The Cotton Gin

This is a great souvenir/​cool stuff shop. I can guarantee you will find something for everyone and anyone at this place. Merchandise is fairly priced as well. The store is seemingly endless, each room leads to more sections. You could easily spend at least an hour here. There is also a wine cellar.

Bottom Line: Men’s and women’s clothing, housewares, beach souvenirs and Christmas decorations and Sanctuary Wines fill the Nags Head location to the gills.
The original Cotton Gin is located in Jarvisburg, NC as you approach the Outer Banks from the state line. It can be tricky to access that location during the peak season because it’s either on the wrong side of the road (on the north side of 158) when you are headed to the beach or too early to be opened when you are leaving the beach. Luckily, over the decades The Cotton Gin has expanded to Nags Head, Corolla and recently Duck.
The Nags Head location is located on the bypass (northbound side) across from the Outer Banks Mall around the 15 milepost. It’s a stand-​alone building with its own lot. Here is what you can expect to find here:
— Men’s and women’s clothing/​sportswear including brands like Vineyard Vines.
— Accessories for ladies like Spartina bags, Vera Bradley wallets and Mud Pie scarves. They also have fashion jewelry and Pandora.
— Christmas decorations including Olde World Christmas ornaments.
— Beach memorabilia like reprints of the Wright Brothers 1903 flight, Tervis cups, OBX thirst and other seashore themed things.
— Home décor which of course includes cotton linens, table clothes, napkins, etc.
— Sanctuary Vineyards wines.

This is one of the best gift shops in the OBX. They have interesting home décor, a large selection of cool t-​shirts, a second floor that is entirely christmas stuff, and even free wine tastings from Sanctuary Vineyards. The Cotton Gin isn’t a wine shop but they do carry the full lineup from Sanctuary. If you like white wine the Sweet Serenity was the favorite of my girlfriend and I’s. The service here was good and though the prices were a tad higher than ideal on some of the items the shop overall was great and I’m glad I had the chance to stop by.

Very nice store, eclectic assortment of merchandise, but very expensive.

Such a great store filled with beach-​treasures that are far from your typical «trashy» souvenirs. We collect European glass ornaments, and the Cotton Gin has a great collection of Old World and Radko ornaments — many of them beach-​themed which is a great way to preserve your vacation memories year after year. We always drop quite a bit of money here on ornaments.
The staff is great here as well — very sweet older women usually at the register. My only complaint would be that this store is VERY full of merchandise — which adds to the charm to me. However, I saw a lady with a walker who was having an extremely tough time navigating the store, which I didn’t think was cool at all. ADA has regulations for 36 — 48″ aisle widths so that ALL can have access. I think they should make more of an effort.
But all-​in-​all, I love this store and hope I’m not in a wheelchair anytime soon so I can continue to enjoy it!