My Journey into Transforming Into a Glam Gyaru

Perhaps this is a bit of a personal entry, but I thought that this was a good story to share. Especially for girls who are thinking about getting into gyaru or even girls who want a life style change or confidence boost. You are the furthest thing from alone. Here's my story~

A lot of people go through the phase of finding themselves somewhere in their life. I would go through a constant metamorphosis whether it was due to a huge wave of inspiration or gathering up the pieces of a broken heart. How I stumbled upon gyaru is still a bit vague to me however, I do know that once I heard the term 'Amura', I tried to educate myself on what it was. I think Namie Amuro started it all, she didn't turn me gyaru but she made me aware. I'm not sure if Amura even exists still BUT through that I realized like most girls, you tend to at one point want to base your style off of the idols that create a wow factor in your life. 

I thought Namie Amuro was so freaking beautiful. She always looked flawless. Her make-up was pin-point, her body frame was gorgeous, her hair was something that screamed perfection. I kept having to remind myself that she was a SINGER first and not a gorgeous magazine model. She was unique and influenced me to be more feminine in a classy sort of way. However, that didn't turn me gal. Despite that I ran into tons of gal influenced things in high school that would for sure determine my fate in the future. 

In high school I was a bit of a boy up into Junior year, when I discovered that I had easy access to lolita fashion now that New People in San Francisco opened up. Black Peace Now instantly attracted me. While everyone fawned over Baby the Stars Shine Bright, I fawned over the darkness and asymmetrics of Black Peace Now/Peace Now. Unfortunately, I was a self conscious teenager and would only do lolita and visual kei influenced looks on weekends. But during the weekday I was pretty boring looking. Lots of layers and accessories. I ran both the Japanese Club and Anime Club back at my high school though, so I was always trying to come up with things to keep the kids interested. 

I was more of a pop culture junkie than I was on traditional culture so of course I stumbled into gyaru that way. I started teaching everyone ParaPara routines for fun. I was so behind trend wise but regardless I remember having a lot of fun. Especially with the generic Hinoi Team routines and Koi Buchikage~ Innerly despite my desire of being a gothicy dark rocker chick on the outside, I really at times just from my actions and interior probably secretly wanted to be a cute kogal. One huge move was bleaching my hair back to the original color it was after having it be dyed black for a good four or five years of my youth! 

Around college I started doing lolita a lot more often. I started caring less and less about what people thought. I was immensely involved in the Black Peace Now contest fall of 2010 for the perfect aristocrat coordinate (which was a huge fail btw) and even modeled for Moholy Ground magazine representing Baby the Stars Shine Bright. Somehow though as time went by and my continued to change...slowly and slowly I broke away from the life style of a lolita. Something needed to change. Because of some personal things, I'm pretty sure my confidence was shot. I didn't feel like a woman and I didn't feel pretty.. I didn't feel anything for myself at all anymore. I was slowly tearing myself a part. 

Cosmetics became my best friends, the best anti-depressant, and the greatest of weapons. I did a social experiment to see how I'd be treated if I looked a certain way and wore more make-up and looked girlier in a different type of way. Though that I realized perhaps lolita wasn't my style and I also figured out who my true friends were around that time too. I fooled around with a really crappy 'gal ' style. I even did a tutorial and was instantly bashed. It wasn't great, it was my first delve but it hurt a little so I started away from trying to do gal or what I thought was gal..

For a while, I was a Japanese pop culture junkie but outwardly you wouldn't have been able to tell at all unless you had seen me at an event or convention in cosplay. I had conformed and took a break for a bit until I decided that I would feel better about myself. I would hit Japan Town frequently and roam around Kinokuniya looking for things to do. The first magazine that caught my eye was the glam and glittery cover of Koakuma Ageha. Sakurai Rina was the cover girl for that month and instantly, I was hooked. Every time I hit Kinokuniya from upstairs, I'd HAVE to flip through Ageha for a bit.. The ladies in there were incredibly glamorous and I wondered what it took to look that way. I started looking into circle lenses and bought my first pair to experiment. I did research on gal but was seriously intimidated. It took a lot to be a gal and the community was intense. If I thought the lolita community was crazy, I had yet to see the gyaru one. I was afraid to be a gal.

