Caleb Foster
In Japan, the term gyaru refers to a fashion subculture that emerged in the 1990s and is characterized by tanned skin, long and decorated nails, bleached hair, and heavy makeup. This style was popularized by Namie Amuro and was a rebellion against traditional Asian beauty standards of pale skin, straight dark hair, and conservative fashion choices. Ganguro, an offshoot of the gyaru subculture, took this even further with extremely dark tans, bleached-white hair, and colourful makeup. While some may associate the gyaru style with the Western concept of a bimbo, others argue that it is more about having fun with fashion and rebelling against traditional norms.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Gyaru, Ganguro, Yamanba, Manba, Ora Ora Gyaru, Kogyaru, Himekaji, Himegyaru, Romanba |
| Skin Tone | Tanned |
| Hair | Bleached, Blonde, Pink, Messy |
| Makeup | Heavy, Colourful, Black Eye Shadow, White Lipstick, Pale Lips, Silver or Golden Eye Shadow, Black Eye Liner, Fake Eyelashes, White Makeup |
| Nails | Long, Artificial, Elongated, Decorative |
| Clothes | Preppy, School-Girl Aesthetic, Princess Gal, Lolita Style, Bows, Lace, Barbie Style, Denim, Track Suits, Revealing Dresses, Knee-High Socks, Thigh-High Socks, Heeled Knee Boots |
| Accessories | Disney's The Aristocats, Characters with Marie as a Motif, Tattoos, Piercings |
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What You'll Learn
- Gyaru: a Japanese term for gal, referring to an over-the-top, hyperfeminine aesthetic
- Ganguro: a style with dark skin, bleached hair, and colourful makeup, inspired by Japanese folklore
- Yamanba: an extreme style with dark tan, white makeup, and bleached hair, named after a mountain witch
- Himegyaru: a princess gal style with blonde hair/highlights, tanned skin, and toned-down makeup
- Kogyaru: a trend popularised by Namie Amuro, featuring tanned skin and Japanese high school girl uniforms
Gyaru: a Japanese term for gal, referring to an over-the-top, hyperfeminine aesthetic
"Gyaru" is a Japanese term that translates to "gal" and is used to describe an over-the-top, colourful, and hyperfeminine aesthetic. The term "gyaru" first came into use in Japan during the 1970s to refer to young, lively, and energetic women. The style gained popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s, attracting media attention due to its bold and rebellious nature.
The gyaru aesthetic involves big hair, long nails, heavy makeup, and tanned skin, marking a departure from traditional Asian beauty standards that favoured pale skin and conservative fashion choices. While the style is often associated with a particular look, the focus is on the overall vibe and attitude rather than specific fashion items. Gyaru fashion varies greatly depending on the subcategory, with different styles such as himegyaru (princess gal) incorporating bows, lace, and cute patterns, while ganguro contrasts dark skin with white makeup and blonde hair.
The subculture also extends beyond fashion, with Gyarusas or Gal Circles providing communities for gals to meet and participate in activities together. Gyaru culture has its own unique form of text messaging called "gyaru-moji," which involves replacing standard Japanese characters with creative combinations of symbols, numbers, or letters. This form of text messaging allowed for private communication among girls and was considered fashionable and cute.
While there has been a decline in the popularity of gyaru as a fashion and lifestyle since its peak, there has been a renewed interest in the style since the 2020s, with younger "reiwa" gyaru adapting the aesthetic to modern preferences and interacting with the community through social media and online gal circles.
In conclusion, "gyaru" is a Japanese term for "gal" that refers to an over-the-top, hyperfeminine aesthetic that rebelled against traditional Asian beauty standards. The subculture encompasses fashion, lifestyle, and unique forms of expression through text messaging and community gatherings, continuing to evolve and find new relevance among younger generations.
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Ganguro: a style with dark skin, bleached hair, and colourful makeup, inspired by Japanese folklore
Ganguro is an alternative fashion trend among young Japanese women that emerged in the mid-to-early 1990s. The style is characterised by tanned skin, bleached or brightly coloured hair, and colourful makeup. It is inspired by Japanese folklore and is a form of rebellion against traditional beauty standards.
