Hello, Cutie!: Adventures in Cute Culture

by Pamela Klaffke

A doe-eyed doll, a smiley-faced cupcake, a sweet plush they're cute?and cute is at the heart of a growing legion of adult collectors and enthusiasts who live and breathe all things cuddly and adorable.

Journalist and writer Pamela Klaffke, author of A Cultural History of Shopping and herself an avid collector of cute since she was a child, takes readers on a rainbow-and-unicorn-filled journey through cute culture, from its origins in Japan where teenaged girls help drive the "cute" economy, to its modern-day manifestations in the bubblegum-colored careers of performers like Katy Perry. The book also delves into the fanatical world of cute creators and collectors, the psychology of nostalgia, and the phenomenon known as creepy/cute. There's also cute food, anthropomorphized animals, and cute superstars such as Blythe, My Little Pony, and Hello Kitty herself. Full-color throughout, the book also includes many photographs of cute objects from the author's extensive personal collection.

As charming and captivating as its subject matter, Hello, Cutie! invites readers to indulge their cuddliest guilty pleasures. It's as cute as can be!

Pamela Klaffke is the author of A Cultural History of Shopping.

Genres: Nonfiction, Pop Culture

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2012

Reviews

[Elizabeth Judd Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, which is still readily available online, suffers quite a bit from age, tho it is only 8 years old. Perhaps it serves as a cautionary tale about emphasising internet culture too much; for while there will always be a cute culture and cute collectors, internet sites and trends come and go. So, this book goes heavy on places like Flickr, which is nothing like it was in 2012; Etsy, which was not yet taken over by resellers at that time; and links to various blogs, online shops, and forums which are either closed now or see a fraction of the activity they once did. It is also rather oddly paced, with some fun stuff (talking to other collectors) and some more serious stuff (is collecting toys a sign of mental imbalance?). Overall, it reads more like a series of articles than a book. However, if you are a cute collector and more specifically a collector of one or more of the toys discussed in the book, you will probably enjoy it on some level. I felt underwhelmed by it, even as a collector, but that’s partly because some of it is quite dated already—I think it would have worked better if it had not been so tied to specific internet sites.

[Valerie K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book to pieces. The photos are incredible, and the author really does an interesting exploration of cute culture, delving into lots of cute toys and dolls, profiling some other collectors and artisans who create cuteness, and talking about the way cute culture seeps into pop culture... I won't go on and on, just trust me, it's a really good read. I bought it as a doll reference book, but loved it even more as a fascinating study. It's a smidge dated, but still relevant enough overall, and can stand as a bit of a time capsule of that period of rabid doll collecting (mid 2000s) as well as a multi-faceted exploration of what we think is cute, and some ideas about why.

[Shant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book hit a surprising amount of topics in a small amount of pages. The history of stuffed animals, the rise of Japan as a pop culture force for the United States, online hobby forums, cute vs unintentionally creepy toys...

[elstaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually ended up enjoying this book much more than I'd expected to. For some reason, while I knew I'd requested this for review (Disclaimer: received this book for free through Goodreads' FirstReads program), I somehow forgot the contents in the (disgracefully numerous) intervening months between request and perusal. When I (finally) picked it up to read, I was under the impression it was a coffee-table, bookstore checkout-line kind of book, with pretty pictures and snide captions (that aren't actually all that funny).

This was not the case. Hello, Cutie! is a thoughtful look at the culture of cute (yes, as it says in the title; yes, sometimes I should pay closer attention to things right in front of my eyes). I was particularly interested by the origin stories for various cute trends, most of which I had no idea even existed. The interviews with various collectors and creators of cute were also enjoyable, although sometimes a little uneven in depth/breadth. I wanted to know more about the things the artists made and less about the business side of making those things (though of course that would be useful information for the aspiring cute creator).

The photos of the various cute things were great - I admit that I had to go back to the beginning to re-read the author's explanation of her photographic techniques (because my brain was all: hey, why are these images fuzzy?), but it worked well with the subject material. While my definition of cute didn't always overlap with Klaffke's (aesthetically speaking), it was still fun to look at some of the toys (objects?) and see how much they were...of their time.

