Have you guys seen this? Sardines are having a moment in pop culture
Have you guys seen this? Sardines are having a moment in pop culture
by CakeStash
17 Comments
CakeStash
There’s a glimmery new icon swimming into your summer: A sardine.
Apparel and products featuring the petite fish are all over the internet right now. Sardines, known for their long, slender bodies and bulging eyes are the online world’s cutesy representation of the Mediterranean lifestyle. Search interest in finned fashions has reached a record high in May 2025, according to Google Trends, with “beaded sardine bag” increasing 300% since 2004 and the “sardine dress” doubling over the past month. The salty snack, famously sold in bright, decorative tins, is appearing in our hair, on our beds, across our chests and dangling from our ears.
“Everything in the past month has become all things sardines!” another TikTok user said of our current moment.
The trend is similar to previous summertime obsessions with tomatoes and strawberries. On the surface, sardines are the ideal cheeky-cute aesthetic for a summer dress or dining table (look no further than this TikTok user’s sardine-style TJ Maxx haul). It’s summer! Who doesn’t want to blast Addison Rae’s “Aquamarine” and have a little fishy fun?
But we can also swim deeper and see that sardines may say something about society right now: At a time when prices of fashion and home goods are skyrocketing for American consumers, the desire to embrace a tiny fish that packs a punch indicates a desire to live simply and pleasurably.
“Sardines are a very humble fish,” says Guido Bonsaver, professor of Italian Cultural History at the University of Oxford in England. The healthy, cheap snacks speak less to an ethos of luxury, and more so to one of unpresuming. Just a few small fish can be a satisfying meal while the colorful tin gives unadorned “artistic sophistication,” he said. Finding happiness as everyday people within our economic and political context is something we’re all striving for right now, Bonsaver said.
Sardines as a ‘recession indicator’? You bet.
Sardine core evokes our need to embrace a cheaper way of life “and be happy with it. Not take it as a failure, but as a new dimension in which you find a smaller place to be happy,” Bonsaver said. “Sardines are symbolic of that. They’re a very small fish (sold in) very cheap tins. But they can make a great dish.”
The search for balance comes to light especially as “recession indicator” content propagates TikTok, in which Gen Z pokes fun at the idea of items in the cultural zeitgeist as predictors of the U.S. economy crashing.
While some TikTokers argue sardine core shoppers should be forced to actually taste-test sardines, whether you eat, wear or post about the little fishes is your own invitation to make little bits of life feel a bit grander – if not attainable.
And if you’re just into the idea of a “sardine girl summer” and it’s not that deep for you, that’s OK too. Just keep swimming.
retailguy_again
They lost me at “sardine core”. Oh hell no. Please excuse me while I go pickle some onions.
imhoopjones
This is bullshit bc sardines ain’t even cheap anymore
Pondelli-Kocka01
I ate my first sardines in the 1960’s, and never looked back. I’m not alone, the rest of the world’s sardine lover’s will survive this fad, and continue to enjoy our tasty bites, long after TikTok has moved on to the next phase of distraction.
shawn6051
I found and bought a sardine tin beach towel from Target the other day
princessfoxglove
Staaaaaap they’re going to gentrify my grandpa snack
perfectlysanebrain
Hope they have fun, it’s certainly a cute aesthetic with the tins 🙂
69FireChicken
I’ll buy some sardine gear if I see some, and continue to eat them after the fad dissipates.
taylorthestang
I hate this. We need to revive the “sardines are gross ew” agenda that I grew up with. Don’t ox tail my sardines.
Norkestra
Pros: I can get cute sardine designs!!!
Cons: I will probably be shamed for continuing to like them and display them even after the fad is over…
Really have a knack for liking whatever “weird and quirky thing” that then gets picked to be next trend…man I already see people making fun of mushroom stuff – I was a mushroom appreciator/collector way before it got trendy 😭 I don’t say that to say I’m better for being early to the trend, I just hate being caught in the fallout afterwards
Mouthfulofsecretsoup
I have noticed a lot of sardine cross stitch patterns on Etsy lately.
Entheobotanic
I think this is mostly our fault for gathering.
blahblah421
Two things pain me: the blow to my delicate ego when people assume I enjoy sardines simply because I mindlessly follow fads, and the blow to my wallet when the price of sardines goes even higher.
Fanta373
Eff this!!
meowparade
Do these people even like sardines or do they just like the tins and art? If it’s the latter I don’t care, but if they move onto actual sardines I’ll be pissed because sardines are my entire personality!
Spikeintheroad
Am I guilty of trying and enjoying the 8-9 dollar gentrification Fishwife sardines? Yes.
Is my favorite go to tin still a King Oscar’s with Jalapeño that costs like 1.50? Also yes.
