The other day it suddenly hit me that I was going to turn 30 in a few years. 30. To me, my thirties would mean settling down in my own home, having a stable job and scariest of all… Children. I am not emotionally nor financially stable for any of that yet, and can’t even look after myself properly let another a mini version of myself. It’s absolutely terrifying, especially when it means that I would probably be too old for gyaru.
Be too old for gyaru. I never thought I’d say that, especially because a few years ago I wrote a post on all of the things you can still be/do with gyaru. One of them was that you can still be gyaru when you’re older, but at the moment I am a bit lost with how I feel about that. I think it’s hard to feel in the “gyaru mood” when it’s not as easy to get Japanese clothes over here in the West than it would be in, well, Japan.
Faux fur coat cat bag: Primark
Sweater dress: MA*RS
Boots: Liz Lisa replica (source unknown)
Accessories: F&F at Tesco and other
What would happen if I gave up gyaru? Well, this blog will definitely have a huge change because right now it’s very jfashion-focused. I’d probably start wearing the clothes I’m “supposed’ to be wearing (whatever that means) and just become your average lifestyle blogger.
Maybe I will slowly ease out of my Japanese branded clothes and put away the endless amount of plushies that I currently have at the end of my bed, and Hello Kitty will just be another thing that I used to love.
Maybe I’ll gracefully step down from my gyaru circle QueenE and will start to cease going to Hyper Japan because my friends and the fashion was the only thing I was really interested in, and I would’ve grown apart from my friends as I spend more time trying to adapt to adult life.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be sad to experience all of that and will forever be trying to fill the empty void I’ve been feeling.
But what would happen if I didn’t give up gyaru? Well my 30s-50s might be a bit awkward and my children will probably be embarrassed by the fact that their mum has more soft toys than they did, and that she liked pink way too much.
I probably wouldn’t be as rich as my other friends because I spent all of my money trying to find a decent shopping service so that I could still buy my clothes from Japan. I’d still be rolling my eyes at how slow Western fashion was, because that was so five years ago in Japan.
I’d still be seeing all of the friends I made through gyaru, and even if I didn’t see them as frequently as I could I would probably still be cheering them on and liking/commenting on their pictures on instagram or whatever network is popular in the future. Who knows, maybe there will be a massive blogging boom again in the Japanese fashion world!
And, to be honest, I prefer that kind of future.
“Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional”- Chili Davis
So am I too old for gyaru? You might as well ask – are you too old for the things you love? Right now I love the magical world of Japanese fashion too much to let it out of my bony hands. Even though I might not be as hardcore as I used to be and my outfits not as outrageous, I’d like to say that gyaru is a huge part of me and I don’t quite know how to do without it.
I guess it’s like asking if a musician is too old to keep on playing music, or if an artist is too old to keep on drawing. Will they stop? Hell no, because they love doing it! And sure you can say that fashion is a little bit different, but have you seen Baddie Winkle? That lady is killin’ it at 89 and that is my goal. Just imagine how cute I’ll be at 80 with all of my leopard print and a Hello Kitty keyring hanging from my bag. Doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
It can be easy to fall into the trap of feeling that you are too old for something – especially an alternative fashion – but trust me, you’re not. As long as you still love doing it, then you can never feel old.
What do you think? Can you be too old for a certain aesthetic? I’d love to hear your comments below!
Lizzie Bee xx // facebook / twitter / instagram / bloglovin’