It took during the summer of 2011 to find serious inspiration. I ran into videos of Tsubasa Masuwaka   runway walking and doing photoshoots. There was something intense but cute about her. I loved her demeanor. Everything was flawless much like the feelings I had felt for Namie or even Rina... I was in love at that point. Finally what cut the cake was seeing Wise and  Kana Nishino's PV collab 'Aenakutemo;. All the ladies featured were gorgeous and Kana Nishino was equally as beautiful. I was hooked. From that point on I was set on turning myself into a gal. 

It took a lot of trial and error. At the time I was doing a lot of healing. I was healing from failure of my future. I was healing from a broken heart more so than anything. Yet again, something needed to change. I didn't feel pretty or worth anything to anyone. BUT I wanted to be and I thought through a lot of hard work gal would help gain my confidence back.

Slowly I made huge investments. Princess Mimi Circle Lenses in a sesame grey color to exclusively rock, tons and tons of fake eye lashes to layer on from Daiso, I started to learn how to grow out my hair long and curl it over time with a flat iron, I invested in a cheap ELF high lighter at the time for my face, and eventually invested in a pink and black plaid Ageha dress and a Sex Pot Revenge Lock necklace in purple... Both constantly differently. The dress to strut my stuff for an upcoming fashion shoot that I talked myself into doing at AOD 2012 and the lock necklace? For the longest time it was the lock to my heart and a reminder to myself 'you have gotten this far'. I still wear my SPR lock to this day actually because of the attachment with it now rather than for the lock that someone needs to find the key to open. The day of AOD 2012, I did my shoot, I met great friends, and the broken heart that I had locked so tightly but wore still on my sleeve had faded away. I was a fucking gal and I had a lot to learn, but my mini debut with lovely people around me to love and support me really had me feeling great... 

I kept working hair on hair styles and make-up. I started adding bottom lashes and teasing my hair to hime-like/agejyo-esque proportions. The confidence gal gave me was amazing. I was wary of starting a fashion blog on tumblr and tagging 'gal/gyaru' on it as well on Instagram but because of that, I've gained so much inspiration and learnt so much. I've gained friends. I've gained people who support me. Friends from across the globe a million miles away. The love and support was great. I felt loved. I felt sexy and a like a woman. Yes I had to cake on make-up and throw in circle lenses to feel that way and prove it. But it was a small price to pay for the feelings that I felt. 

Around that time afterward things looked up for me. I finally had scored my first job and exactly one month before my birthday a huge announcement was made. The infamous gal brand Liz Lisa was hitting the United States for the first time and was holding a fashion contest in San Francisco in August as well as opening a mini-store for two day. Liz Lisa had been the first brand I had heard of when I started researching into what gyaru was and it had a special place in my heart honestly. It was my favorite brand by far despite my tendencies to want to look agejyo.  

 I was scared that I wasn't gal enough for the contest and for days debated on entering. Due to tons of friends saying 'DO IT', I did it. I decided from that point that I'd step up my game and be a fierce gal and debut officially as a gyaru. A good friend lent me her Liz Lisa stuff for that weekend and I felt like Cinderella with a fairy god mother. Hair and make-up was up to me but the coordinate I decided to rock on the stage that weekend felt sexy and cute and fit the them beautifully. 

So then J-Pop Summit hit and no I didn't win but I had felt more confident than I had in the longest of time. The money I had saved up paycheck to paycheck went towards my first brand name dress from Liz Lisa. There was no going back. The more and more I saw things and did shoots and met other girls into the same things I was into, the more sure I felt on being a gal and how I wanted to stay being a gal! I started buying Popteen and EGG and loving the girls who modeled like Pikarin and Kumiky. I started falling in love with other brands too and started incorporating gyaru style into my everyday wardrobe or make-up even if it was for cosplay at a convention. 

The point of this story is; ANYONE can be a gal. It's a lot of hard work. But don't let it stop you. I went to the extremes and it took me a long time. If you're into the style? Don't let anything or anyone stop you. It's not about what brand names you own but how you wear the style and make it yours. Hopefully if you're thinking about delving into being a gal, you will also feel confident, and sexy, and feel prideful on being a woman. Because that's what I felt and perhaps there's different feelings for different people but it honestly healed me. It masked my failure, sheathed and healed a broken heart, and gave me some of the greatest friends and biggest opportunities that I couldn't dream of having. I hope through the blog and through the events and pictures of coordinates/make-up shots I post I can share the feelings I have felt with others.  <3