we are in a squishy recession
i scoured manhattan's chinatown for squishies.
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When I was in elementary school, I was obsessed with squishies. If you weren’t on the side of YouTube that included polymer clay charm updates, decoden tutorials, and Sanrio hauls—you might’ve missed them. Basically, squishies are collectible toys (often in the shape of kawaii characters or food), that are known for their satisfying slow-rising texture and sweet scent.
Although squishies sometimes fall under the fidget spinner/slime realm of toys, they were a cultural phenomenon among kawaii fans in the 2010s. Similar to Sonny Angel lovers today, squishy collectors were constantly attempting to curate their dream collections. But, instead of hoping to pull a Robby—think pink frosted Hello Kitty donuts and Cafe De N slow-rising cream puffs.
the hunt for squishies in chinatown begins
While strolling through Chinatown, an existential realization hit me in the face. With all of the gift shops on Canal Street pushing bootleg Labubus and counterfeit Sanrio merch, there seems to be a serious lack of squishies. Like most Y2K trends, the squishy renaissance has been in full swing on my TikTok for you page. And yet, it seems like the sheer amount of Lafufus outnumber all of the squishies and Statue of Liberty magnets combined.
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So, in hopes of reaffirming my childhood love for squishies, I became determined to track down any and all squishies in Chinatown. As the hub of kawaii gift shops and imported souvenirs, I knew there was at least a sliver of hope that they were within arm’s reach—maybe tucked away in the dusty corner of a T-shirt shop, or discreetly placed among the plethora of unlicensed blind boxes.
spotted: a basket of squishies on bowery
To my surprise, I stumbled into the Sunrise Gift Shop on Bowery and was immediately greeted by a selection of squishies at the very front of the store. Aside from my personal favorite the Bonbonribbon lookalike—I also found a vanilla soft serve cone, a hot pink peach, a baby whale, and an ikura sushi. As for texture, all of the squishies were slow-rising and super soft. Maybe it was just beginner’s luck, but this selection was far more promising than my future stops. Not only were the squishies cute, they were relatively clean—a rare feat given Canal Street’s affinity for sun-bleached T-shirts and dirt-stained merchandise.
that elizabeth street mall
If you’re a Sanrio fan in NYC, you definitely know about the gift shops in the Elizabeth Street mall. Its home to one of the only authorized Sanrio dealers I know of in Manhattan—which has insane prices to prove it. Thankfully, there’s a few other shops located in the mall that sell cheaper, less legit versions of the same products. Throughout my seven years of living in NYC, I’ve always relied on the Elizabeth Street mall for Pompompurin hair clips, hyper-specific gifts for my friends, and the occasional opportunity to treat myself to a new My Melody plush keychain.
Unsurprisingly, the mall didn’t have too many options in the squishy department. However, at one of my favorite shops nestled down in the basement (past the pricey official Sanrio dealer), I spotted a few squishies for sale. After rummaging through most of the store’s inventory and deciding on some sketchy-looking Mofusand x Sanrio hippers, I saw a Cafe De N-esque jumbo strawberry cake and a pink jingle bell. Although not the greatest selection—a selection, at the very least.
nevertheless, she persisted
Every inch of Canal Street is covered with tiny gift shops selling New York City souvenirs and other knick knacks—and while most of them are up to speed on the Labubu hype, the squishies are few and far between. In the blistering 90 degree sun, I continued to pop in to gift shop after gift shop, darting towards the blind boxes only to immediately leave in silent disappointment.
As I started to lose hope, I caught a glimpse of a red Among Us squishy hung below the bootleg Sonny Angels. The lineup of imposter squishies also included a strawberry, a milk carton, and a couple sun-bleached Kuromis. Since I knew squishies were nearby, I pushed to the back of the busy store to see if I could find more.
As I frantically looked around, I finally landed on a rotating display full of squishies. Aside from the expected Among Us dudes and nondescript french fries and fruits, there were also a few LOL Dolls and Shopkins-esque squishies. Unlike the more kawaii-leaning squishies I found at my previous stops, these ones had undeniable iPad kid vibes—but hey, better than nothing.
To sum it up, my search for squishies was endlessly disappointing. Sure, I found a few gems along the way, but nothing that would’ve made nine year old me swoon with excitement. Of course, the hot items at the Canal Street gift shops are constantly cycling in and out—so who knows, maybe we’ll see more squishies popping up soon.
Sadly for us, the squishy renaissance is nowhere near the same level as Labubus or Sonny Angels. But, my little Chinatown escapade might be proof that squishies are in fact still out there—you just have to know where to look. For now, I’m completely content watching squishy collection videos and doomscrolling on Ebay for Hello Kitty donuts.
in middle school my sister had one of the iconic hello kitty donut squishy keychains and we cherished it until another student stole it from her 💔
I used to help my sister when I was in high school and she was in elementary find ibloom squishiest. Such a nostalgic post <3