It's no secret that I've been working a lot over the past year with many newcomers to gyaru through the discord, and other communities, and as such I feel I've become pretty familiar with the most common concerns and difficulties new gals tend to face. One of the most common questions I receive is a very vague and difficult one to answer:
"How can I get started in Gyaru?"
And today I hope to, at least partially, answer that for you.
In 4 simple sections, my hope is that if you can master all these concepts you will be able to lead yourself well in your gal journey, and have a good sense of direction, to know what and how you need to improve, without having to be told. I am not going to hold your hand with this post, so I won't be doing the research for you. I will lead you to the water, you'll have to drink by yourself.
(Disclaimer: This is my personal ramblings and other gals may very well disagree with me, I'm not speaking for anyone but myself.)
1) Learn What Gyaru Is, and It's History.
In order to get started in gyaru, you need to actually know what it is. I know that this sounds like common sense, but I promise you it's a very common problem I see. Depending on how someone heard about gyaru originally, they will come into it with a certain bias. It's very important to learn what gyaru actually is before you can decide if you are truly interested in investing into it, because it might not even be what you thought.
- Magazines are one of the most invaluable resources of gyaru
I consider it absolutely necessary to be familiar with the magazines to some extent.
The facebook page Shibuya Gals is an awesome resource for magazines, You can also find magazine flip throughs on Blogs and on Youtube. I highly recommend purchasing your own magazines if you are able. - Read Blogs
Gyaru are heavy blog users. There are many gals who have long running blogs full of advice, history, all kinds of gold. Look for active blogs, dead blogs, Japanese models' blogs. Take time to read back in their post history and find good information.
-Dig Up Old Stuff
Gyaru is a 30, or so, year old subculture with a HUGE footprint on the internet. Get interested in digging up those relics. You don't need to reinvent the wheel.
- Learn What Gyaru is not
I find that a lot of newbies try to marry gyaru with things that it has nothing to do with. Gyaru is not y2k/Early 2000's, Japanese Paris Hilton style, Bimbo, "Kawaii Culture", "Dolly style", EGirl adjacent, etc. These things might be able to coexist with gyaru in some instances and to some extent, but none of these are what gyaru is. If you are actually interested in something else, do that instead! Follow your joy.
2) Learn How To Shop
It is true that gyaru is not pay-to-play, and is extremely accessible, but unavoidably you're going to end up shopping at some point. Gyaru is a lifestyle and you will want to feed into it. Shopping is half the fun if you ask me!
-BEFORE BUYING ANYTHING: Decide what type of style you want to wear
A super common newbie mistake I see is buying random pieces because they "look gyaru", but just ending up with a collection of pieces that don't go with eachother, and never being able to make a coordinate.
Start browsing photos, and saving ones that give you that little inspiration tingle. I personally recommend Pinterest for this, but it's all personal preference. Try to Decide what kind of outfits you want to wear. Do you like the sexy skimpy cuts, blacks and neons, piercings and tans of a hard style gal? Frilly sweet skirts, fluffy caramel curls, pumps and jeweled nails? Decide on a cohesive style to stick to. Make sure to consider your lifestyle and if you would actually be able to wear it. It is also much simpler to pick a color scheme. This will ensure everything can be worn with everything else.
This isn't the same as committing to a hard defined substyle, and I do not recommend that personally. This way you are free of biases that might keep you from searching for things that aren't "X substyle" but you would like anyways.
- Learn How to Analyze and Break Down a Coordinate
Researching photos doesn't end at just looking at them and thinking "yes I like this". You need to break down the coordinates to their individual pieces, recognize how the silhouette is formed, recognize the pieces that are often repeated in different coordinates, and what kind of piece you need to buy in order to emulate that look. This is not complicated. It's extremely easy, and will become second nature in a short time.
It is also helpful to compare brand items to western items and recognize how they are different. You can use this to find clothing similar to gyaru brands in western shops.
