Back in my day, when we had to buy birthday gifts for friends, instead of turning to the Internet, we headed on over to Elizabeth Center (EC). Honestly, I'm not old at all, but it certainly feels that way when you're surrounded by middle schoolers and high schoolers on the lower level.
Elizabeth Center
13 Elizabeth St
New York, NY 10013
EC use to be my one-stop shop place to buy cute Hello Kitty, Sanrio merchandise. They have huge Hello Kitty plush dolls, Hello Kitty stationary, Hello Kitty cups, Hello Kitty utensils, Hello Kitty picture frames, Hello Kitty raincoats, Hello Kitty lamps, Hello Kitty pens, and so on. Hanna Montana has nothing on Hello Kitty.
To simply say that the lower level of EC is a gift shop is like saying the "Internet is a series of tubes" (inside joke about Ted Stevens).
I don't go in there so much anymore, but I love window shopping because I always find interesting novelty items. Yesterday, I visited EC while waiting for my one-hour photos, and I was surprised to find:
I don't want to mislead you into thinking that EC sells suggestive t-shirts, but it has changed over the years, and they offer more than just Sanrio merchandise.
I found myself oogling over:
If I had a baby, I would definitely cut and paste their faces into a small picture frame of an animal. If you look closely, you can see they offer a variety of animals: elephant, squirrel, chicken, etc.
If you ever wanted a phone strap with a cleaning function:
The bigger versions of the phone straps are actually tissue holders.
I laughed a little when I saw how careful they were not to use trademark names. Instead of calling it cup n' noodles, it's called cup udon. And instead of Starbucks, it's Stardust.
Step aside Hello Kitty, there's a new star in town:
What is it, you ask? It's called Unchi, that's Japanese for poop.
I could go on and on about all the novelty items in EC, but the pictures do not do justice to just how unique these things are. Below is a list of just the few things EC has:
- Video game store
- Engravings of names and pictures on jewelry and crystals
- Precious Moments collectibles
- Arts and crafts, and DIY jewelry kits (1.00 each)
- Jewelry (including hypoallergenic ones)
- Gundam and anime figurines
- Baby clothes
- Sticker pictures (on the upper level)
- Aura crystals and aura pictures (on the upper level)
- Clothing stores (on the upper level)
I'm not even sure how to categorize all the things that are in there, but if you visit, be sure to bring a keen eye and an open mind.
Elizabeth Center
13 Elizabeth St
New York, NY 10013
EC use to be my one-stop shop place to buy cute Hello Kitty, Sanrio merchandise. They have huge Hello Kitty plush dolls, Hello Kitty stationary, Hello Kitty cups, Hello Kitty utensils, Hello Kitty picture frames, Hello Kitty raincoats, Hello Kitty lamps, Hello Kitty pens, and so on. Hanna Montana has nothing on Hello Kitty.
To simply say that the lower level of EC is a gift shop is like saying the "Internet is a series of tubes" (inside joke about Ted Stevens).
I don't go in there so much anymore, but I love window shopping because I always find interesting novelty items. Yesterday, I visited EC while waiting for my one-hour photos, and I was surprised to find:
I don't want to mislead you into thinking that EC sells suggestive t-shirts, but it has changed over the years, and they offer more than just Sanrio merchandise.
I found myself oogling over:
If I had a baby, I would definitely cut and paste their faces into a small picture frame of an animal. If you look closely, you can see they offer a variety of animals: elephant, squirrel, chicken, etc.
If you ever wanted a phone strap with a cleaning function:
The bigger versions of the phone straps are actually tissue holders.
I laughed a little when I saw how careful they were not to use trademark names. Instead of calling it cup n' noodles, it's called cup udon. And instead of Starbucks, it's Stardust.
Step aside Hello Kitty, there's a new star in town:
What is it, you ask? It's called Unchi, that's Japanese for poop.
I could go on and on about all the novelty items in EC, but the pictures do not do justice to just how unique these things are. Below is a list of just the few things EC has:
- Video game store
- Engravings of names and pictures on jewelry and crystals
- Precious Moments collectibles
- Arts and crafts, and DIY jewelry kits (1.00 each)
- Jewelry (including hypoallergenic ones)
- Gundam and anime figurines
- Baby clothes
- Sticker pictures (on the upper level)
- Aura crystals and aura pictures (on the upper level)
- Clothing stores (on the upper level)
I'm not even sure how to categorize all the things that are in there, but if you visit, be sure to bring a keen eye and an open mind.
