Gyaru, Rules, and the State of Being

Cross posted from a forum July 21,2025

This is NOT to single any particular person out, just wrote a lot and wanted to archive it. :}

On gyaru fashion, gyaru as a subculture, gyaru rules, and the state of being 

“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare

 -Romeo and Juliet-

Gyaru is based on trends and popular items in a mall so some of that “freedom” is premade from the brands/mall. Manba is very otp compared to Rokku, Onee, Hime which makes it stand out more as “alt”.

The Cost of Cute Heels

There’s no doubt that the right pair of shoes can bring a level of badassery to an outfit. Heels can be cool, cute, sexy, outrageous or even dark and mysterious. They come in various styles: heights, colours, with a platform or without, stiletto heel or chunky. 

You know whats not hot? Foot pain! 

Sunk Cost Paradox - Sunk Cost Fallacy Pt2

2016 Depaul Business Event

One statement that resonated during this event was “if a business, etc, isn’t fueling your growth, then it’s alright to leave.” It was not just about money, though.... if an entity is registered as a business.... then it has to pay the people they employ... I digress... Another point that led to the Sunk Cost Fallacy post! There have been a lot of establishments where I not only learned a lot from, but was able to track the metrics of my growth and progress. [Just to be clear], I even learned things from one organization (business? non profit? start up?) where I was to wear the label of a dumb slutted version of myself to have someone else comfortable and “professional” at my own expense and without my consent based on the experiences I downplayed for the sake of peace and focusing on what was less negative.

Juneteenth

 Its already June 19th (Happy Juneteenth everyone!) and it has been quite warm. Finally! 

Though it's not officially summer just yet (it starts tomorrow) it feels like it, and I have been scouring the internet for fun things to do. Do I want to do picnics? Tan at the beach? Do I want to explore something new? I can do all of that, and... what will be next?

WCG Trend Alert

D.i.a.’s comeback and goods live!

D.i.a.’s revival goods

D.i.a. Had their launch on ZoZo on June 4th, and showcased their products on their social media. You know I was up to watch the reveal of their newest items! 

Antidepressants Are Useless? pt 2

Welcome back, heartlets.🫶👿🌟

In a short article back in 2022, Antidepressants Are Useless? In 2022, I mentioned that after reading an article, read it here,  I was somewhat shocked that someone would suggest these common remedies were not as effective as their industry was claiming. Far too often do we see all sorts of mental health prescription advertisements on American television compared to other countries, as if they were candy or a new, trendy item.  Just to be clear, I am not a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist; this is from my own findings.

When I was in my most active online era, I would come across posts on social media that had me thinking about depression differently than just cute gyaru pictures or makeup tutorials. Some of those posts had reiterations of a quote that read:

Quote by ??

It's Rohto Z! - Review

 "Wow, what a feeling! Strong yet soft, the indescribable sensation is truly long lasting."

"The sensation spreads through my brain- I feel wide awake, My eyes are purified and refreshed."

It's Rohto Z!

Feel it!

Lisha’s Game Site Gyaru Interview

 

Interview from that one geek #gaming site I was asked to be a part of after my Gaiaonline activities around 2010 or so. The direction of that whole… interaction and collab was unclear. I was told to just move on from it and not question it when I brought it up in 2020 after leaving the group officially, and my posts containing my content being removed in 2015/2017 ish.

D.i.a. Revival

 D.i.a. Is Back!

So the iconic gyaru brand with western influences, d.i.a., has risen! At first, I thought it to be a prank, but they have been having promo pictures of their new goods being showcased by with the latest gyaru models from the ever so controversial egg mag.

A Brand That Will Probably Stay Gone

 

With more items being available for gyarucoming from Japan itself, (D.i.a., Ma*rs, and even some newer brands), Alba Rosa comes to mind as well. 

最近、日本からもっと平成ギャル服ことが現れた。例えばDia、Ma*rs、新しい平成系服ブランドも』。外人ギャル達が他のブランドが頭に浮かんだ。。。AlbaRosaだ！

However, Alba Rosa wasn’t originally a brand that catered to gyaru; they (those gyaru) just found it cute as hell. 🌺

しかし、AlbaRosaはギャルブランドじゃなかったわよ。サーフブランドだったね。この時は、このギャルがヤベ可愛すぎと思ったんだ。

「ペラペラじゃないですけど、メンゴメンゴね」

“GyARu is SupPosEd tO ScAre oFf mEn!”

 There is SO much misinformation going on about the purpose of gyaru makeup, so much so, that @🎀kitkat🎀 , comments on an old montage of my most extreme gyaru makeup (Manba, super large eyes with a droop), to tell me 

Huh? The video was about doing white filled droops correctly, so why the comment in the first place? Just saw a video tagged “gyaru” and had the copy paste button at the ready? No matter the meaning of the video?

