“Women and girls all over the world are happy to buy in to the image of the trusting, loving childhood in a safe neighbourhood that Hello Kitty represents. They don't want to let go of that image, so as they grow up, they hang onto Hello Kitty out of nostalgic longing – as if by keeping a symbolic object, they can somehow keep hold of a fragment of their childhood self.”
- Helen McCarthy (taken from Independent UK)
As you might have already known, the Hello Kitty Aesthetic is just another aesthetic that stems out of the Sanrio Aesthetic, born out of the affection that it has from the Sanrio fans that specifically loves Hello Kitty out of all its characters. The Hello Kitty Aesthetic, just like what it suggests, is simply just like the Sanrio Aesthetic: it has something to do with the enthusiasts' fashion sense, the lifestyle that they follow, and the type of aesthetic that they do online through their social media personas.
But what is the Hello Kitty Aesthetic exactly and how did it emerge to being an internet persona that almost every kawaii person loves?
For starters, let us look at the center of the Hello Kitty aesthetic in the first place, Hello Kitty herself.
Hello Kitty, as you already know, is a girl that looks like a cat. Her features center on having a cat-like head, with three strands of whiskers on each of her cheeks, with two dark dots as her eyes and a cute little nose in between. Hello Kitty is also known for her pink ribbon that she wears on the top of her left cat ear and last but never the least, her infamous lack of mouth that made a lot of buzz from many. If you have no slight hint as to what or who Hello Kitty is, here’s some photo reference for you:
Photo taken from the Sanrio Official Website
And yes, this girl right here is the start of the Hello Kitty franchise that this aesthetic is known for.
So why?
I wonder too for a long time as to why Hello Kitty is so famous to the point that even grown-ups just continue to buy the merchandise that Sanrio sells. I did a few research and somehow came to a point of conclusion. Just like with the assumption that we had with the Sanrio Aesthetic, it might have something to do from someone’s childhood, with the unacquired want of wanting to have a Hello Kitty merchandise and now that they are already older, they hoard as much Hello Kitty as they want. Secondly, the anime or cartoons where Hello Kitty stars are very close to the heart. Even watching as a grown-up right now, the anime/shows will always never fail to make you sympathize with the story where Hello Kitty is experiencing from so it is easy to make some form of attachment to her character even when you are not aware of it happening.
Taken from WeHearIt
And lastly, it is simply because Hello Kitty is just so cute. After all, she is considered to be the icon of all merchandising products in Japan, and being the icon of kawaii culture as well, it is not hard to associate yourself with Hello Kitty if you yourself want to be kawaii.
In any way, Hello Kitty is a strong icon in our generation (or even in the next generations) whether we like it or not. It is a fact that we cannot ignore even when we are not aware of it happening.
So what are some elements that make up the aesthetic and how does one even get into the aesthetic in the first place?
The emergence of the aesthetic is not exactly surprising. In fact, noting that Hello Kitty itself is immensely popular, it is no surprise that the Hello Kitty aesthetic is to exist in the first place. And to first fully grasp what the aesthetic itself, of course, one has to understand who Hello Kitty is and love all her aspects.
The users of the Hello Kitty aesthetic are undoubtedly fans of the kawaii queen herself. And you can see this specifically when you explore these users’ social media pages. They dress like her, they make use of color palettes that stay in the line that makes them recognizable as. Their use of the aesthetic is simply an act of adoration for this little girl cat.
Oh, and did you know that Hello Kitty isn't actually a cat? In fact, Hello Kitty is just simply a little girl with anthropomorphic features that makes her looks like a cat but in all actuality, she is actually a girl! That's why you'll find me referencing her in this article as her or girl.
Hello Kitty Fashion
Just like I said earlier, the Hello Kitty Aesthetic is not far from that of the Sanrio Aesthetic. Just like the Sanrio Aesthetic, the Hello Kitty Aesthetic highly recognizes the kawaii way of dressing up. Making use of cute clothing items that emphasize the want to look innocent than they already are. They do this by making use of clothes that reminds anyone of a little girl such as spaghetti-strapped tops. To make it, even more, Hello Kitty refined, they make sure that these tops even have Hello Kitty’s face on it to add to the cuteness value of the attire.
And of course, what’s cute if there are no skirts, am I right? They make use of a-line skirts or school girl skirts that’s highly reminiscent of the kogal fashion where they shorten their skirts to fit the identity that they want to express with.
But just because they want to go cutesy feely doesn’t mean that they can’t explore some variety of from their clothes. What’s a merchandising icon without a fashion brand herself? And yes I am talking about Hello Kitty fashion items (yes they existttt). And of course, you can see them sporting these fashion items: Hello Kitty hoodies, Hello Kitty Tees, Hello Kitty Cropped Tops, even Hello Kitty Pajamas! If you’re a hardcore Hello Kitty fan, dude, you are living the life with all these available merchandises that you can choose from! Heck, there are even a lot of times when the Hello Kitty franchise collaborates with other anime franchises! (or even non-anime ones, sweet! Have you seen this My Hero Academia x Hello Kitty franchise?)
But what’s also nice about the aesthetic is that it is flexible to the user who wants to try it. While it’s true that it sometimes goes hardcore (let’s say Pastel Goth) when it comes to its aesthetics, that doesn’t erase the possibility of going for a casual tone when it wanting to try the aesthetic for yourself. I’m meaning to say simply making use of Hello Kitty patterned hoodies, or Hello Kitty socks is another way of expressing your identity of the aesthetic (that is if you want to identify with it in the first place). The fashion of the aesthetic is so cute so there’s no harm in wanting to try a few pieces or more.
Makeup
And just like the Sanrio Aesthetic, the Hello Kitty Aesthetic makeup also comes with soft girl elements, leaning towards the Pastel Goth style. Well, the makeup doesn’t really have to be exceptionally specific but this is the type of trend that has been going on these days. The makeup can be bright as it can be, making use of bright, pastel colors for shadows or even for their blushes. And of course, the staple lip glosses would never be far out from this one, too. Also, the makeup can also be a bit dark, compounding elements such as dark eyeliner, dark lipsticks, or even an almost emo-like aesthetic with some pink elements attached to it. Whether you’re into the pink or dark Hello Kitty aesthetic, the choice is up to you.
The Meme Culture
Of course, the aesthetic isn’t complete if there isn’t some form of virtual presence, and the Hello Kitty aesthetic sure has their own tastes when it comes to their meme culture. In this case, instead of going for the usual memes, the memes of the Hello Kitty aesthetic centers more on the use of more hearts and blush overlays on top of their photos, and even photos of Hello Kitty herself! Well, even if these pictures aren’t even memes in the first place, they place these overlays on top of their photos because they think it’s adorable! After all, the Hello Kitty aesthetic centers around the idea of cuteness! Adding these cute hearts and blushes encapsulates the cuteness factor of their personalities, even if it’s just through a virtual one.
The aesthetic itself is an interseting one and there's no one way to describe it. However, I am sure that people doesn't mind it even when the aesthetic itself doesn't have an exact definition as long as the people who identifies with it are enjoying theirselves with it. After all, there's no harm in wanting be innocent like Hello Kitty and marvel in her oh-so-adorable ways on your own, too. So what do you think? Do you think you might be interested in this aesthetic yourself? Tell us your thoughts!
1 comment
Cool