I seriously need to stop doing this to myself. But I was on YouTube watching a marathon of Buzzfeed videos and they had one particular one about Japanese subculture styles. Man that video was bomb, I really loved it and of course they asked "What subculture do like you?". This one person said "Moe," I had a FYI moment, Moe is apart of Anime (Akihabara) culture. The only thing I forgot to add with that post (Moe Effect) was the maids saying "Moe Moe Kyun." Anyways, This other person was talking about Ganguro and how Amuro was apart of it. I had another Facepalm moment. When I was trying to shed knowledge on the differences in styles within Gyaru this other person, who was into Kuro-gal thought I was talking about Gyaru as whole but clearly I was talking about Ganguro. Apparently, this is common in english speaking countries, Gyaru is commonly mistaken for Ganguro, but that is actually a subculture of Gyaru. This has made me really want to do more content on Gyaru but thank god school is out plus, I made promise with Lisha that I will get back into it. So, I guess that's my New Years Resolution.
Anyways, let me explain again the subculture that is Gyaru/ Gyaru-kei more clearly. Gyaru has been around since the 1970s, they were know to party and rebellion against Japanese Norms with the way they dress/styled themselves which became a lifestyle. Basically, the default has always been Gyaru style(Kei) which is an umbrella term for the many subcategories or themes of Gal styles. Generally, Gyaru are characterized by their tan skin, blond to light brown hair, decorate nails and accessories, and dramatic makeup, but tan skin not a requirement which you can see now in the popular Gyaru magazine of today. Around the 90s you can see more diversity in the Gyaru Community from Ganguro; A gyaru with an artificial deep tan and bleached hair; to Kogyaru: a high school student; to Yamaba: dark tans and white lipstick, pastel eye make-up, tiny metallic or glittery adhesives below the eyes, brightly coloured circle lenses, plastic dayglo-coloured clothing, and incongruous accessories, such as Hawaiian leis. and Manba: extreme form of Yamaba; to B-gal: emphasizes beauty and fashion often found in the black sub-culture Hip-Hop & R&B; to Onnegyaru. Ganguro was the extreme form of Gyaru. Today, Kuro-gal:“Kuro (hada) gyaru” literally means “black skin gals”; are really popular because of the Black Diamond Gals, which the modern evolution of Ganguro (to me) to Yamanba to Manba to even Kirgurumin. Kuro-gal support the brands of Shibuya 109 specifically the brands like D.I.A. But it seems to be a favorite with girls around the world.
[Kuro-gals-Black Diamond]
[Onee-gyaru]
Oneegyaru, was for older gals who wanted a tone down version of GAL but wanted to be more sophisticated. Many Oneegyaru still tan and dye their hair light brown or blonde but choose to wear labels and goods like Louis Vuitton, YSL, and Chanel, and Coach. They were more sophisticated than Ganguro, with a particular affinity for designer labels and goods. Koda Kumi, Namie Amuro, and Ayumi Hamasaki had there own subsets of Oneegyaru. Now, if your not ready for Oneegal but still want to rock the gyaru look and you're a little interested in Lolita than Himegal is for you. This is the Younger Sister of Oneegal. A lot of himegal have that puffy beehive-style hair, but it's not a requirement, any girly style is fine as long as it looks very fancy.
Oneegyaru, was for older gals who wanted a tone down version of GAL but wanted to be more sophisticated. Many Oneegyaru still tan and dye their hair light brown or blonde but choose to wear labels and goods like Louis Vuitton, YSL, and Chanel, and Coach. They were more sophisticated than Ganguro, with a particular affinity for designer labels and goods. Koda Kumi, Namie Amuro, and Ayumi Hamasaki had there own subsets of Oneegyaru. Now, if your not ready for Oneegal but still want to rock the gyaru look and you're a little interested in Lolita than Himegal is for you. This is the Younger Sister of Oneegal. A lot of himegal have that puffy beehive-style hair, but it's not a requirement, any girly style is fine as long as it looks very fancy.
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[Neo-gal]
Lastly, today's Gyaru is fading fast and what has come to take it's place is Neo-gal and Ima-doki gal. To me they are the same because a lot Gyaru have turned to Neo-gal, usually the ones now in University. I've already discussed Neo-gal in other posts, but if you don't know look up Alisa Ueno and she's been oversea a lot gathering her inspiration for the style. Moving on, Ima-doki, direct translation is "Now a days" (this also name after a manga that actually features a Ganguro, plus I like Yuu Watase manga) are Gals that follow trends of today's Japanese magazines, some consider them modern day gals. And like Yamaba, it's a very tone down version of Gyaru. And, I don't suggest looking it up because it's not really official because of trends recently with Neo-gal or Gal have always been inspired by American/ European Street Fashion. It's like a weird fashion Inception because while I'm looking at Japanese street fashion and magazine while, a girl in japan is looking at us over here and the representation of American fashion in magazines and pop culture.
[Arisa Kamada-Ima-doki gyaru (Neo-gal?)
[Arisa Kamada-Gyaru style]
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