So actually I wanted to start scanning today but for some reason I just cannot install my scanner for my laptop. The loading symbol is there and nothing moves.
So I decided to ramble a little bit on here.
I figured since gyaru itself is on a turning point rn, especially in the western world and because I kinda changed since last time I might wanna update my whole opinion about the culture and so on.
This is not a "how to" or a research article but rather a personal opinion on what I could gather about gyaru culture over the years.
Let's face it: gyaru is not as popular as it used to be, the popularity is rising in japan again and in the western world it also became a known term but the whole approach couldn't be more different.
Also how gaijins respond to what is gyaru differs a lot with the japanese responses.
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.
Japanese gyaru often took their inspo from the western world.
So for a gaijin there has to be done "more" to be recognized as a gyaru.
Probably also the reason why the OTT styles are more popular.
It's the fashion that will distinct a gyaru from other western people in the first place.
But this fashion has more or less already died out.
Beside the more kuro, tsuyome or 96gal look you can barely find new clothes if you are into the heisei fashion. It takes more creativity to find pieces that match the vibe they had.
Other than that, 2nd hand stops are the only places to find clothes.
More often these are either half broken already due to their quality or they won't fit most western gyaru.
It distorts your perception of your own body and won't do any good to your mental health.
Moreover it is not favourable for our body types.
When I quit gyaru in 2022 and stopped wearing old brand fashion I became more content with my body and it has also broaden my creativity toward fashion.
I stopped looking for "the gyaru" pieces and to fit within a frame but rather experimented with colors, shades and cuts to make a matching outfit that looks good.
Now, I still have all my gyaru magazines (and I will keep them). I look at it in a different way.
They did exactly the same.
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.
They experimented with different looks and sometimes combined them, different fashions overlapped and melted together.
If the gyaru from japan had always worn the same thing over and over again, there wouldn't be that many substyles!
Very often it was more about vibe.
When I take a look at my Ranzuki, my Ageha and my Egg magazines.
same year, same month...
They would both feature elegant outfits, rock outfits, casual and also romantic or hime outfits.
But every approach would be different, resulting in unique and individual outfits.
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.
You could have printed these outfits in ageha and everybody would accept it as being gyaru.
It also makes you question, can you really consider these late substyles of gyaru to be gyaru then?
I don't want to say yes or no to this, I think it sorts of depends on the interpretation and I just want to give some brain food.
If you give it much thought it would result in only one conclusion:
gyaru is mind.
However, a lot of gyaru would disagree to say that if you do not wear the makeup, or the hair, fashion whatsoever you could hardly be considered one.
Which is also true.
For now, january 2025, if someone asked me what gyaru is, my reply would be
"Gyaru is a culture that originated from japan from the late 80s, early 90s. It's main focus is to rebel against the beauty standards. Japanese people have considered (and still do) pale skin and dark hair to be beautiful, modesty was prefered. The gyaru culture countered this by tanning their skin, bleaching their hair and wear flashy clothes. The mindset of a gyaru is shaped by hedonistic values and due to it's creative nature of self-expression it adapts to newer forms and trends over the years and can result in many different looks. Some of the most predominant known styles are kuro, hime and manba."
A lot of gyaru are having sort of a group mentality I would say.
They are social individuals, only a few are introverted.
In the gaijin world it is the opposite.
Gyaru is not widely known, it very often results in gaijin gyaru being a maverick or misfit.
Even though there are online communities, the gyaru mentality lives of locality.
This is why there were so many subcultures and magazines and gyaru circles, they all had something in common.
Nowadays it still functions that way i.e. Loalo gyaru, egg gyaru, the gyaru cafe..
They have their own little groups over there, while we are spread around the globus.
I think the only western gyaru-sa that has the same gyaru group mentality is akipoyo from israel.
The gyaru style has developed in japan to a newer version but despite this you still recognize it as being gyaru.
Most of them can be seen in shein clothes or even simple shirts with jeans.
It is really the tan, the blonde hair, the nails and the makeup that makes them gyaru.
I also find it fascinating and cute how they revive old gyaru habits and apply them to modern standards.
For example in the old gyaru days there would be articles in the magazines about simple questions like "what are you looking for in a partner" and each model would give their answer.
The newer approach is filming a tik tok video, where they stand behind each other and wait for eachs turn.
You can see these similiarities and pinpoint at these details and count them to gyaru culture.
Magazines, blogs, self-expression, parapara, karaoke...just to name a few, are gyaru culture.
That is what will differ them from other subcultures from japan.
But what do we do with the heisei fashion styles?
I think we should leave it behind.
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.
Clothes are for covering your body, fashion is art, trends come and go and style is unique.
I like to use heisei trends as inspiration and they will remain a main source for me for research but we should broaden our horizon and make our own gyaru styles.
That being said, I am looking forward to this new gyaru era of mine and I hope I could inspire some of you today.
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