You’re in Shibuya 109; most of your gyaru friends have disappeared, and the shops are crumbling all around you. It seems like you’re the only gyaru left – how are you going to make it out alive?
Truth is, you can’t blame everyone for losing interest in the style. It all started when the magazines were toning down before disappearing and now many of the gyaru brands have closed down due to the lack of interest in the style. There are still some shops around, but quite a fair few of them have changed in order to appeal to their new audience. It seems like they have forgotten about gyaru, their original customers.
It’s kind of depressing, but you can do this! So here’s what I call my little ‘Gyaru Survival Guide’ to get you through this gyaru apocalypse…
01. Adapt
Remember that gyaru is more about the makeup and hair – you can pretty much wear whatever you want and still look gyaru if those two are on point. So adapt with what you have and give it your own gyaru vibe.
Example – old vs new agejo in MA*RS. They still have hints of their own style but it’s a lot more subdued to fit in with their target audience. I don’t actually mind this change because it makes MA*RS so much easier to wear in everyday life, which is probably why it’s still going strong. More people can wear it, so more people will buy it.
02. Keep a hold of the old brand styles
The only problem with this is that it might start to get harder for you to recycle different looks with the same things, but it is possible.
03. Stick with the gyaru hair and makeup
If there is at least one gyaru left in the world then gyaru still has the chance of surviving, so continually show off your makeup & hair styles and someone out there will notice!
04. Treasure your magazines
These are the last physical memories of the old gyaru era, so never let them go! You never know when this old style will come back and they can give
you inspiration regardless of what’s going on right now. If you don’t have a magazine, save as many scans that you find online.
05. Look for brands that suit your tastes
I’m actually looking more at local brands and it’s amazing what you can find. There are also tons of individual online shops cropping up over
social media (especially on instagram) that you could help support. I think what’s important is to buy things that suit your style rather than the name tag.
06. Speak out
Tell everyone what you know about gyaru (keeping in mind your sources) and one day someone will prick their ears up and want to get involved with
the style. For example, I have this blog and whilst some posts are more personal, the main gist of it is gyaru. Another way is to post your gyaru look on social media, or even just being gyaru is enough.
07. Stay in touch with your friends
Gyaru can give you so many opportunities to make new friends, and I actually made some of my best friends because of gyaru. What’s the most important
thing is that you’re friends because you share other interests – don’t be the kind of person to fall out with people just because they’re not into gyaru anymore, that’s just silly! Friends can give you the greatest inspiration.
08. Look-out for trends
That’s not to say be a sheep and follow what everyone else does, but gyaru is all about being the trendiest person out there so always keep an eye on what’s going on around you but give it your own gyaru vibe. Whilst doing this you can always look for the latest gyaru style and see if there is anything new cropping up.
09. Incorporate gyaru as much as you can into your everyday life
You don’t have to be gyaru everyday (that’s just exhausting) but you can add a hint of it somewhere. I wrote about this in more detail here.
10. And have fun!
Gyaru is first and foremost a fashion, so don’t stress and just go with the flow! You’ll find yourself enjoying it a lot more if you just take it easy.
And there you have it!
Are you ready for the gyaru apocalypse? How are you going to survive?
Can’t wait to hear what you think in the comments below! ♡
Love,
Lizzie xx
