Lately I've gotten quite many of these '' oh you're gyaru? You mean those super tan girls with crazy hair and white eyeshadow around their eyes? Ganguro or something?''
Comments like these tend to annoy me, but I don't have the right to get annoyed because not everyone know what Gyaru is....captain obvious. Then the idea of making a gyaru guide (I didn't know what to call it OK!) struck me. I know quite many of my readers don't really know what Gyaru is and since I'm really passionate about this style I would like to share my few words with you. Whether you're new to the style, wanna try it out or simply just interested in learning more. Feel free to take your time and read.
So...what is Gyaru exactly?
The term ''Gyaru'' itself is a japanese term that comes from the english word ''GAL'' that of girl being ''gaaru'' ( gyaru) . It's a type of japanese street fashion that has it's origins from the 1970s.
Gyaru is very commonly referred as ''Ganguro or Mamba'' by people in western countries, but Gyaru is much more than chocolate covered monkeys. Ganguro and Mamba are only two of many subcategories of Gyaru who started in the 1990's and died out in early 2000's (although there are still some people practising the style today).
As I mentioned earlier the Gyaru style started to get popular in the 1970's as an indirect rebellion towards the traditional Japanese ideal of beauty (black hair and pale skin). Gyaru is a girly-glam style, breaking away from all traditionals. It is often identified as a sign of rebellious youths.
Gyarus are known to use fake lashes, cosmetic circle lences, bleached hair (often in ash blonde, light brown or different shades of blonde or brown ) and excessively decorated nails. Typically Gyarus are often known for being quite tan, but that's not always the case. Those past years, pale gyarus have become more and more popular.
Western countries (especially Scandinavian countries) are still unknown to the term ''Gyaru'' , not to mention the style itself. While in Asian coutries it's more widespread. By making this post I hope it will give people more knowledge about Gyaru and the Gyaru culture and if it's possible I would like to see more Gyarus in Norway in the future. At the moment I admit Norway is probably the country in Europe that has fewest Gyarus.YOU SUCK NORWAY
I plan to make posts about some of the subcategories soon, but this short summary will have to do for now.
Text copyright: Howalon
Source: Wikipedia , self-knowledge
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So...what is Gyaru exactly?
The term ''Gyaru'' itself is a japanese term that comes from the english word ''GAL'' that of girl being ''gaaru'' ( gyaru) . It's a type of japanese street fashion that has it's origins from the 1970s.
Gyaru is very commonly referred as ''Ganguro or Mamba'' by people in western countries, but Gyaru is much more than chocolate covered monkeys. Ganguro and Mamba are only two of many subcategories of Gyaru who started in the 1990's and died out in early 2000's (although there are still some people practising the style today).
As I mentioned earlier the Gyaru style started to get popular in the 1970's as an indirect rebellion towards the traditional Japanese ideal of beauty (black hair and pale skin). Gyaru is a girly-glam style, breaking away from all traditionals. It is often identified as a sign of rebellious youths.
Gyarus are known to use fake lashes, cosmetic circle lences, bleached hair (often in ash blonde, light brown or different shades of blonde or brown ) and excessively decorated nails. Typically Gyarus are often known for being quite tan, but that's not always the case. Those past years, pale gyarus have become more and more popular.
Some examples of Gyarus (models and non-models):
Western countries (especially Scandinavian countries) are still unknown to the term ''Gyaru'' , not to mention the style itself. While in Asian coutries it's more widespread. By making this post I hope it will give people more knowledge about Gyaru and the Gyaru culture and if it's possible I would like to see more Gyarus in Norway in the future. At the moment I admit Norway is probably the country in Europe that has fewest Gyarus.
I plan to make posts about some of the subcategories soon, but this short summary will have to do for now.
-Xiao-
Text copyright: Howalon
Source: Wikipedia , self-knowledge
nice post!
SvarSlettI also thought ganguro= gyaru in the beginning and this is the reason I didn't start earlier because I didn't like ganguro at all XD when you google gyaru you also find a lot of ganguro pics it's so misleading for newbies!
thanks! I know right! I don't blame haha. I was quite lucky though...the first time I came across gyaru was around 2000 so at that time ganguro was still ''in fashion''. That's why I didn't like gyaru, but as the time passed gyaru changed and so did my opinion about the style.
