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Hello Kitty: thirty years of cute

Published by Becky S November 1st, 2004 in miscellaneous fluff

Hellokitty_head Happy thirtieth birthday to Hello Kitty, that irresistible, mouthless feline who brings out the inner consumer whore in all of us. Seriously, the Sanrio employee who thought up Hello Kitty should get the Nobel Prize in marketing genius.

My friend Superwoman, maker of apple-almond cheesecakes, organizer of book clubs, and sender of good links, has provided a link to the Hello Kitty charity auction, which benefits UNICEF and Target House. Sample items:

The holidays are almost here, so I’d like all of you to know that I wear a US size 8 stiletto boot. Also, I know that it is illegal and wrong to put Hello Kitty’s face on this weblog; her cuteness makes me criminal.

UPDATE: Did I mention that I can’t see any of the auction pictures? IT security dude and his cohorts apparently think that Hello Kitty auctions are not work-related. A new low in soulless office park.

UPDATE II: It’s true that Superwoman has some latent Hello Kitty hostility, which surfaced when she gouged out Hello Kitty’s eyes at my birthday party. But I’m still glad she sent the auction link.

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11 Responses to “Hello Kitty: thirty years of cute”  

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  1. Gravatar Icon 1 Superwoman Nov 1st, 2004 at 12:52 PM

    I wonder if they are auctioning Hello Kitty thongs?!

  2. Gravatar Icon 2 Becky Nov 1st, 2004 at 12:54 PM

    I didn’t see any. Which is fine, since I already have a pair.

  3. Gravatar Icon 3 TPB, Esq. Nov 1st, 2004 at 1:29 PM

    I’m still working my head around the whole Sidney Poitier thing. It could be worked into a great con, a la “Six Degrees of Separation.”

  4. Gravatar Icon 4 Sassy J Nov 1st, 2004 at 2:00 PM

    Important semantic question–is it really a “pair” of thongs? I know we say a pair of underwear when we mean one item of clothing–and why is that? But thongs are so small to begin with, can they possibly constitute a pair?

    I heard an interesting blurb on the radio the other day about Hello Kitty–the reason she is so appealing, is because she is expressionless–so you can project whatever emotion you want onto her (vs. other cartoon characters that have a specific emotion). A feline Tabla Rasa.

  5. Gravatar Icon 5 Tintil Nov 1st, 2004 at 2:46 PM

    I’m facing a dilemma! Do I go for the Hello Kitty thong, the Inflatable Mr Stud Sexy Printed Undies or should I just get some thermal long-johns and stop having impure thoughts?

  6. Gravatar Icon 6 Becky Nov 1st, 2004 at 2:52 PM

    Good question, Sassy. All hail Google cache.

    Answer Man, my wife asked me an interesting question tonight and we pondered over possible answers with no one really good one. Why do we say “a pair of underwear” when in fact it is only one? A pair of socks is understood but not the underwear. Help us out.

    - Stumped

    We usually refer to things worn on the legs as “pairs”: pants, trousers, jeans, shorts, knickers, breeches, tights, corner. Yet we never talk about wearing a “pair of shirts” or “pair of coats.”

    The historical reason for this, according to World Wide Words, is that pants were originally made in two pieces — one for each leg — and put on separately. (Shirts were made in one piece.) “Underwear” simply follows the tradition for below-waist apparel.

    Tintil, though your question is also good, I fear that Google does not have the answer. Your answer lies within.

  7. Gravatar Icon 7 Dana (American Evacuee) Nov 1st, 2004 at 2:55 PM

    she looks good for 30–think she’s had work done??

  8. Gravatar Icon 8 Clair Nov 1st, 2004 at 4:05 PM

    How does it eat?

  9. Gravatar Icon 9 Jen Nov 1st, 2004 at 11:37 PM

    I offer this:

    Which Hello Kitty Are You?

  10. Gravatar Icon 10 Becky Nov 2nd, 2004 at 5:14 AM

    Dana, I don’t know if HK has had work done, but she should get one of those collagen lip injections. As Clair points out, you can barely see her mouth.

    According to Jen’s quiz, I’m “Hello Kitty Water Fairy: Average is a good thing.” Blech.

  11. Gravatar Icon 11 Clair Nov 2nd, 2004 at 11:21 AM

    I don’t think it has a mouth at all. I think it is some kind of mutant created by atomic testing 30 years ago. Kinda like Godzilla but without all the scales and fire breath.

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