If you’re anything like me, Hello Kitty owned you when you were a kid. There was one Christmas when every gift I received was Hello Kitty-themed because my relatives knew how locked in I was. I couldn’t exactly tell you why that little cartoon cat had such a grip on me. Mainly she was just cute, and proximity to her image made one feel cute as well. Plus, there is a near-infinite amount of Hello Kitty merch out there. Everything that exists has been made into Hello Kitty merch. 

The pencils I brought to school, the cups I drank from, the mini fridge I kept in my room, and even the toaster I used to toast my bread was Hello Kitty (it imprinted a Hello Kitty face on the toast). Heck, even as an adult I have Levi jeans from the Hello Kitty collection. I can’t shake her, and I don’t want to.