So I’ve been in bed pretty much all afternoon/evening so I have enough energy to write part 2 of the Manchester gal meet＼(￣▽￣)／
Where was I? Right, the cafe! So after everyone arrived it was time to go to karaoke! It was in a really cool building but boy there were so many stairs haha.
Hey cutie! How’re you? I’m currently sat at the opticians to sort out my contact lens so I thought I’d write a bit about the gal meet yesterday! ♡
I had such an amazing time and was able to see some of my old gals for the first time in like nearly 3 or so years. I missed them so much! (´,,•ω•,,)♡ And then I met some new gals for the very first time too which was exciting.
Piku and Daisy came to meet me at the train station where we were shortly joined by Devon. Everyone looked so cute ♡
Hey cutie! How are you? Sorry I haven’t really been that active lately… I went through a serious burnout after Christmas so I’ve been doing my best to relax as possible! I’ve also been trying to make our kitchen super cute (you can read my inspiration post here) and it’s going to require a lot of work. I really hope I can show you some pictures at the end of the month!
Anyway, me and my hubby have been making bubble waffles as one of the things I received for Christmas was a bubble waffle maker! We tried to do it with marshmallows but… Well… The marshmallows melted way too quickly haha. Next time I want to try it with whipped cream and mochi, or maybe chocolate or something.
A couple of weekends ago was our first gal meet since Gyaru Jubilee, this time based in Central London! It felt so long ago since I’ve seen everyone so when Saturday arrived I eagerly crawled out of my warm bed and into the cold drizzle outside. But that’s when things started to go downhill for me…
First, my train was cancelled. Public transport seems to go into a frenzy at the smallest drop of rain so I wasn’t completely surprised. Luckily, though, there was an alternative train so I wasn’t too much behind schedule. As soon as my train rolled into London I hopped off onto the tube, and traveled nearly 1 and a half hours to Stratford Westfield (as there were some closures on the lines). It wasn’t until I walked up to the security staff to ask for directions to the Pokemon Centre that I realised that I was at the wrong Westfield! Eeek! It took me another hour to get to the right one and I felt like crying at my own stupidity. So I rocked up nearly two hours late to the meet – but thankfully everyone was really understanding and I got a massive hug from Chewiee (as well as a bag of chocolate) that instantly made me feel a lot better haha.
Despite spending most of my wasted travel time sitting down, I was relieved to be sat down slurping up some tempura ramen and stuffing my gob with chicken gyoza from Ichiba, which is located downstairs of Westfield London near Shepherds Bush. It was so good to eat real Japanese food again (as unfortunately we only really have a Wagamama where I live which isn’t really authentic Japanese food)! It gave me time to catch up with everyone as well as talk to some new faces! I love how there’s always a new face at every gyaru meet – the community is really growing in the UK!
related post: crazy gals and half-naked guys – gyaru jubilee!
The queue curved around one side of Westfield by the time we got to the Pokemon Centre, and out of curiosity I asked the security guard how long the waiting time was. He said 7-8 hours! Gosh. Imagine waiting that long only to get inside and find the thing you wanted was out of stock… So I’m really glad we didn’t queue up in the end! I was a bit disappointed though because I really wanted one of the Detective Pikachu plushies but I didn’t really fancy hanging around that long. Instead we grabbed some bubble tea and walked around some of the shops there before some of us headed back home. Myself, Chewiee, Karen and Alice hung around and had some delicious food from Pho.
I can’t wait for the New Year as I have promised myself to organise some more gyaru meets in future! Unfortunately I don’t think I will be able to go to one before Christmas as life is kinda’ hectic, so this is the last one of this year for me. But next time I will definitely double check a) train journeys and b) where the meet actually is. Oops.
Have you got any plans with your friends before the Christmas season?
Love,
Lizzie xx
P.S Thanks so much to my girl Chewiee for the pics (and for the pick-me-up chocolate <3)
As I sit here all bundled up in bed writing up this post I feel nothing but love for the gaijin gyaru community. It’s been exactly a week and I’m still recovering from a very eventful weekend where myself and my QueenE gals (Wib, Kei, Rachel and Danielle) hosted our very first international gyaru meet in the UK, “Gyaru Jubilee”. I couldn’t have been prouder of them and it’s crazy to think that a year’s worth of planning led up to this weekend. How quick it’s gone! So here’s what happened about Gyaru Jubilee (because I know you’re dying to know about the crazy gals and half-naked guys)…
When I opened my eyes and felt that rush of inspiration for gyaru, I knew that it was going to be a good day. It was the day where my gyarusa, QueenE, were hosting a Galentine’s Day gyaru meet and my MA*RS outfit was hanging patiently on my wardrobe door. After a few hours I was all made up, head-to-toe in gal, sitting awkwardly in a jam-packed train to Birmingham.
I remember the first time I went to an international gyaru meet; I went with my gal Chewiee and honestly it was one of my favourite gyaru meets ever. That’s not to say that it was a completely smooth process – about half an hour before we met everyone I had a panic attack in our hotel room. I was just getting so worked up about meeting everyone and fearing that they wouldn’t like me! But it turned out that I didn’t have to worry after all as I had the most amazing time and everyone was so lovely.
Fast forward to now – my gyarusa QueenE have recently announced our big international gyaru meetup, Gyaru Jubilee, that’s happening over here in the U.K. and we’re SO excited for it! We’ve decided to put together a lil’ list of advice for first-timers because going to your first international gyaru meet can be a bit daunting, especially if you’re a newbie.
Christmas started as soon as we stepped out in the streets of Nottingham, head-to-toe in our Santa gear as we headed towards the Christmas market. By “we” I mean myself and QueenE gyarusa/gyaru circle members, and we looked fabulous! We didn’t have to walk for long and within moments we were greeted by wooden cabins with fake snow fluttering in the wind. No one batted an eyelid at our attire; well, it was December after all, so that’s basically Christmas!
“I love the look of it but I wish I was more confident to gyaru wear it in public…” is one of the most-used phrases I hear from people who have held back from wearing gyaru. It can be daunting because gyaru, like other Japanese fashion styles, isn’t exactly “normal”. Sure, we can get away with jeans and t-shirts but there’s something about us that sets us apart from Western fashion. Maybe it’s the over-the-top makeup, the curly hair, or the flashy nails… Whatever it is, it makes people look back and wonder “what the hell are they doing?”
I’ve had to deal with more and more ignorant people the more dramatic my style became. It allowed me to grow thicker skin and boy I’m so glad it did because I was a right nervous wreck when I first started! Even now it’s still quite nerve-wracking to be decked out in MA*RS, but my style has toned down because of my laziness so it’s not quite so bad anymore. Here are some tips I’ve learnt over the years on wearing gyaru it in public!
I’ve always wanted to be no.1; when I first joined gyaru I wanted to be the best gaijin gyaru in the U.K., and a few years later it changed to wanting to be the best agejo in the world. My aims were pretty high so I bought as many MA*RS items that my greedy hands could get a hold of, and for a time I believed that I was the best and that I was happy. I tried hard – perhaps too hard – and I called it the golden age of my gyaru life.
That golden age lasted a year, maybe two, before I started my downward spiral. Agejo began to slip away from my fingers and I felt my identity lose its grip. I didn’t know who I was anymore and I began to doubt myself. I loved agejo, so why wasn’t it making me happy anymore? I worked so hard to be the best but it just took the joy out of gyaru and made it into a competition. In the end I was left disappointed and dissatisfied.