Gyaru

Template:Short description (Template:Langx, ) is a Japanese fashion subculture for young women, often associated with gaudy fashion styles and dyed hair. The term is a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word . In Japan, it is used to refer to young women who are cheerful, sociable, and adopt trendy fashions, serving as a stereotype of culture as well as fashion.

The fashion subculture was considered to be nonconformist and rebelling against Japanese social and aesthetic standards during a time when women were expected to be housewives and fit Asian beauty standards of pale skin and dark hair. Early in its rise, subculture was considered racy, and associated with juvenile delinquency and frivolousness among teenage girls. The term is also associated with dance culture and clubbing. Its popularity peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s.

A popular subculture specific to the Heisei era (1989–2019) is "kogal () culture" or "kogal fashion,” and has been commercialized by Japanese companies such as Sanrio, and even introduced and supported as a Japanese brand by the Japanese government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with “Lolita fashion.”

An equivalent term also exists for men, .

History

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A photo shooting featuring Shibuya style with both pale and tan skin at Ikebukuro in 2009

before culture

1970s

The word is a Japanese loanword based on the English slang word "gal". Although it has not been fully confirmed, some people say that the term gal also became popular when Wrangler released women's jeans called "Gals" in 1972. When the word first began to be used in Japan in the 1970s, it referred to energetic, youthful women.

In 1978, a Japanese fashion information magazine for girls called "GAL'S LIFE" was first published. This magazine introduced the culture of women in the West Coast of the United States, and included punk rock music, along with other genres like new wave and indie. However, the magazine had nothing to do with Japan's culture. Later, this magazine gained controversy due to its extreme expression of sexuality. (see Harmful books Progress in the regulation of harmful books).

In 1979, Kenji Sawad’s song "OH! Gal'' became a hit.

1980s

At the height of the bubble economy of Japan in the late 1980s, inspired by European fashion trends seen earlier in the decade, women began wearing tight bodycon dresses and suits that emphasized their body lines. This style was mostly worn by female college students and office ladies, and the word "gal" was used to refer to women of the younger generation. The phrases "" (lively attractive gal) and "" (cool gal) also appeared in the early 1980s.

Around this time, Shibuya saw the construction of several fashion and department stores, leading to the city becoming more youth-friendly.

On the other hand, in Harajuku, there was a huge boom in street dance culture called Takenokozoku in the early 1980s. Even in the late 1980s when Takenokozoku was on the decline, facets of youth culture such as live street performances remained popular in Harajuku.

Heisei/Reiwa Gal

1990s

File:Shibuya 109 cropped.jpg

Shibuya 109 in 2006

Even into the 1990s, the word gal continued to be used. In particular, the "" that appears in the manga Sweet Spot, drawn by Yutsuko Chusonji gained so much recognition that it won the Buzzword Award. This term is usually used for young women who act like old men. Although this term has little to do with fashion itself, it can be said that it was one of the first indicators that were "cutting-edge in appearance, but somehow lacked order and manners in their speech and behavior". Later on, modern was compared with .

Around this time, Shibuya's shop tenants such as 109 and PARCO gradually shifted to catering to teenagers, establishing the area as a cutting-edge district for teen fashion.

Meanwhile, since around 1993 in Harajuku, street fashion has flourished, as tenant rents were relatively low. From around 1998, Gothic Lolita fashion began to emerge, which later became connected to as its opposer of ideals to , forming an even more diverse youth culture.

Kogal and amuraa

From 1992 to 1993, just after the Japanese bubble burst, high school girls with short skirts, loose socks, and wearing uniforms appeared, which began to attract attention from the mass media.

During the same time period, Namie Amuro of Super Monkey's, had influenced many young girls with her style. Those who imitated the way she dressed called the style "Amuraa". Along with amuraa, other styles, such as 1970s style surfer fashion and LA fashion had become popular among teenage girls. One particularly significant change in fashion was the rise of brown dyed hair, which is theorized to because of the rise of Amuro.

