I quit

 

Are you awake now?

Haha sryy for provoking with such a title...I felt a bit funny today.

Although the title is not exacttlyy wrong.

The past few days there were heavy discussions about the gaijin gyaru community and their lack of commitment (generalized, we talked about more) but also confessions about imposter syndrome and how each of us has more interests beside gyaru.

I know this topic about what is gyaru and what is not and how it developed etc. is super old at this point but still a prevailing discussion for good reasons.

Those who have read my what is gyaru to me rant know my positions to this topic.

But I think we should dwell a little deeper.

"A lot of gaijins would start with "gyaru is a fashion subculture from japan,..." but when you look towards japan the replies vary from "gyaru is freedom" to "gyaru is something I want to do all my life".

and I think this is mostly because the approach to being gyaru is driven by a different motivation.

In japan when you bleach your hair and get a tan you pretty much already stand out, whereas in western country you will look like a lot of the people here."

What most gaijins drive to the style is the fashion!

 And although there are casual variants it is true that to gyaru style there are distinct factors that makes them stand out from the other.

Gyaru style is either sexy or playful, they like to be extravagant.

There are some inspo with maxidresses or long pants but overall it's countering modest style options.

And I noticed that a lot now after wearing modest fashion the past years.

I have trouble coding most of my clothes because they're not having the wild,sexy and free vibe to it.

There are kawaii gyaru substyles that have less of the sexy vibe but they are still very playful and bold.

Many of my clothes are not that, they resemble more a toned down grey little mouse.

(ok, maybe minus the grey...I like colors).

Even if in japan the gals don't have to be OTT you can still distinguish them in their style options from the modest looking styles.

So I would say that my prior statement is just half true.

"But this fashion has more or less already died out."

This is what I will stand by!

Nowadays the gyaru from japan have a sexy and wild style but get most of their clothings from places like Shein.

agejo, tsuyome, himekaji etc. is DEAD.

Not that you can't wear it anymore or can't revive it but it won't be the same like it was some years ago.

Gyaru used to wear current trends and styles, they were trendsetters.

These barely exist anymore, beside some knock-offs online or 2nd-hand stuff you can get.

And for someone who has been doing the style for quite some time and looked up into it even longer, you get bored.

You get sick of seeing the same things over and over again.

"They did not try to "look gyaru", they just were gyaru and wore whatever they wanted.

Very often the gals wore other styles (i.e. lolita) beside gyaru and nobody cared."

This is a statement from me that makes the whole topic the most difficult but it is on point.

I think a lot of the gyaru inspo we got is not even definitely gyaru.

They are just pics from blonde jp girls with makeup wearing the current trends or having a distinct style that looked amazing.

What exactly makes them gyaru beside beeing a blonde jp girl?

I am having like a total mental crisis the past few days because of this...I think lots of the "gyaru" are just fashion passionate girls that get some of their inspo from gyaru.

If I take their pics and imagine a normie western girl in this outfit, it suddenly is just that...a normie outfit.

"The gyaru makeup that was popular around 2010s was also very similiar to the general "kawaii" makeup style you could find within every other culture like i.e. decora.

The first couple issues of Larme looks a lot like the late days of himekaji gyaru."

I think nowadays you get a lot of makeup inspo flushing online from xiaohongshu instead of the typical kawaii sources from japan because japan is busy with being ryousangata or jirei.

The current Larme issues also look very different from what it used to be..

After #045 the inspo is mainly jirei, y3k and cyber stuff.

Is larme dead now? Is gyaru dead?

Fashion and styles change...the people move on, the newer generations create new stuff.

Maybe we just get old and hang on to our old stuff and it is not about gyaru itself.

"It certainly looks good and I like to wear it from time to time but I guess we should become more open-minded towards a modern approach.

I also like to encourage gaijins to step out of the "substyle" thinking pattern and dare to wear something non-gyaru within their own style."

 I think that I was correct on this one.

We should wear non-gyaru as well if we want to.

We don't have to hang on to gyaru as if it is a dead horse but a refreshing change from time to time.

Now the last point that will explain my choice for this title:

Rey said "If you have to say you are something, then you are not" and I was thinking about this quote a lot. Most of the time the gals back then never said they were gyaru.

And we talked a lot on discord about how we all are multi-faceted people with other interests.

I also questioned a lot wether I can count myself as gal or not.

I think the term just fits to me but I also don't want to care anymore.

I have other interests, I get most of my style inspo from xiaohongshu instead of gyaru or even japan in general. I feel constricted currently when choosing outfits because I felt like now that I want to wear gyaru again I have to change my style but almost have no clothes for it..or don't want to be resticted like this and wear my other stuff too.

Maybe I am not gyaru after all...but whatever.

I reject the term now.

I don't only want to feel free within gyaru but feel free as a person in a whole.

This blog used to be a private blog all the time and especially now I don't post gal content only but I will expand it from now on.

This is my space and I want to show the other facets of me as well when it comes to style.

I am rinmero, I am a gaijin gyaru and I have a passion for fashion.

How are you? haha.

I also feel like changing my blog design again..whoop.

But that's what I love to do...switching it up every now and then <3

That's for now, I ordered something online this morning.

I just wanted to check about you for inspo and I saw the capes I put in my favourites from Ossha (that I could never afford anyway) were on sale, 80% off!!!

It was an expensive purchase now but I had to take them now..they have sooo many pretty color and style variations it was hard to choose.

I don't have any budget for more shopping now and if, only small things but I will calm down for now...the month has just started...

There is sun shining outside again <3

Maybe I will change my closet after all and take my summer stuff out...I can still throw a warm cardigan on top to get around the cold days now.