Recently in the gaijin gyaru spaces I’ve been in, there’s been a lot of discourse about substyles and creation of substyles, and I have a lot of complex thoughts and nuances that run through my head that I’m going to hide under a read more but get my thoughts out, not only in terms of gyaru but also fashion subcultures / fashion in general.
The tldr;
Point 1: We are trying to force aesthetics via naming “substyles”/“aesthetics while also kind of making the understanding of them to be surface level, which can lead to “watering down” or creating new substyles
Point 2: Forced trends don’t work and there will be backlash. But this is also not a popular take as we are still inching towards the pop of the influencer bubble.
Point 3: We are trying to validate the aesthetic labels we give ourselves through affirmations of strangers on the internet… when really why should we? Isn’t the point of doing this for ourselves.
A lot of this is going to come through the lens of the gyaru subculture but if any non gals read this… lmk your thoughts. I also have a bias of disdain towards online influencers due to exposure to them since 2016. I am also just going to sound a bit vain. A bit of a bitch. But I would love to hear other opinions out
Point 1: I can admit I chose the agejo substyle when I started out and now still lean in the agejo/hime substyle when I wear more OTT looks. However, in learning more about agejo I realize the surface level of agejo is so… minimal, but it’s really the only thing recognized as agejo. Even in those “agejo just isn’t this… it’s also this!!!” It’s still such a miniseries of what agejo is. The substyle translated into a gaijin gyaru understanding is “agejo is pink black lace MA*RS yadda yadda” when really agejo should just be…. Girls who read and are inspired by the looks in koakuma Ageha LMAO.
I think also when people think of tsuyome and slap on leopard print or think of manba yamanba and slap on a hibiscus and they think they’ve got the look down pat. It’s all very surface level. The thing with the gyaru models is that there’s an understanding of taking core aspects and styling them in a way it looks put together. I see these days a lot more people slapping on a random outfit and asking “what substyle am I giving!?” (Keep this in mind for point 3).
Even for me, I take a lot of time trying to make my outfit look coordinated, and I’m like always doing it at 50% cus I’m lazy. The gal models people look up to are pretty good at styling themselves. They make it look super easy.
I think also these bare bones understanding of these substyles can lead people to think they don’t fall under a substyle and need a new name for whatever they’re wearing. Which I’m hitting the point of I am just going to tell people I’m a koakuma Ageha fan. If I don’t fit a basic understanding of a substyle, it’s whatever.
Point 2: First I want to note it is fine to develop your gal style to be more personal, and go in a new direction.
With the gal space being so vast I had only recently become aware of Candy gyaru, with seeing only one video talking about various aspects I will admit I was skeptical. But looking more into Candee, I realize I was a bit overly negative and this was a style she developed into on her own gal journey. I guess my skepticism is more in the …. Sudden push of a new substyle? I wasn’t around for Dede bringing about cyber gyaru, but I do note I read disdain about it.
I think back to idol kei which suddenly came out with a list of new rules but it wasn’t something people were wearing and getting notoriety from before hand, it just felt like it was… a industry plant in some sort of way. I don’t agree with how harsh the backlash was, but I definitely remember looking into it and I was super skeptical.
When it comes to trends, it’s because someone with enough influence does something and enough people want to replicate it. I think a recent example was Kendall Jenner and the white tank top. She didn’t say go buy it, she wore it, took a photo, and girls when running to buy a basic tank and started calling it the staple for the summer. I always find influencers who are able to influence in a way that doesn’t sound sales like impressive, because they truly are an influencer vs the modern day influencer/salesman.
Back to gal, I think some influences on my habits have been hellolizziebee, boy.kuma, and some of my mutuals who have given suggestions on how they improved or what they wear. They didn’t come to me like a salesman, some didn’t even talk to me at all, I just saw their post and went “wow I need to do that too.”
I could go on a whole tangent about how people join communities to try and pioneer something vs be in it, but till save the talk of my frustrations with that. In a gyaru sense, most people who join for the sake of pioneering start with making the same informational content, or barely start the process of understanding the gyaru fundamentals and then run off and make a new substyle. I think if anything, if a gal just wears it and doesn’t force a push, a new gyaru trend could definitely be born.
Ok point 3: nothing to do with point 2, but back to point 1. People love to have a substyle name attached to them as we are in an era where overlabeling means a lot. And I say this as a demisexual lesbian, who really likes adding the demisexual because it helps people understand who I am more.
My point is more towards aesthetic labels. People don’t want to just BE gyaru, people want to BE SEEN as gyaru. And let me tell ya… if you are living in the United States like me…. Not a lot of people know what gyaru is. And the ones that do never pronounce it right. I do sound a little… pessimistic in writing this fact but I don’t mean it in a pessimistic way. I mean it in a … be gyaru because you want to be. Be gyaru and don’t even over explain yourself to people. Sometimes people ask if I’m in a costume and it’s easier to say “oh I just wear this” and they are like “oh damn nice!!” Or if someone asks if I’m Lolita I go “close but no”.
But I never take it personally, and I think a mistake a lot of baby gals (including myself) made was that the goal is to instantly read as a gyaru from the start. It’s easier to understand a portion of the basics and work and develop yourself.
Asking gals “what substyle am I” or “should I do this or that” feels more like you’re shaping your identity for the sake of others and that’s FUCKING LAME !!!!!! SHAPE YOUR IDENTITY FOR THE SAKE OF URSELF DEAR LORD!!!!!! Please learn to make decisions for yourself. Stop asking the people of TikTok and Reddit especially…….. please I beg.
Uh. Yeah that’s the rant. For some additional items here’s me trying to be a gal back in May of 2022 vs like. These past two weeks
Ya girl was trying. Trying so hard.
And the. These are some recent looks :) I love being a chameleon