By 1993, the office lady/female college student boom that had been going on since the 1980s had completely ended due to the collapse of the bubble economy, and the "high school girl boom" was in full swing. From around 1995, this symbolized that even the entertainment of young people was changing to a culture centered around younger high school and junior high school girls.

There are various theories about the origin of the word Kogal, but the most popular theory is that the term was originally used as a slang term to distinguish high school girls who were not allowed to enter night clubs from adult women. There is also a theory that the word "" was derived as an abbreviation of "High school girl" in Japanese.

Another derivative word that was created through the initiative of the mass media was "", which refers to a junior high school girl.

During this period, Kogal was popular to the degree there was also a " boom" in the media, including shows and weekly magazines, featuring specials about kogals on a regular basis. However, in the shadow of this, various issues such as the lack of a concept of chastity and moral values among young people were also brought up at the same time. In particular, with regard to "Enjo kōsai'' (compensated dating), there were concerns that laws prohibiting child prostitution and child pornography had not yet been established, and this was strongly viewed as a problem. It has also been noted that for many gals, it was only through these sources of funds that they could dress up in the extremely expensive fashions of the culture.

While Kogal was popular in the 1990s, it was rarely seen in the mass media anymore in the 2000s. However, in foreign countries such as the United States, Kogal is also often used as a general term to describe Japanese high school girls. In some places, Kogal is also used as a form of fetish category.

Appearance

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The appearance of circle lenses on the eye at the right.

By the early 2010s, fashion was typically characterized by a face with matte foundation, silver or golden eye shadow, dark lash line with false eyelashes for both upper and lower eyelid, pale or cool colored lips, colored contacts and tanned skin as it is considered a must in some substyles. They were also most often seen with highly elongated and decorated artificial nails.

The dramatic nature of makeup is considered essential to the subculture, with deviations depending on which substyle one partakes in. Makeup typically consists of black eye shadow on the lower lash line, black eye liner, fake eyelashes, and sometimes a white or colored eye shadow applied to the inner or outer corners, and the lower lashline of the eye. This is to make the eyes appear larger or to contour them to elongate the eye of the sclera. Conversely, it is sometimes said in online communities that white eyeshadow applied to the extremities of the lower lash line can be frowned upon, as it creates a cosplay-like appearance.

Contouring different parts of the face to change facial features and highlighting the nose for a slimming effect is often done. Also eyebrows should be well kept, often trimmed, with barely any loose strands of eyebrow hair to be seen; some even forgo to regularly maintain them through plucking their eyebrows ultimately decide to shave them. They are drawn with eyebrow pencil or powder in an arched brow or most often a triangular flick; then they are lighten with eyebrow mascara. Never a full thick bushy eyebrows or those with a unibrow is seen as a part of the appearance.

As for the eyes; colored contacts, often circle lenses, are used to change eye color and make the eyes appear larger due to the extreme diameter of circle lenses. In addition to enhancing eye diameter, will use eyelid tape or glue to create the appearance of double eyelids instead of monolids. Some even decide to undergo eyelid surgery. In the later years of this style, with the popularity of South Korea through its soft power, the Korean wave brought an evolution in the makeup of . The makeup would see the use of the technique of increasing or creating a larger appearance of the under eye by applying makeup, such as highlighting the under eye and contouring the eye crease to make the eye bag appear prominent; this is known as Korean: ; RR: Template:Category handler.

Hairstyling often differs between substyles. Heavily bleached or dyed hair is most often seen; shades range from dark brown to lighter shades of brown to multiple shades of red or multiple shades of blonde. Black colored hair can also be seen in but most Japanese participants commonly have dyed hair. Hair is mostly styled either by curling it with a curling iron or having straight hair done by the use of a hair straightener. Hair may be also be crimped to create extra volume. The hair is crimped differently than in the West. In Japanese, this hair styling was called (); in English, it means assorted streaks. This styling is named so, not only because of its enormous volume of hair, the usage of hair extension to achieve this look or even its use of an assortment of wigs to create this hairstyle. However, this name comes from these streaks of hair that are made apparent by being held by gel. Since after the curling and crimping; the gel would be used to keep hair streaks visible and present throughout the day.

