Gyaru (fashion)
Gal (or the Japanese translitieration: Gyaru ) is the slang term for a fashion style or even subculture containing vast subcategories. In the west it maybe best compared to the image of 'trendy girls' but with a Japanese twist!
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Inspiration
It began around 1991 when tanning salons and loose socks became popular in Shibuya to high school students. This trend eventually led to the birth of kogal (kogyaru)whom often resembled the California valley cliché of the west. They tanned their skin, lightened their hair, shortened their skirts, over-accessorized their cellphones, piled on the makeup and developed a dandy set of slang (kogyaru-go ‘kogalese’). Ganguro is one of many Gyaru sub cultures and possibly the most well recognised in western culture for it more extreme appearance consisting of very dark tanned skin, bleached hair, bright clothes, jewel encrusted cell phones, thick panda-like makeup, and even more complex slang. The trend is said to have come about as a rebellion against strict social expectations and rules Japanese teenagers need to follow as the gyaru style is commonly opposite of what is traditionally considered attractive and acceptable for young women. The Gyaru character varies between subcatorgories but typically they live by a mantra of "be true to yourself" in attempting to champion their individuality. The style, especially the more extreme variants, received bad press in Japan and in society in general which lead to a down turn in the trend in the early 00's . In recent years the more mainstream Gyaru style is common place and often referred to as 'Shibuya girls' or 'Shibuya style'
What to wear
Gyaru style is not only about clothing but is an all round approach to your appearance including both hairstyling and make up of a distinctly recognisable type. Clothes typically are brightly coloured teamed with extremely high shoes and more accessesories than you can shake a stick at. Bling is king in gyaru circles although exactly how far you go depends on which subcatogory of Gyaru you belong to although people generally associate the ganguro look with the old style. The newer style consists of a mid tan, natural makeup, long white to brown hair, with curls or straightened and backcombed. Current clothing trends include mini shorts, knee socks, and tanktops. Some details of some of the sub catogories can be found below:
- Ganguro gyaru: a gal with an artificial deep tan and bleached hair.
- Kogyaru: generally a high school student.
- Oyajigyaru: from oyaji and gyaru. A gyaru who behaves in a masculine way, who drinks beer and uses rough language.
- Onegyaru: a gyaru who has graduated from high school, and thus become a more mature onee-san (literally "elder sister" but, here, "young lady"). The style is more sophisticated.
- Ogyaru: a dirty or disheveled gyaru who may forsake daily baths or takes little care in her behaviour and dress, even by gyaru standards.
- Gyaruo: the gyaru's male counterpart. See Gyaruo.
- Manba: deep tan and contrasting white make-up. Their hair is usually pastel-coloured or blonde, and very long and back-combed. Their clothes are neon and layered.
- Kigurumin: wear kigurumi, a type of pajama-suit that resembles an animal and sometimes cartoon characters.
- Bibinba: this look usually includes a lot of gold and jewellery. Similar to b-gal.
- Banba: barbie-gal, with differences such as their wearing of slippers and stilettos. They also use more glitter, and have a neon touch to their hair. They use more extreme-looking types of false eyelashes and coloured contact lenses. The most respected Gal-cir is Angeleek; there are 22 members in their Tokyo group, and they have many other groups throughout the country.
- Kyoba bo-i: the male banba. The make-up is similar to Sentaa-gai's, but the eyes can be made up to look bigger. They accessorize excessively and commonly don bangs.
- Himegyaru: girls who dress as princesses. Hair colours vary from blonde to brown and is usually very big and teased. They wear expensive clothing from brands such as Liz Lisa and Jesus Diamante.
Where to shop
Undoubtedly the mecca of Gyaru is Shibuya although other major shopping districts such as Ikebukero, Harajuku and Shinjuku are all on the Gyaru radar. In Shibuya the most prominant place for this style is the Shibuya 109 department store. With 10 floors there is plenty of choice both Gyaru and otherwise with popular Gyaru brand such as Alba Rosa but most Gyaru fashions can be found in the Shibuya/Harajuku area of Western Tokyo.
Related interests
The ganguro culture has evolved its own synchronized dances, called Para Para. Participants do predetermined moves at the same time, usually as accompaniment to J-pop music. Para Para events are held by ganguro circles, and involve either going to clubs to perform Para Para or gathering to learn new dances. Gyaru girls are also known for their nails! You can't miss them! They are usually fake, long and with all things Gyaru glittery or shiny! Differing Gyaru groups align themeselves with differing types of music, J-pop, Hip - Hop and Rock are all popular and the style changes accordingly.
See also
Some content adapted from Wikipedia.org.
