Gyaru – Get to know the style of the Gals

Have you heard the term gyaru (Gal)? Usually present in animes, these Japanese girls stand out for their blonde hair, dark skin, strong personality, and different way of speaking. In this article, we will understand a little about this Japanese style.

Origin and Meaning of Gyaru

Gyaru [ギャル] is a Japanese fashion style that emerged due to a brand of jeans called “Gurls.” This word originated from the English “girl” and the slang “gals” used to refer to pretty girls.

It all started when the company Gurls launched a slogan saying:

“I can’t live without men.”

Gurls

This phrase became popular among Japanese teenagers, which ended up creating this fashion style and also a personality and lifestyle of its own.

In the 1990s and 2000s, it was hard to walk the streets and not find a group of gals. Nowadays, this fashion style has declined. Gals can now only be found on the streets of Shibuya and Harajuku.

Gyaru (Gals) Fashion Style

Girls belonging to the gyaru (gal) style usually mix colors, prints, sparkles, and all kinds of fashion and personal style in a very bold way, different from the Eastern standard.

They often get artificial tanning, completely change their hair, and wear thousands of colorful and exotic accessories.

Gyaru is also characterized by having very bleached or dyed hair (mainly dark brown to blonde tones), highly decorated nails, and dramatic composition.

The makeup consists of dark eyeliner and false eyelashes used in ways intended to make the eyes look bigger. The clothing pieces for gals differ depending on which gyaru style the girl chooses. They would roll up their skirts to make them shorter, had their own slang, and frequented specific places. They have a habit of posing with their tongues out when taking photos.

There are many famous models in this area, among them the most popular are: Tsubasa Masuwaka, Kumiko Funayama (Kumicky), Rie Matsuoka (Okarie), Hikari Shiina (Pikarin), Satomi Yakuwa (Satomin), Sayoko Ozaki, Rina Sakurai, and Blogger Jenny Franz (It Girl J).

Things declined when the stereotype of the schoolgirl emerged, and gals began to be associated with inappropriate things. There were even hentais and erotic works associating with the gals. Over time, the idea of the independent and rebellious gyaru became a cuter style.

We also recommend reading:

• Do Japanese students wear short skirts in winter?
• Bosozoku, Yankii, and Sukeban – Japanese Gangs
• Guide to Japanese Styles – Visual Kei, Decora, Harajuku

Styles and Types of Gyaru

This fashion style is divided into several categories that involve fashion and gender choices. They are:

• Gyaru-kei (ギャル系): Name given to gals who adopt the standard style of a gyaru.
• Bibinba (ビビンバ): Involves the use of large amounts of gold, jewelry, and accessories;
• Ganguro (ガングロギャル): Occurred in the 90s, girls with artificial tanning, with brown or bleached hair;
• Banba (バンバ): Use a lot of sparkle, more extreme types of false eyelashes and colored contact lenses, use less makeup;
• Hime gyaru or hime kei: One of the most expensive styles, dress like Western princesses, wear pink dresses with lots of lace, bows, pearls, crowns, and decorate their homes;
• Gyaruo (ギャル男): It is the term used for men who follow this fashion;
• Kogyaru: Generally a high school student;
• JK gyaru: recent term for Kogyaru, or gyaru still in school uniforms.
• Onee Gyaru (Onee: older), with a more mature and sophisticated style;
• B-gals: Focused on the Hip Hop world;
• HaadyGyaru: Inspired by the 80s, with many colors and sparkles;
• Kigurumi: Animal or anime costumes;
• Ane gyaru: A more rebellious style, like motorcycle gangs;
• Kogal: subgenre of gyaru, also known as a young, or baby gyaru (based on school uniforms).
• Gyaru mama (ギャルママ): Mothers with children who follow this lifestyle;

Gyaru Vocabulary

Gyaru have their own language called gyarugo (ギャル語), a type of dialect composed of some slang and endings. Many words have changed over time, many have fallen out of use.

Gyaru often use the suffix poyo (ぽよ) at the end of some words and slang. We separated some for you to understand better:

• ぽよ (poyo) – Suffix that indicates “looks pretty,” used at the end of many gyaru slang;
• あげぽよ (agepoyo) – More popular slang meaning super excited, energetic;
• さげぽよ (sagepoyo) – sad, disappointed;
• らぶぽよ (rabupoyo) – Feeling of love, passionate;
• やばぽよ (yabapoyo) – bad, evil, dangerous, risky;
• とりま (torima) – Anyway;
• ぱちこく (pachikoku) – to tell a lie;
• ぱギャル (pagal) – Not fully gal, half gyaru;
• うけぴい (ukepii) – Funny;
• あとんす (atonsu) – thank you;

Even though the style is divided into thousands and doesn’t have as much strength as in the past, gyaru has a lot of influence in Japan and the world, especially in animes, many of them spicy.