College Daze

It sucks hearing from a so called friend that she miscarried a baby with the man you had a crush on. You block it out, not wanting to think of them going at it to even get to such a conclusion thats being used to play on your sympathy. Or, is it slap in the face?

 You’d  think with so much time spent on various projects, working with a gyaru brand twice, using every braincell in an internship at a top Chicago University, blogging, researching, and pushing myself at different jobs that I’d get over the pain of being painfully naive and nooby with a colleague and a complex situation that got out of hand. 

2010 Fan/Portrait art by Ashley A. Woods

 Black Gamer Girls + Work Exploitation

In 2010, I met Ashley, a black comic book artist, at a local anime convention. She was tall, with a short haircut and was in a cosplay of one of her own original characters. She was bright, nerdy and bubbly, and we clicked instantly. 

Daily Drills Viral Bubble Dress

 I came across a post of a creator talking about a new brand called “Daily Drills”. I assumed it was about equipment and tools or even practicing language learning reps until I started to read the comments to later see what the brand was about. 

Some of the items of this brand are basic, even outside of alternative fashion. One piece stuck out to me as the most bizarre one; the bubble dress. Bubble dresses were a bit cute for millennials in the early 2010s, after all as a gaijin gyaru who loves fashion, I had a few myself. I initially thought it couldn’t be that bad...

Resume Under Attack! : Invading Jobs and Harrassment at Work

Cross Posted from  Jan. 10, 2024 1:16am 

When I was a young college student, involved with gyaru fashion, blogging, and event coordination, looking feverishly for jobs 14 years ago, I initially did not take into account bad actors who may use my resume for nefarious means. I was unaware of the blindspots I had with this once simple situation. 

I had given my resume to a woman who claimed she would assist me in updating it for the jobs that I wanted, and I thought she was doing me a favor. After a quick turnaround time, I was equipped with a shiny new resume, ready to send it to various businesses around my city to support myself and content creation. 

Unfortunately, this simplistic act of providing my base resume in 2010ish became a minefield of data for an overeager stranger who was now privy to all the info

Mens Wear Part 1

I get requests from time to time about men's fashion. I realized I do not talk about male fashion much on my channels. So with this post, I will change that. Most of whom read my blog identify as women, so the content is geared to that.

*The pictures belong to their respective owners.*

Gyaru-o from a Japanese magazine

Gyaru-O

Yes, Gyaru would not be complete if there were no male counterpart. Gyaru-o from a Japanese fashion magazine sporting a dark jacket with a grey shirt and extremely distressed jeans. Accessories include a silver cross, and an ornamented belt. Brown, slouchy boots keep the look casual.

Bounce Kogals & Commentary

Graphic design by Lisha-2013

I recently shared a graphic design mock up (2013) on TikTok  based on the movie Bounce Kogals by Harada (1997). It’s a film that I watched in college, around Diamond gyaru circle days (2010-2011) for a gals’ night in with a made from scratch Osakan themed dinner with a healthy side of natto. Delicious.✨

It’s a poignant story of Maki, a bold and strong willed ko Gyaru in the ever so iconic kogal uniform, and an adventurous young student, Lisa, whose lives intertwine and those that exploit them in Tokyo, Japan. 

Momoa Graduating and More Gyaru-fied 109

As January has been a clusterf*ck of events, let's focus on something else. There's been a few things that are going on in the JP gyaru world.  Let's cover them, shall we?

Soon to be ex egg model, Momoa

One of them is that Momoa is retiring from Egg Mag come this April. I briefly watched the video about her upcoming graduation from egg.

What Bacteria Lives In Your Makeup Brushes?

 How Much Bacteria Lives on Your Makeup Brushes (and How to Prevent It)

Did you know your makeup brushes could be a breeding ground for bacteria? Without regular cleaning, they can harbor thousands (if not millions) of harmful microbes and germies. Here’s everything you need to know about how bacteria accumulate and what you can do to protect your skin for kawaii gyaru makeup.

Egg, C’mon Now!

Egg magazine pulled another clickbaity, race-baiting stunt again on their YouTube channel. I went to look for it the other day for this post, but it was removed. 

Momoa doing Blackface 

Innovation in Gyaru

 As a person that did cybermanba before DeDedo (with some people not liking it) as well as me wearing a camo hoodie for banba, I get why some people would not like style mixing or doing something off beat.

Time slip twins?!

 I was posted on “gyaru_fucks” for this outfit, yet Black Diamond’s Galeo’s Harutamu and outfit gets love and $$$. 

 If someone is brand new to the style, they have yet to get their basics down first before wanting to do something new, but my makeup was consistent and on point back then. 

Some people have no idea on how to do make, don’t want to do the make, don’t know how to do basic coord making, or seem to want to rename old styles that already exist. How is this innovation? How is it being innovative If you can’t even do the basic reiwa make up?