, including colored glass and woodwork, textiles, leather and fashion from up-and-coming Peruvian designers. One room is dedicated to Recurseo, a regional enterprise that uses recycled materials in all its products, from purses decorated with balloons to chairs constructed from corrugated cardboard. In the jewelry room, look for the stylish horn rings. If you have time to hit only one shop in Lima, make it Dédalo since they carry items from many of the top independent brands such as Escudo and Jallpa Nina.

Related: 5 Can't-Miss Lima Restaurants

Cajamarca 219

This fabulous concept store was opened in 2014 by French designer Thibault van der Straete, who lives in Peru and works with local artisans to create alpaca and pima cotton clothing and housewares, ranging from ceramics to furniture. He began creating fine Peruvian products to export to Europe, which he still does, but this former colonial house now serves as a wonderful showcase for his work.

El Cacaotal A chocolate tasting room and boutique, El Cacaotal was opened by American expat Amanda Jo Wildey in 2016. While working on her master’s in anthropology in Lima, Wildey focused on cacao traditions in Peru and became an expert in the growing and making of chocolate throughout the country. Naturally, she turned her knowledge and passion into a business, selling artisanal bars from individual farmers and producers and helps raise the profile of Peruvian chocolate around the world.

Related: City Secrets from Lima Insiders

Founded in 1988 by Marilyn Lizarragga, Jallpa Nina is an artistic ceramic studio that specializes in both colonial styles and contemporary ones, with all the pieces made by hand in a workshop in the Lurin Valley. American designer Jonathan Adler helped put the workshop on the global map when he began importing its designs. The three-story showroom in Miraflores displays a wide range of products including the glazed colonial line, iconic Buddha heads and table top lines created for such high-end Peruvian hotel companies as Belmond and Inkaterra.

Artesanias Las Pallas This showroom of Peruvian crafts is curated by Mari Solari, one of the world's most prominent authorities on folk art. Artesanias has a great curated selection of jewelry, statues, textiles, woven goods, paintings, sketches and more.

Contact Indagare for assistance booking a trip to Lima. Our travel specialists can match you with the right hotel for you, plan great meals and activities and arrange behind-the-scenes access.