SlettThank you for posting this! You learn something new every day :)
SvarSlettand I had to laugh at you saying 'gyaru is not known in Scandinavian countries' after reading the description and seeing the photos.. because seriously half of Scandinavian (esp. Swedish) girls have fake nails, eyelashes and blond bleached hair, you know. Sometimes even boys do, lol.
no problem! Glad you felt you learnt something new. Maybe I wasn't clear enough in my explanation? Firstly: Gyaru is not a ''either-or'' style. It's about the styling, make-up and the clothes all-together. I only know a few people practising the style in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Never have I seen other people (apart from those I know) practising the style. Nor have I seen people wearing fake-lashes, circle lences, long false over-decorated nail or big poofy hair at the same time. So the place you come from must very special. Obviously you have people wearing fake lashes and so on on special events or either one of the points I mentioned, but separately they don't make you Gyaru.
SlettI think it's very usual that people who are new to gyaru will make a connection between our regular Scandinavian "bimbo/berte" and gyaru. I think they are somewhat similar in the sense that 1) Tans - although not that relevant in gyaru anymore, both categories are known for tanning/fake tans. 2) "Fakeness". Lashes, nails etc. 2) Bleached hair.
SlettHowever, there is a fine difference between gyaru and our "bimbos". One of them being that gyaru is categorized as a fashion style, while the common bimbo is not; she's following a trend.
There are many small things that play a big role when defining gyaru. As Xiao mentioned, the styling is very important for gyaru. The way you do the make-up itself play a big role.
The style itself has grown alot recently, and one could argue you could wear almost anything as long as you have the correct styling and still be considered gyaru (examples: goth gyaru - it's not regular to see our common bimbo in gothic clothing, but in gyaru there are a few, even models).
But I can completely understand the misunderstanding, as I thought this first myself "They just look like a normal bimbo".
I know some people even draw connections with gyaru and guidettes, but it's just a matter of "eye training" imo ^^
thumbs up for this post! i wouldn't say im gyaru at all but i really admire the style and find the makeup and hair inspirational. i live in Denmark, and you're right about the style being totally unknown.. i love gyaru eye makeup and my friends find it quite .. unique? that i use falsies and circle lens kinda like.. everyday ugh ><'' we need more gals in scandinavia !
SvarSlettthank you! Yeah I've always been very passionate about Gyaru, but just never had the freedom to practise it, but i recently moved out so I just wanna go for it without regrets before it's too late! More Gyarus in Scandinavia ! or Norway for that sake of it.
SlettAwesome post, I found myself cringing abit too when people called me ganguro even though I were faaaaarr from being ganguro XDD
SvarSlettThe internets has far too many misleading things, so it's completely understandable tho!
There're a lot of girls that bleached their hair,wear circle lens and use fake lashes here,too but judging from looking at them I don't think they even know what is 'gyaru' XDD
SvarSlettI wish there're more gyaru where I lie also >_<
I know right? I think there's something special to Gyaru. I mean I too know loads of girl wearing circle lences and lashes, but you can see from first glance they're not gyaru. Just asians girls with lashes and lences. I thinks it's not only the make-up and style, but the whole package overall. If you know what I mean.
Sletthii, nice post! would u post more about gyaru make up and the products? :D
SvarSletti'm your new follower btw would be great if u visit my blog too~
www.winter-yun.blogspot.com
Thanks! I plan to post a few review of some products in the near future!
Slettgreat post, though you probably forgot to feature marimo :D
SvarSlettI didn't forget Marimo. I thought I should leave the model out of this in this post. Maybe I'll make a post about Gyaru models later on. Thanks.
SlettOh, a gyaru giude! YEAH me like! But I thought the term 'gyaru' came from a jeans brand with the slogan 'Can't live without men'? Hehe xD Looking forward to future posts!
SvarSlettMaybe I should've sticked to the word '' transliteration'' rather than ''come from''. Thank you for pointing it out : ) yeah you're totally right the name is originated from a jeans brand! So it's more like a transliteration from GAL (gaaru).
Sletthi! u have a very cool blog! would u like to follow each other? i'll be very happy!)
SvarSletthttp://lenascookbook.blogspot.com/
great post! I'm trying to be gyaru and its a lot of work, I think people tend to forget that it is. I'm looking forward seeing more post like this^_^
SvarSletthttp://mjauki.blogspot.com/
ohhh i love to see more norwegian gals <3
SvarSlett