While I'm not an old school gyaru myself, I have a weakness for vintage late 90s/00s aesthetics. Even before it came into fashion-it's been my vibe and has been something I haven't indulged in myself. However, I was so excited when I saw these. Hopefully, this means that we're getting a full Y2K experience soon. These type of shoes aren't exactly limited to gyaru fashion but were popular in the style. I remember these being big even in America when I was a kid...though maybe not as extreme as the gyaru counterpart.
The Esperanza x OK collab created quite a bit of excitement because they had came out with old school boots. However, as exciting as it was to make a nod in that Y2K-y direction when it came to gyaru fashion it didn't do it enough for me to purchase any because: 1. I don't do old school 2. there weren't what I was looking for in an old school gyaru shoe.
I don't care how much people indulge in those, Demonias, and YRUs. They're not fully the style and you're about to see what I mean. Here are some examples of really old gyaru shoes from the glory days.
These are from the brand La*Carte. The Buffalo style tennis shoe is still quite accessible if you notice-the sandals have a very large platform with barely any type of incline downward. The front of the shoe is stupidly chunky and the back is thick. I don't know how to explain them but basically, this is what I look for in a gyaru-style platform sandal.
Here's an example in a magazine scan. They're HUGE. I really don't know how girls didn't twist a fucking ankle in them but they're certainly an old school gyaru staple that's been hard to come across.
However, when we look at boots it's a different story. The reason the Esperanza x OKs didn't wow me is because of the style the boots were. PVC/Cloth style GoGo boot. Those were popular but the major difference is the little "dip" as I call it in the heel. I don't know how to explain it but it's very vintage almost 60s/70s style and is so distinct. I adore it and it's truly a mark of its time.
Here you can see kind of what I mean from the boot's side profile. The front is that trademark chonk and the heel does this thing were it looks thin in the middle?
So here I was, browsing through FashionNova of all places and I stumble across a fuck ton of gyaru style shoes. I was shook. This isn't sponsored. I haven't even ordered anything from that brand before but I thought this was a useful find to share.
HI. HELLO. SHOES WITH ALMOST A PROPER DIP IN THE HEEL. They're not all the way accurate but they're pretty damn close if the front was just a little chunkier. However, the back is so accurate that I was excited when I saw these. These are a perfect base heel for an outfit.
Here we have them fam. The perfect gyaru style platform. The front is perfect. The back is perfect. The only concerning part is the plastic over the foot that looks painful as hell. Other than that-THIS is what you want to look for in an old school shoe. These are perfect.
This next pair is a little newer of a style but never the less a iconic shoe. These are leather thigh highs. You don't want them too shiny-but kind of muted. They'd be more accurate if the toe was super pointy but these work. It's a nod to Namie Amuro who also wore this style of boot as much as the gyaru did.
Ahhh. The white GoGo style boot. I added these in because the toe was pointy. It would also be awesome if they had the boot with the dip heel and the chunky platform but this still works. The cut-off at the knee is accurate and works well a lot of old styles that were brighter are more 60s/70s-ish. I can also see this work well with an all-white coordinate-white mini, white high necked halter top, and a to the floor long jacket-with color-tinted shades and lip gloss!
And there you have it. The beginnings of a nod to a proper Y2K shoe. There are a couple of other gyaru-able shoes that could work or are on trend but they didn't scream old school to me Anyway, I hope this was helpful. Until next time!
