If you've clicked on this page you probably are already familiar with the dark tans, blonde hair and crazy makeup that defines gyaru fashion but what does this all actually mean?  

What is Gyaru fashion?

Gyaru as a subculture

Gyaru does not only serve as a fasion choice but a quiet act of rebellion of sorts against the Japanese beauty standards and the uniformity encourage within Japan. Within Japanese society like many there is a beauty standard that is heavily encouraged, for women it is aspirational to have long dark hair, light skin,  a soft youthful face with very little makeup. One good example is Kanna Hashimoto (who is oneof my favourite singers go check her out !!)

Gyaru fashion not only acts as a form of rebellion but a new way for women to find their own individual style away from the status quo. Emerging in the early 90s with the term Gyaru (meaning 'gal') first used to describe young, bubbly, outspoken women.

What inspired Gyaru fashion?

Sukeban

Sukeban (meaning 'delinquent girl')  refers to the leader of a girl gang or the gang itself emerging in the in the 60s and becoming infamous 70s as a direct result of many male gangs refusing to allow women to join their groups. 

While known for being somewhat dangerous gangs they are more akin to schoolgirl cliques, with their fashion was born out of the accessories that symbolised their violence. Wearing chains, umbrellas with concealed razor blades, while cigarettes dangled from their lips. They would often crop their sailor uniform shirts and wear long skirts, signs of rebellion, sending a clear message of "Don't mess with us".

While the fashion choices between these two subcultures are significantly different there is a clear history of women, specifically young women, using fashion/modifying their school uniforms as a means to rebel against the patriarchal and oppressive system in which they live in. 

2000s American/European fashion

Things like western especially black fashion in the 90s and 00s played a heavy role in inspiring the Gyaru look, notably in the Amekaji substyle (directly translating the 'American Casual') as a result highlighting how gyaru not only rebels against the tradtional Japanese values but also embraces the cultures of which Japan opposes.We can see similarities in the low waisted jeans and cargoes, jerseys, be,ts and bracelets.

Types of Gyaru substyles!

While the general consensus is that Gyaru's mustbzlways have dark tans, light hair and crazy makeup this is not always the case. Even withthese constraints there are many ways to make Gyaru fot for you! I'll be explzining substyles here but just note there are endless amounts of substyles so if you do not like all of the ones featured here know that there is someone probably for you out there! 

Agejo

Agejo is really glamourous and feminine, influenced by expressing a high level of sex appeal through the style and attitude. The style is often found more in older Gyaru, and rarely seen on young Gyaru due to the mature status of the style. Whilst Agejo is quite a revealing style at times, it remains very classy.

Agejo gyaru generally have large, usually dark, hair; they have thick eyeliner and long lashes. It is common to see black, white, pink and purple clothing, often accompanied by lingerie, stockings and corsets.

Amekaji

Amekaji is bright, colourful and inspired by the fictionized stereotypical idea of America. The style is very comfortable and casual, and has been noted to be particularly forgiving to Gyaru of all shapes and sizes as loose fitting clothing is appropriate.

While the original boom of Amekaji did not last long, the style is still popular amongst Gaijin (meaning 'foreign') gyaru. Items including jeans, sneakers and beanie hats are often worn, and the main focus is having a fun, casual and colorful look.

Ganguro

Ganguro is a broad style of gyaru. The style has almost completely died out in Japan, but many gaijin gyaru have picked up this style in recent years, ensuring it is not completely dead as a style. The term 'Ganguro' is more often considered a broader term for the styles of gyaru which feature white makeup and dark tans, with the style inspiring several sub-style offshoots, such as Yamanba, Manba and Banba.

The style features bright colours, heavy tanning and heavy makeup, and stickers on the face. Contrasting white makeup is often used on the face.

Hime

Hime gyaru, or princess gal style, focuses on being cute and innocent, creating the 'princess' element of the style. Hime gyaru is often incorrectly linked to Lolita, but they are two separate styles.

Hime gyaru features pink or pastel colors,[1] as well as big hair and very decorative nails and accessories. Fake hair pieces are very common to achieve the large hair look, and hair is usually blond or light brown. Common colors for the style include pink, white and beige. Patterned clothing is popular, as well as long nails, bows and lace.

Himekaji

Himekaji is the casual alternative to Hime and a style that requires less upkeep. The style itself is very similar to that of Roma Gyaru but has its own key differences, including more lace and pink being the most consistent colour used in co-ords.

The style is similar in aesthetic to Hime, but does not go to the same extremes: e.g. nails would be long, but not overly decorated, hair would be dyed and curled, but himekaji does not feature hair pieces as often as its style counterpart.

Kogal

Kogal is one of the core gyaru fashion sub-styles and in the origin of many modern gyaru styles. The look of a kogal is inspired by the idea of a sun-tanned California Valley Girl, and due to this Kogal incorporates a solid base tan as well as bleached blonde hair. It is mostly aimed towards young girls and students, however many people still continue to wear this style into their twenties.

Bleached hair, loose fitted white socks, long nails and school uniforms are the standard for this style, with long beige cardigans, V-neck sweaters and pleated skirts being incorporated.

Goshikku

Goshikku, or Gothic, incorporates gothic styles into gyaru. It is separate from Rokku, however it is not as widely worn. A casual gothic style also gained popularity in the mid 2010s.

Hair is often blond, dark brown or black; hair can be styled in various ways with wigs being popular. Popular clothing colors include black, gray and occasionally white.

Haaady

Haaady, meaning flashy, is a short-lived style from around 2006 until 2011; it was inspired by American and British rock music and 1980s culture.

The style featured neon clothing, bright makeup, dyed hair and printed fabrics. Animal, skull and striped prints were all popular with the style. Hair was often dyed blond, and would sometimes have colorful extensions in or be crimped.

Gyaru in the modern day 

Social media

While Gyaru fashion has died down from its hey day in the 90s and 200s within Japan due to social media it has gained a resurgence, reaching audiences from all over the world, including me! Places like tiktok and Instagram have given platforms to many different Jfashion spaces. 

Moreover in Japanese media Gyaru characters ae regularly represented such as anime:  Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran, Saiki K, Peach Girl and Gal & Dino, manga: Gal Gohan and Yancha Gal no Anjou-san, film: Swing Girls, Girl's Life and Sunny: Our Hearts Beat Together 

My favourite character being Mikoto from Saiki K, I cannot lie though I thought she was black the first time watching this...

Notes

I didn't talk about Gyrou (male version of Gyaru) because this blog would I have been way too long lmao, but if you guys want me to do a part 2 I can :) 

Hey it's arcadia I haven't made of these blogs in ages but I thought it'll be cool to delve into a topic that is quite easy for since I'm a huge fan of Jfashion and given the rise in popularity of Gyaru and Jfashio as a whole I thought this would be well received by you guys to!! Thank you all for reading this and if you have any other recommendations for me to write about please comment below, whether it's other types of Jfashion (I'm already considering decora and yume kawaii if you're interested in that ^^) or any other topic you're curious about. I talk about all kinds of things ranging from particle physics to philosophy, I like to yap about anything honestly so everything goes!