The Hello Kitty World Goods Collection Fair was well underway at the Takashimaya Department Store in Kyoto the afternoon I dropped in to do a little shopping.

This year the advertising slogan adopted as the sale's focus pushed the thirty-one year old franchise in an entirely new direction. The advertsing poster featuring "Charming Kitty" showed her assuming a definitely more sophisticated "come hither" pose than most Americans might consider appropriate for a kitten of her vintage.

While we think of Hello Kitty as appealing to young girls, however, the Japanese have always thought of her as aimed at twenty-something young women during the last stage of assumed innocence prior to their taking on all the responsibilities of "good wife, wise mother" upon marriage.

So, for the Japanese consumer, the idea of a Hello Kitty bra and panty set doesn't seem the least bit out of the ordinary, especially when "Charming Kitty" is evoked as inspiration ...

A MORE "TRADITIONAL" IMAGE OF KITTY AS JAPANESE CULTURAL ICON

HANDBAGS, CLUTCH PURSES AND SATCHELS EMBLAZONED WITH THE HELLO KITTY CREST

THE CHARMING KITTY BRA AND PANTY SET INCLUDES BABY DOLL PAJAMAS AS WELL

- NOVEMBER 26, 2005

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