The first thing I fell in love with when I first discovered gyaru was how easy it was to incorporate it into everyday life. Back then EGG magazine was huge, and it was all about wearing casual attire and amping it up with amazing hair and makeup. It was, all in all, pretty low maintenance but effortlessly gyaru, and I loved that.
A few years down the line it got more and more complicated to do. Straight hair wasn’t really done much and was replaced with elaborate curls and really exaggerated makeup. I would like to say that it wasn’t because of Black Diamond or of outside opinions, but it really was. People didn’t think of others as gyaru anymore unless they looked like they were out of Black Diamond or very dramatic in their style. The everyday gyaru died because we were pressurising everyone to look over-the-top.
Sweater: DaTuRa
Top: Skinny Lip (I think)
Jeans & boots: Boohoo
I admit that I felt the same, too. I didn’t really think you were gyaru unless you had the full gyaru makeup on and styled hair. Wearing MA*RS with casual makeup? Erm, hell no! I started taking ages to get ready in the mornings and at one point it would take me 2 hours just to be dolled up to go to the cinema.
And it was such a waste of time.
I’ve learnt that time is of the essence as I got older, and I caught onto the ‘toning down’ trend. At first I hated it, but now I can’t get enough of it. It was almost as if we are going back to the older gyaru stages where we would wear ‘ordinary’ clothes and just lightly curled our hair and were called gyaru. And I love it.
It doesn’t matter if you are over-the-top or super-toned-down, all maintenances of gyaru is still gyaru. You can be gyaru with elaborate curls, but you can also be gyaru with straightened hair. You can be gyaru if you’re head-to-toe in brand but can also be gyaru with offbrand items. We have to be more accepting of the ‘casual’ styles in order for the gyaru community to grow bigger again. Make it easier to wear for other people, and more people will join.
What do you think? Would you class yourself as a high-maintence gyaru, or a low-maintence one? (I’m definitely a bit of both, but in this instance I am a very low-maintence gyaru!)
Lizzie Bee xx
This post was inspired by Vanilla Bear.
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Becster
April 12, 2019I love this outfit. I just love the simplicity of it. I would definitely be a low maintenance gyaru. Haven’t got time for OTT stuff <3
Kawaii_Steph623
April 12, 2019I totally agree! I’ve been pretty ‘low maintenance’ for a while. I just can’t do it every day if I had to be OTT, plus, OTT isn’t appropriate for work, but toned-down works perfectly. ^_^
Mary Lee
April 12, 2019I’m a very low maintenance gyaru with a lot of offbrand items xD lol
Thank you for this post <3 I feel more included in the gyaru world xo
illustrious-mari.blogspot.com
Kieli Heart
April 12, 2019Because of my jobs I must say I’m a mix. Attempting to be super elaborate in make but basic in clothing. But because of that, I feel I’m getting better at my make x3
~Kieli?
rainbowstarcandyshine.blogspot.com
Michelle | Daisybutter
April 12, 2019It’s so interesting to see the gyaru community ‘grow up’, if that makes sense. Whilst I never really dressed that way, I LOVED watching J-fashion develop from the sidelines and love it even more to see little influences trickle in to day-to-day outfits! x