Hello Kitty fans pounce on convention merchandise

Take the merch-grabbing madness of a Thanksgiving Day sale. Add flouncy skirts and lots of pink. Mix with diabetes-inducing levels of cuteness (not to mention candy). That about sums up Hello Kitty Con, which opened in downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo on Thursday morning and continues through Sunday.

The first convention devoted exclusively to Japan’s famous mouthless icon — not a cat, despite her name — is being held at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s sprawling Geffen building. Its first day of business drew thousands of attendees in all manner of creative Kitty-themed ensembles. Among various high-profile guests was pop star Katy Perry, who arrived for a visit late in the day.

Organizers expect about 25,000 over the four-day span of the convention, which includes performances and interactive experiences. Booths burst with Hello Kitty-themed merchandise: children’s clothing, sporting goods, candy, plush dolls, even Spam musubi-making kits. And there were plenty of goods for adults featuring the Sanrio company’s most profitable character, including cosmetics by Sephora, fashions by the L.A. boutique JapanLA and headsets by Beats by Dre.

Carol Nguyen, manning the Beats booth, said sales had been brisk.

“We brought 250 headsets for the entire weekend, and we’ve already sold more than half,” she said Thursday. “And it’s just after noon.”

At the JapanLA booth, owner Jamie Rivadeneira said she was already selling out of special-edition clothing items that featured Hello Kitty and the Simpsons.

“It’s been crazy!” she said before being dragged away by a client.

Some of the longest lines, interestingly, were for the Hello Kitty tattoo parlor. (No fake tats here; Kitty deals in real ink.) There, singer-songwriter Lolo was getting an image of Hello Kitty tattooed on her side.

“I love her,” said the crooner behind the single “Hit and Run.” “I call my loft my Hello Kitty Palace. And I think this Hello Kitty tattoo is about to be my favorite Hello Kitty thing ever.”

For anyone who was thinking they might pop in to go check it out — sorry, it’s too late. Tickets sold out two weeks ago. But on view through April right next door is the retrospective exhibition “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” at the Japanese American National Museum.