Hime, Ganguro or Decora? Japanese ways of shocking.

Have you ever heard the term “Gyaru”? I believe that you have. However not that many people actually know what does it stand for.

Gyaru is the Japanese translation of the English word “Gal” , originated from a 1920s brand of jeans, called “gurls”.

In Japan, this term has been picked up by fashion industry to describe a particular Japanese street fashion. Gyaru fashion is typically characterized by having heavily bleached or dyed hair (mostly shades from dark brown to blonde), highly decorated nails, and dramatic makeup.

There are several subcategories of gyaru, but I would like to focus mainly on three of them – the most interesting and shocking at the same time.

Let’s begin with Ganguro style, which was really popular in the late 1990s, and early 2000s. For a better understanding of the main idea of Ganguro, it’s important to be familiar with the social context, thanks to which this style has been evolved.

Japan is known as a very traditional and conservative country, where being an individualist is not really appreciated. Ganguro, which is characterized by dyed hair, tanned skin, and a heavy use of makeup is in some way, “a direct opposition to both traditional conceptions of Japanese school children and Japanese women as meek, obedient, and undistracting, as well as in direct opposition to traditional Japanese ideals of beauty”. We can say, that Ganguro is not only a fashion trend but also a lifestyle and the way to find their own place in the society.

Second style – Hime Gyaru is one of the most charming but on the other hand, the most expensive style of dresses of all categories. As I mentioned in my previous post, the primary inspiration of clothing is Rococo era. Hime is a modern version of princess, and her wardrobe is dominated by: dresses or skirts in pink or other pastels with lots of laces and bows. Accessories are an inseparable part of their costume, especially large bow clips with pearls, bonnets, brooches, and lace parasols.

The last one is style Decora, which basically means to dress up decoratively. Japanese girls wear the most simple clothes but they decorate them as much as possible. Inseparable parts of the outfit are bows, ribbons, colorful stockings also small toys hanging around their bodies.