New York - May 30, 2000

Kitty! Allo?

Hello Kitty Toaster

She’s expressionless (no mouth and beady eyes). She’s stylish. (That bow! That jumper!) And she’s got a cute button nose.

No, we’re not talking about Anna Wintour, darlings! We’re not talking Kathy Lee Gifford. We’re talking Hello Kitty!

To be fair, Vogue was prescient enough to put Hello Kitty on the pages of its June issue, and what we saw made our crummy day, well … more crumby.

A Hello Kitty toaster.

That’s right, toaster. In addition to producing all those pens, paper, and colorful bits that decorate your desk drawers, the fine folks at Sanrio have decided to add a bit of whimsy to the breakfast table with an adorable pink-and-white Hello Kitty toaster.

Priced at around $35 (plus shipping) the breakfast box comes with six shade settings (from Icelandic white to Sao Paulo bronze), a removable crumb tray, and a defrost mechanism.

Best of all, the cute thang toasts a Hello Kitty face onto every slice.

Available online at shop.sanrio.com.