Friday, July 29, 2011

Hello Kitty Shopping Across the United States!

HELLO SHOPPING!!!

My pursuit of all things Hello Kitty has led me to many different stores, which sell many different sorts of Hello Kitty items all over the country.  NYC, LA, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Cleveland...  The list goes on and on.  When I am on vacation, I usually will check to see if there is a Sanrio Store in the area.  If there are no Sanrio stores, I will check for authorized dealers in the area.  In addition, if it is a big city with a Chinatown, I will try my hardest to make a trip there to hunt for Hello Kitty.  It seems like the stores in Chinatown that sell Hello Kitty have the best and most unusual items. 

SEATTLE, WA
Here I am shopping for Hello Kitty in Seattle’s Chinatown/International District in 2008. We were at the wonderful Uwajimaya Village.   My boyfriend Jonathan snapped this photo.  Notice how excited my friend Michael is.  I, on the other hand was very excited to be there!  Just look at that big smile on my face!  This place seemed to specialize in Hello Kitty bags and school supplies. 


SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Below you will see a picture of me hugging a giant stuffed Hello Kitty at the (now defunct) two-story-super-sized Sanrio store in Union Square section of San Francisco.  Imagine my surprise and delight, when I saw the store had two floors of Hello Kitty greatness!  My friends were a little annoyed with the amount of time I wanted to spend going through each and every item on both floors.  I think at one point they left and came back.  I’m not sure how long they were gone, since I was in the Hello Kitty shopping zone!  I believe this picture was taking way back in 1999.  Sadly, the two story Sanrio store is no longer there. 

NEW YORK, NY - SANRIO STORE
Finally, a trip to New York City in 2006.  Not only did I got to the Sanrio Store that is located near Times Square but my boyfriend and I also spent some time in Chinatown as well.  (He's a really good sport when it comes my Hello Kitty addiction!)  Here I am, very excited about being at the store near Times Square, despite the construction going on outside.  (Note the Blue Hello Kitty messenger bag I am sporting!)


NEW YORK, NY - CHINATOWN

This is a shop in Chinatown, NYC, that sells a ton of Hello Kitty items.  I did purchase that very cute, pink, Hello Kitty jewelry box that is to my left.  It is perfect for holding all of my sparkly Hello Kitty jewelry.