Ganguro, which translates to "black face" or "burn-black look", originated in the Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo. It was started by young people who wanted to challenge the traditional Japanese concept of beauty, which favoured pale skin, dark hair, and neutral makeup. By embracing the opposite aesthetic, Ganguro practitioners expressed their desire for individuality, self-expression, and freedom.
The Ganguro style includes a deep tan combined with hair dyed in shades of orange, blonde, red, or silver grey ("high bleached"). Black eyeliner, white concealer used as lipstick and eyeshadow, false eyelashes, plastic facial gems, and pearl powder are also common. The look is completed with platform shoes, brightly coloured outfits, tie-dyed sarongs, miniskirts, stickers on the face, and multiple bracelets, rings, and necklaces.
Ganguro is connected to Japanese folklore characters such as ghosts, demons, and the mountain witch or hag, Yama-uba. The off-shoot style "Yamanba", named after the mountain witch, features darker tans, white lipstick, pastel eye makeup, and bright, synthetic hair. Ganguro's association with these folkloric figures underscores its rebellious and unconventional nature.
The Ganguro trend peaked in popularity around the year 2000, influenced by fashion magazines like "Egg", "Ageha", "Popteen", and "Ego System". One of its famous advocates was a woman known as "Buriteri", who modelled for the Shibuya tanning salon "Blacky". However, due to social pressure and negative media portrayal, Buriteri eventually retired from the Ganguro lifestyle, and the trend itself faded by the year 2000, replaced by a preference for lighter skin tones.
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Yamanba: an extreme style with dark tan, white makeup, and bleached hair, named after a mountain witch
Yamanba, sometimes shortened to manba, is an extreme style that evolved from ganguro, a Japanese fashion trend among young women that peaked in popularity around the year 2000. Ganguro, which translates to "black-faced girls", involves deeply tanned skin, bleached hair, and colourful makeup. Yamanba takes this further, with extremely dark tans, white lipstick, pastel eye makeup, and bright, fluorescent hair.
The name yamanba comes from a mountain witch in Japanese folklore, reflecting the style's connection to Japanese folklore characters such as ghosts and demons, who are depicted with similar features in kabuki and noh costumes. This connection is also seen in the ganguro style, which shares similarities with yamanba but is less extreme.
Yamanba and manba feature tiny metallic or glittery adhesives below the eyes, brightly coloured circle lenses, and incongruous accessories like Hawaiian leis. The style also includes plastic day-glo-coloured clothing, often in bright, fluorescent colours. While yamanba has faded in popularity, it has also become more extreme, with multicoloured and synthetic hair.
The male equivalent of yamanba is called a Sentaa Guy, a pun on the name of a popular pedestrian shopping street near Shibuya Station in Tokyo. This style emerged as a form of rebellion against traditional Japanese beauty standards, which favoured pale skin, dark hair, and conservative fashion choices.
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Himegyaru: a princess gal style with blonde hair/highlights, tanned skin, and toned-down makeup
Gyaru is a Japanese term that translates to "gal" and is often associated with an over-the-top, colourful, and hyperfeminine style. The gyaru movement allowed Japanese women to rebel against traditional Asian beauty standards, such as pale skin, straight dark hair, and conservative fashion choices. One such style that emerged from the gyaru movement is Himegyaru, which means "princess gal".
Himegyaru is characterised by a combination of kawaii and Lolita styles, incorporating elements such as bows, lace, and cute patterns. This style often features blonde hair or highlights, tanned skin, and toned-down makeup compared to other gyaru styles. It is sometimes referred to as "Barbie-style" gyaru. The clothing typically includes dresses that are revealing yet cover more skin than other gyaru styles, often from Japanese brands such as MA*RS or Jesus Diamante.