If this had been a coffee-table-type book, I would have been content with just the photographs of the various cute artifacts. As it is, it was a pleasure to find a book where the quality of the writing matched up to the impact delivered by the photographs/visual element.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me realize that I belong to cute culture more than I realized. And while there's not really a unified cute culture (segmented as it is between the Blythe lovers and the Hello Kitty addicts and the pose doll collectors), Pamela Klaffke would be a pretty good representative for the idea of one. Her interests in cute are varied, and I liked the thread she wove through the book about how she and her preteen daughter share a love of cute (though their tastes are not always identical).

I myself am a Strawberry Shortcake fan and collector, and so I really liked the chapter on Jane Pierrepont and her custom SSCs -- especially since Jane took the words right out of my brain when she describes how holding an SSC doll in your hand puts all your troubles out of mind.

The aspect of the book that knocks my rating down is the visual one. The author has photographed parts of her cute collection for the book, and that's great! Her collection is very cool. But she has insisted on photographing it with another collection of hers -- toy cameras and expired film. I yearned for the full-page photos of her vintage and modern toys to be high-definition, so I could admire every detail. Instead, we get the grainy snaps that don't do the artifacts justice. Whenever there is a high-resolution photo in the book, it's a welcome reprieve that makes me wish for more.

There are lots of us who (perhaps secretly) own an item or two with big eyes or that ineffable "awwww" factor. If you're one of us, or you love someone who is, pick up Hello, Cutie!

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won an advance copy of this book through Firstreads. Liked it - worth checking out if you own a Hello Kitty toaster or still have a Care Bear collection tucked away somewhere. The best thing is the photographs, mostly taken by the author (cute dolls and toys against vintage fabric backdrops), and in fact I could have done with more of them and less text (a picture being worth a thousand words and all that). The essays and profiles of collectors/bloggers in the "world of cute" contain some interesting stories (particularly sharing her and her daughter's bonding over cute culture and sometimes differing definitions of what constitutes cute) and cool historical/cultural factoids. Sometimes the text and photos didn't seem to go together (perhaps related to what the author had in her collection, perhaps related to licensing issues) - for example, Klaffke describes her collection of "creepy-cute" animal masks and a series of photos she has taken of them - but I was a bit surprised (and disappointed) that none of them showed up in the book.

[Paper Droids · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever asked yourself questions about cuteness? “Why on earth is that considered cute!?” or “Is this cute?” Almost every day I seem to have at least one of these two questions bearing down on my shopping endeavors. The real question is: Why do I think it is cute?

The good news for those of us who love to read is that Pamela Klaffke, the magistrate of all things cute, has a new book out on what cute culture is all about.

In her book Hello, Cutie: Adventures in Cute Culture, Klaffke embarks on a journey involving all things that could be cute: big eyes, vintage, and kitsch. The thing that I found most appealing about this book was that it also touched on specific segments of the cute culture — different groupings of followings or popular niches: My Little Pony, Lolita, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Tickle Me Elmo. When I was younger, I remember the overwhelming necessity that rose when these popular toys came out.

Complete Review: http://www.paperdroids.com/2012/11/06...

[Batsap · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half stars.

This was such a cute book. Obviously! I liked the layout and Pamela Klaffke's photographs - I love the effect she creates by using old film cameras. The style was very readable and friendly. I felt like I got to know the author and her collection of cute. I also enjoyed the profile pieces on other cute collectors and artists. This was a good introduction to the culture and it helped me better understand and appreciate my own interest in it. I just wish more pictures had been provided for some of the things she wrote about.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't want to sound stupid, but this book is adorable. More importantly, it's smart. Various women are asked why we are drawn to cute objects in our culture throughout the decades-from kewpee dolls to Care Bears, to Strawbeery Shortcake to Anime to lambs. Essays are from business and collectors. Each is thoughtfully and loving written. I was definatly glad I won this one. I would never picked this up in the store.

[Lucid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains a number of essays describing personal experiences with different forms of cuteness. It focuses a lot on dolls (such as Blythe) and aspects of Japanese cute culture.

The content itself is a little a boring at some parts, but not bad. I just wish the pictures within the book were higher quality and actually matched the essays. Many of the photos were grainy and were taken in poor lighting conditions, making them look more creepy than cute.

[Kayla Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this through Goodreads First Reads. Hello, Cutie! is a nice, light read about our culture of cute! It was totally fun but also made perfect sense. I'm definitely one of the people who love all things adorable, so I was glad to get the chance to read something like this.

[Mills College Library]

790.132 K631 2012

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, indeed. Great photos, especially.