I also like beef. Fishwife is a steak to the king Oscar’s ground beef. They fill different niches. As long as there’s still quality cheap ones I’m kind of tickled that the younger generations are interested.
17 Comments
There’s a glimmery new icon swimming into your summer: A sardine.
Apparel and products featuring the petite fish are all over the internet right now. Sardines, known for their long, slender bodies and bulging eyes are the online world’s cutesy representation of the Mediterranean lifestyle. Search interest in finned fashions has reached a record high in May 2025, according to Google Trends, with “beaded sardine bag” increasing 300% since 2004 and the “sardine dress” doubling over the past month. The salty snack, famously sold in bright, decorative tins, is appearing in our hair, on our beds, across our chests and dangling from our ears.
“Everything in the past month has become all things sardines!” another TikTok user said of our current moment.
The trend is similar to previous summertime obsessions with tomatoes and strawberries. On the surface, sardines are the ideal cheeky-cute aesthetic for a summer dress or dining table (look no further than this TikTok user’s sardine-style TJ Maxx haul). It’s summer! Who doesn’t want to blast Addison Rae’s “Aquamarine” and have a little fishy fun?
But we can also swim deeper and see that sardines may say something about society right now: At a time when prices of fashion and home goods are skyrocketing for American consumers, the desire to embrace a tiny fish that packs a punch indicates a desire to live simply and pleasurably.
“Sardines are a very humble fish,” says Guido Bonsaver, professor of Italian Cultural History at the University of Oxford in England. The healthy, cheap snacks speak less to an ethos of luxury, and more so to one of unpresuming. Just a few small fish can be a satisfying meal while the colorful tin gives unadorned “artistic sophistication,” he said. Finding happiness as everyday people within our economic and political context is something we’re all striving for right now, Bonsaver said.
Sardines as a ‘recession indicator’? You bet.
Sardine core evokes our need to embrace a cheaper way of life “and be happy with it. Not take it as a failure, but as a new dimension in which you find a smaller place to be happy,” Bonsaver said. “Sardines are symbolic of that. They’re a very small fish (sold in) very cheap tins. But they can make a great dish.”
The search for balance comes to light especially as “recession indicator” content propagates TikTok, in which Gen Z pokes fun at the idea of items in the cultural zeitgeist as predictors of the U.S. economy crashing.
While some TikTokers argue sardine core shoppers should be forced to actually taste-test sardines, whether you eat, wear or post about the little fishes is your own invitation to make little bits of life feel a bit grander – if not attainable.
And if you’re just into the idea of a “sardine girl summer” and it’s not that deep for you, that’s OK too. Just keep swimming.
They lost me at “sardine core”. Oh hell no. Please excuse me while I go pickle some onions.
This is bullshit bc sardines ain’t even cheap anymore
I ate my first sardines in the 1960’s, and never looked back. I’m not alone, the rest of the world’s sardine lover’s will survive this fad, and continue to enjoy our tasty bites, long after TikTok has moved on to the next phase of distraction.
I found and bought a sardine tin beach towel from Target the other day
Staaaaaap they’re going to gentrify my grandpa snack
Hope they have fun, it’s certainly a cute aesthetic with the tins 🙂
I’ll buy some sardine gear if I see some, and continue to eat them after the fad dissipates.
I hate this. We need to revive the “sardines are gross ew” agenda that I grew up with. Don’t ox tail my sardines.
Pros: I can get cute sardine designs!!!
Cons: I will probably be shamed for continuing to like them and display them even after the fad is over…
Really have a knack for liking whatever “weird and quirky thing” that then gets picked to be next trend…man I already see people making fun of mushroom stuff – I was a mushroom appreciator/collector way before it got trendy 😭 I don’t say that to say I’m better for being early to the trend, I just hate being caught in the fallout afterwards
I have noticed a lot of sardine cross stitch patterns on Etsy lately.
I think this is mostly our fault for gathering.
Two things pain me: the blow to my delicate ego when people assume I enjoy sardines simply because I mindlessly follow fads, and the blow to my wallet when the price of sardines goes even higher.
Eff this!!
Do these people even like sardines or do they just like the tins and art? If it’s the latter I don’t care, but if they move onto actual sardines I’ll be pissed because sardines are my entire personality!
Am I guilty of trying and enjoying the 8-9 dollar gentrification Fishwife sardines? Yes.
Is my favorite go to tin still a King Oscar’s with Jalapeño that costs like 1.50? Also yes.
I also like beef. Fishwife is a steak to the king Oscar’s ground beef. They fill different niches. As long as there’s still quality cheap ones I’m kind of tickled that the younger generations are interested.
I fucking despise TikTok