Squishies and Silly Bandz: tween playground crazes

Tweens from our Network have been telling us about Silly Bandz, a massive craze doing the rounds at schools. Apparently though, the next big thing in the UK is set to be Squishies.

First with Silly Bandz. They are brightly-coloured elastic bands that come in loads of different shapes, from hearts to dollar signs. You wear them around your wrist where they look like wiggly bands.

Bizarrely, from Lounge HQ we have noticed young professionals in London wearing them. According to the New York Daily News, young professionals in America (and apparently now London too) are using Silly Bandz to flirt in bars and clubs playground-style by giving them to attractive strangers. Also, SJP has been spotted wearing them.

However, Silly Bandz are primarily a tween fad despite some adults jumping on the bandwagon. Like so many schoolyard crazes, they were big in America first. Lounge Trend Hunter Kate Perutz, 24, based in Chicago and London, tells us the next big thing for UK tweens will be Squishies - squishy pencil toppers.

Kate tells us, "I spent the weekend with my tween cousins and Silly bandz and Squishies are both really cool in America. Don't quite get it myself, but then again I guess we had Beanie Babies and gelly pens...!"

As with so many schoolyard fads, the appeal of Silly Bandz and squishies is just as much in collecting and trading them with classmates as in the items themselves. Tweens undeniably find them fun, but the worth of items like Silly Bandz and Squishies lies equally in their significance as classroom currency - a sign of belonging and being part of a collective.