- Learn How to Buy and Sell on Secondhand Platforms
Even if you don't have a lot of spending money, It is quite likely that your interests will shift from the style you originally liked, and in that case you will be able to sell off your old items to buy new ones. I would consider online and secondhand shopping a necessary skill for gal. Learn how to use a shopping service, and familiarize yourself with the resale value of brands before purchasing any. Scalping is common and you don't want to overpay.
- Buy Staple Items
I know they're not the most exciting, but that fancy ALBA coat or d.i.a. top is useless if you have nothing to wear it with. Buy staple items first before making more frivolous purchases. If there are items you will ALWAYS need, buy them first. Handbag, jacket, socks, versatile shoes, a versatile hair accessory, a good push up bra, plain skirts or shorts. It's so much easier to build coordinates when you're first starting out if you have basic pieces to pair with your special ones.
3) Join the Community, Listen and Observe
The comm is one of the best parts of gal, and you'll grow more with the help of others than you will on your own.
- Learn comm etiquette before you post
Introduce yourself, be friendly and personable, contribute to the community as you take from it. Learn how to effectively ask for constructive criticism in a way that others can helpfully answer. Try to maintain a good balance of asking questions and posting your own content. It can be uncomfortable if we are only ever interacted with for advice, especially if we don't ever see it taken.
Chances are, if you're going to ask a question, 10 other people already have. Always use the search function, google, and youtube for key words related to your question, your answer might already be out there.
-Talk To Other Gyaru
I believe I have truly learned so much just by chatting with other gyaru. Each of us carry a certain amount of knowledge, so exchanging it with others leaves us all with more to work with.
- Pay Attention to how Vet Gyaru do Things
Someone who has been doing gyaru for longer than you has been where you are before, and has moved past it, so following them and paying attention to how they operate can teach you a lot.
4) ACTUALLY DO IT
I'm not kidding when I say the number one biggest problem you're having with not knowing how to get into gyaru, or how to improve, is that you simply aren't doing it. However possible, make gyaru a part of your life. make gyaru a thing you're doing as often as you possibly can. Your knowledge of both what to do and what you need to improve will skyrocket exponentially the more you actually physically do it. You hold the key to your success, really and truly.
- Do your Makeup and Hair as often as possible
Even if it's 2AM and you have no where to go, and you're just going to wash it right back off, practice your make whenever you have time. In my beginner days, I would do my makeup multiple times a day, just to take a couple of photos, wash it back off , and redo it. Just so I could practice and learn what makeup suited my face.
I know that many new gals are nervous about wearing gyaru to school or work, but gyaru is a flashy style for flashy people. I don't know how to advise those who want to be involved in a lifestyle that they don't want to live honestly.
- Without Attempts We can't give you advice
Many new Gals are frustrated because they want to post photos for criticism, or want advice on something, but have nothing to show us because they refuse to try it knowing they will fail. You will ALWAYS be bad at it if you never allow yourself to pass the stage where you look bad. Would you rather look like a newbie for a short period or a newbie forever?
-Gyaru is extremely Accessible
Many new gals insist on wearing an extreme, expensive to maintain style, but don't have a life that allows it, so they never wear gal in the end. You need to make gal fit your life, and consider your personal restrictions when developing your personal makeup or your wardrobe. If you aren't willing to wear something that stands out at school, you should wear a more compatible style. This is absolutely possible, you just need to do it. Gyaru is flexible, you should mold it to fit you.
(Seina is just one of many gyaru with a trendy wearable style)
That's All For Today!
With this, I hope you're feeling a little more confident and like you have some more direction. If I have effectively explained, and you have properly understood, from these prompts you should have been able to find just about any resource you could possibly need!
I'm sorry it was such a long blog, but I have a lot to say I guess ><.
If there are any topics you want me to go more in depth on in their own blog, pleaseeee let me know. I have more free time than I have activities to fill it with.
Bye For Now! ❤