The Himegyaru style is similar to the earlier ganguro trend, which also involved tanned skin, bleached hair, and colourful makeup. Ganguro, which translates to "black-face", focuses on the contrast between dark skin and white makeup, sometimes paired with blonde hair. This style emerged in the Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo and was influenced by Japanese folklore, with connections to the characters of ghosts and demons in kabuki and noh costumes.
While the ganguro trend peaked in the late 1990s, it eventually gave way to a preference for lighter skin tones around the year 2000. However, the gyaru movement continued to evolve, with various styles such as himegyaru offering different interpretations of the original gyaru aesthetic. These styles allowed Japanese women to experiment with fashion and express their individuality while challenging traditional beauty standards.
Himegyaru, in particular, showcases a unique blend of princess-like aesthetics with the rebellious spirit of the gyaru subculture. By combining blonde hair, tanned skin, and more subtle makeup, Himegyaru offers a distinct take on the overall gyaru style, showcasing the creativity and diversity within Japanese fashion trends.
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Kogyaru: a trend popularised by Namie Amuro, featuring tanned skin and Japanese high school girl uniforms
Kogyaru, also known as "gyaru", is a Japanese term that translates to "gal". The trend is characterised by long nails, big hair, heavy makeup, and tanned skin. It is a hyperfeminine aesthetic that is often compared to the bimbo style in Western culture. However, gyaru is not just about sexuality or being slutty; it is also about having fun with fashion and rebelling against traditional Asian beauty standards. The style is associated with Japanese high school girls, popularised by Namie Amuro during the Heisei era in the mid to late 1990s.
Namie Amuro's style, known as "Aumuraa", included tanned skin, brown hair, mini skirts, and platform boots. She is credited with not only popularising the tanned appearance but also with starting the Kogyaru trend. Kogyaru comes from the term for actual female Japanese high school students in the late 1980s and early 1990s who wore their uniforms with alterations such as shortened skirts and loose socks. They would also dye or bleach their hair and accessorise their school bags with items like danglers or cosmetic products, which were often banned in Japanese high schools.
The Kogyaru trend was part of a larger "high school girl boom" in Japanese entertainment during the mid-1990s. This shift in culture centred on younger high school and junior high school girls, with Namie Amuro as a key trendsetter. Amuro's influence extended beyond fashion, as she remained a prominent celebrity, model, and singer throughout her career. She modelled for various magazines, including Vogue, Vivi, Popteen, and JELLY, further spreading the influence of the Kogyaru style.
The Kogyaru style has been represented in various media, including anime and films. Non-gyaru anime like Pokémon has included gyaru representations, and the anime Mr. Osomatsu features a gyaru character named Jyushiko Matsuno. The 2018 movie "Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us" also features a gyaru character named Risa. In 2012, South Korean comedian Park Seong-ho portrayed a kogyaru in a sketch comedy show, showcasing the influence of the trend in popular culture.
While the Kogyaru trend popularised tanned skin and Japanese high school girl uniforms, it also faced controversy. The older generation in Japan often regarded Kogyaru girls as childish or promiscuous due to their rebellious fashion choices and deviation from traditional Asian beauty ideals. Despite this, the Kogyaru style allowed Japanese women to express their individuality and have fun with their appearance, creating a unique and influential subculture in Japanese fashion.
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Frequently asked questions
"Gyaru" is a Japanese term that translates to "gal" and describes an over-the-top, colourful, and hyperfeminine aesthetic. Gyaru fashion typically includes big hair, long nails, heavy makeup, and tanned skin.
There are several styles of gyaru, including himegyaru, which is similar to kawaii and lolita styles, using bows, lace, and cute patterns. Another style is kogyaru, which involves wearing clothing that resembles Japanese high-school student uniforms with gyaru flair. Ora ora gyaru is a more masculine style that includes track suits and denim, and yamanba is an exaggerated style with extremely dark tans, bleached hair, and white makeup.
The gyaru movement emerged as a rebellion against traditional Asian beauty standards, such as pale skin, straight dark hair, and conservative fashion choices. It originated in the Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo in the mid-1990s and peaked in popularity around the year 2000.
