When I first found out about gyaru I thought I was entering a magical realm; everything was just so different to what I usually saw and I couldn’t wait to dive right in and become a part of this wonderful world. There were so many things that I didn’t expect further down the line: that I would finally feel like I belong and make some of the most amazing friends in the world; that my confidence would boost; and that I would stick around for more than a couple of months.
There were some things that sucked throughout my years of being gyaru (*cough* hate sites *cough*) but if you put everything together, the positives do outweigh the negatives. This blog post highlights all of the “hard truths” about gyaru from my personal experiences that I wished someone else told me when I started out.
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| Image source: tokyofashion |
01. Not everyone’s going to like you just because you’re gyaru
This is what hit me the most – I try really hard to get on well with people and not rub people the wrong way but it’s inevitable that I’ll come across some people who don’t like me just because they don’t like me. It was hard at first, but now I just do my own thing regardless of what people think of me. The community in general is a nice place (thank goodness) so just keep you head up and do your thing!
02. You’re not going to be able to wear gyaru everyday
Now this really sucks. It’s always been a dream of mine to wake up flawlessly gyaru but life really does get in the way. Luckily there are ways to incorporate gyaru into your everyday life which is what I tend to do nowadays.
03. You’re going to be broke
Gyaru is so expensive compared to just being an ordinary person with ordinary clothes. You got to think about the makeup, the lashes, the clothes, the accessories… Gyaru fashion is very high maintenance! It is possible to do gyaru on a budget but nevertheless you just got to learn what things are more important than other. Do you really need another pair of lashes when you already have 20?
04. It’s going to be hard work at first
When you first get into gyaru you’re going to have to experiment a lot, especially with your hair and makeup. Gyaru is first and foremost all about appearance so keep a look out for trusty tutorials from gyaru magazines and try your best! It took me years to figure out what is the best way to do my eye makeup, so just take it easy.
05. Gyaru isn’t as popular as it was
I’m so glad that I started out gyaru when I did – it’s just so dead nowadays! Let this not turn you away, however, as gyaru is an amazing fashion. True, there aren’t really any magazines left, but there are so many scans available online that you could reference from. Gyaru is all about being trendy, so look out for local trends and try and incorporate them into your gyaru life.
There are a few other websites such as himehimestar on tumblr that’s great for everyday inspiration, and a handful of gyaru still blog on crooz/ameba. A lot of them use social media as well so even though gyaru is seen as “dying” there at least are a few sites for inspiration.
That’s all for today! What you need to remember that although the above sounds kind of negative, gyaru is an amazing fashion and you won’t regret trying it out. I can’t honestly tell you how grateful I am in finding out about this and how many amazing people I’ve met. I don’t know what my life would be like without it.
What piece of advice would you give newbies?
And for newbies – what would you like to learn about gyaru?
Let me know in the comments below! ♡
N.B this post was inspired by F Y Lolita’s “Hard Lessons on Lolita”.
What do you think?