Photos by Dana Rodriguez, Monica Coy-Miras and Me
Today I’m sharing some pictures from my trip to Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum(JANM) in Little Tokyo. Visiting this exhibit was like a dream come true to me because I’ve loved Hello Kitty ever since I could remember. When I was a little girl I would beg my mom to buy me Hello Kitty stationery at the Sanrio store, but she would refuse because she was sure that it was a phase that I would grow out of. It could be because I’m still a 10-year-old girl stuck inside a 26-year-old woman’s body, but I never did grow out of my obsession. I was the happiest girl in the world exploring this exhibit, and I’m glad that there were plenty of other grown women who shared my enthusiasm so that I didn’t have to feel self-conscious about it.I apologize in advance for the poor quality of some of these photos. It seems like lately I keep forgetting to haul around my DSLR and have to resort to taking photos with my iPhone. I promise to be better about that in the future! That being said, I hope you enjoy this post!
My friends Monica and Dana were my partners in crime during my trip to the exhibit. We’re all wearing the cute Hello Kitty headbands that were handed out to all visitors. It was quite entertaining to see people still wearing them once we left the exhibit and were walking around Little Tokyo.
The exhibit featured many art pieces inspired by Hello Kitty, and it was fun to see the many different ways artists have incorporated the iconic character into their work.
My favorite part of the exhibit was the display of fashion inspired by Hello Kitty. Although I don’t think I’d ever leave the house wearing any of these dresses, I think they are so amazing. My favorite had to be the dress made completely out of Hello Kitty plush toys. I can’t even begin to imagine how much work it took to put that together.
The exhibit did an incredible job at featuring all sorts of Hello Kitty products from the past 40 years. I loved being able to look at Sanrio stationery made in the 70s, and it was amazing to see how many other types of products have been inspired by Hello Kitty. Can you believe that they even have Hello Kitty braces? Why weren’t those an option when I was a teenager?
I loved all the details of the exhibit, especially these cute Hello Kitty bow decals on the floor that served to guide visitors from one section to another.
I still can’t get over the fact that Hello Kitty is a little girl and not a cat! According to the exhibit she is 5 apples tall, and all visitors had the opportunity to see how they measured in comparison to the character.
I hope that you enjoyed these photos and that they inspire you to visit the Hello Kitty exhibition before it closes in April. If you cannot make it down in time, I still encourage you to make a trip to the JANM if you’re exploring Little Tokyo. The museum always has an interesting exhibit and it’s a great place to learn about Japanese American history.
xoxo,
Helen