So, I had this bright idea recently. Sonny Angels. You’ve seen ’em, right? These little fellas are everywhere online, and I happened to be heading to Los Angeles. Figured, hey, it’s LA, big city, should be a piece of cake to find some, maybe even snag a cool one.
I did my homework, or so I thought. Googled a bit, jotted down a few names of shops that supposedly stocked them. My plan was simple: cruise around, pop into these places, and add a few to my collection. Easy, right? That’s what I told myself.
The Hunt Begins (and quickly gets real)
Well, let me tell you, Los Angeles had other plans for my Sonny Angel quest. The very first spot I hit, a trendy little boutique that came highly recommended? There was a line. Yes, a line. Outside. For little plastic dolls. I kid you not. I peeked inside, and it looked like a feeding frenzy. Okay, I thought, maybe that one’s just super popular. On to the next.
Store number two. Walked in, looked around. Nothing. Asked the person at the counter, real polite-like. They just gave me this look, you know? Like I was the tenth person that hour asking the same dumb question. “All out,” they said. “Get shipments, they’re gone in hours.” Great.
This became the theme of my afternoon. I drove from one neighborhood to another. Santa Monica, then over to somewhere near Little Tokyo, then I think I even ended up in some obscure strip mall because a forum post from three months ago said there might be some. More often than not, it was empty shelves or the same tired story: “Sold out,” “Just missed them,” “Try again next week, maybe?”
I started to feel a bit like a detective on a very strange case. Calling stores ahead became my new tactic. Most calls went something like this:
- “Hi, do you happen to have any Sonny Angels in stock?”
- (Long pause or a sigh) “No, sorry.” Click.
A few places were a bit more helpful, telling me when their next shipment might arrive, but it was always a vague “sometime next week” or “we don’t know what we’ll get.” It was starting to feel like a wild goose chase. I was burning gas, wasting time, and my initial excitement was definitely starting to wear thin.
A Glimmer of Hope, and Some Thoughts
Just when I was about to give up, call it a day, and just, I don’t know, go to the beach, I tried one last place. It was a smaller, kinda out-of-the-way shop, the kind you wouldn’t just stumble upon. I’d almost skipped it.
Walked in, not expecting much. And there they were! Not a huge display, mind you. Just a small basket, with maybe a dozen boxes. And a sign: “Limit 2 per customer.” Fair enough, I thought. At least it gives more people a chance.
I picked out my two, feeling like I’d just won a small lottery. Got chatting with the owner while I was paying. Super nice person. They told me it’s been absolutely bonkers. Ever since Sonny Angels blew up on TikTok or Instagram or whatever, they can’t keep them on the shelves. They get collectors coming in daily, people calling from out of state. It’s a whole phenomenon.
So, what did I learn from my Sonny Angel adventure in Los Angeles?
Well, for starters, if you’re looking for them, especially in a big city like LA, you gotta be prepared. It’s not just a casual shopping trip. It’s a hunt. You need patience, persistence, and probably a bit of luck.
And forget just waltzing in and finding exactly what you want. The rare ones? The limited editions? Good luck with that unless you’re seriously connected or willing to pay crazy reseller prices, which I am not. It seems the joy is more in the finding, the little thrill of actually locating some.
It also made me realize how much these little trends can take off. One minute it’s a niche collectible, the next it’s a city-wide scavenger hunt. Wild.
So, yeah, that was my day chasing Sonny Angels around LA. I got two, which is more than I had before. And I definitely got a story out of it. It wasn’t the easy grab-and-go I imagined, but it was… an experience. That’s for sure.
