As Hello Kitty marks her 40th anniversary with an LA convention in her honour, we meet the grown-up super-fans obsessed with the cartoon feline.
Tickets to Hello Kitty Con sold out immediately, with black-market tickets advertised on Craigslist and eBay for as much as £570.
Hello Kitty first appeared on a coin purse in Japan in November 1974, arriving in the US in 1976. Four decades on and that purse was on display, valued at £10,000, and flanked by a crowd of predominantly twenty and thirtysomething women, who had travelled from as far afield as New Zealand and Malaysia to see it at the Hello Kitty Con.
Watch our video below to meet some just some of Hello Kitty's super-fans...
Used in articles
Used in articles
Read our full feature on the Hello Kitty super-fans in the January issue of Marie Claire, on sale now.
I tried Pilates toe taps every day for a week after my instructor recommended it - and I'm blown away
Eager to mix up your Pilates sessions this year? A coach shares the 7 best Pilates exercises for arms she does herself
My goal is soft, dewy and plump skin—this is the product that helps me achieve it