Apparel for fashion also varies by substyle and retail store; this choice of brands can denote which substyle one participates in. Japanese street fashion brands or western fast fashion brands with general aesthetics indicated one's substyle depending on their appearance in an outfit. Although some bought western luxury brands or even haute couture brands, most gravitated toward Japanese brands, depending on their style. Most of the apparel originated from Shibuya 109. A full outfit of only designer brands is not considered completely unless one tries for a specific substyle. Yet, even those who participate in the substyle of wearing designer items have different brands, regardless of whether the brands are Western or Japanese. They would generally mix different brands to create a look.

As for physical appearance, s are presented as having an East Asian thin or underweight physique to those overseas; though this body is proliferated by magazines that have on tail or back part of the magazine a quantity of advertisements for dieting products, procedures, companies or methods to lose weight. Incorrectly starting or opening of these magazines could contribute to a Eating Disorder; as depending if the reader is using the Western principle of book orientation to open the magazine could possibly continually be presented to those adverts. These advertisements are also presented with underweight models or photoshopped bodies with a denominator of low body weight. Though in reality not all participants of Japanese origin were underweight and some and most overseas s are of a average or overweight body type.

Substyles

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A woman from Susukino wearing a in 2010. She is characterized as by her hair and make-up.

File:Shibuya Gal (2).jpg

A type of in Shibuya 109 during 2010. The voluminous curly hair in combination with the pink frilly outfit is typical for the style. She is wearing the brand Golds Infinity.

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An example of a with hair and makeup typical for the mid to late 1990s. This type also falls under due to the strong tan.

wear a wide spectrum of styles that vary in their overall design. The subculture's fashion is referred to as () in Japanese, translating roughly to "-type" or "classified as ". are not limited to one specific style as and the style as a whole; participants are encouraged to alternate between different substyles.

The different styles of are generally known as "substyles". Despite the rigidity implied by the term, these are less rigid categories and more loose labels coined to describe different evolutions and movements in fashion which emerged as the subculture developed. Each substyle can be classified by its distinct brands (e.g. La Pafait is primarily a brand), hairstyles, silhouettes, color palettes and makeup styles.

Furthermore, most style denotion are terms popularized by magazines and most not organic street styles created by everyday participants.

("American casual") is a style inspired by American culture but does follow an African-American silhouette or Hip-hop fashion styled appearance such as the baggy look. It is bright, fun, flamboyant, and multi-colored. Inspired by fictionalized images of America, the clothes are generally looser than most other styles. They usually have many overlapping layers. Pieces found in fashion include sweaters, bomber and Letterman jackets, t-shirts, shorts, jeans, overalls, cargo pants, tennis shoes, engineer boots, and Uggs. The fashion brands most associated with this substyle are ANAP, COCO*LULU, BLUE MOON BLUE and Wakatsuki Chinatsu. Wearing men's clothing is also common in ; COCO*LULU had a menswear line. The menswear brand Buzz Spunky is also a staple in .

is a sub-style of that draws inspiration from the baggy street style popularized by hip-hop artists. The letter B in the name is derived from the terms B-Girl and B-Boy, which are commonly used for members of the hip-hop community. never gained widespread popularity in Japan and was mainly associated with the store Baby Shoop. Outside of Japan, reception of is mixed; the debate over cultural appropriation of Black American culture is a point of contention among many Western .

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Examples of a and a during the early 2000s

, also known as ,Template:User-generated source is a style with artificially deep tanned skin and bleached hair, makeup which tends to feature white around the eyes and on the lips, though in some cases darker shades of color are sometimes seen on the eyes of . Decorations such as glitter or flowers, such as hibiscus flower stickers, are often added under the eyes. This style was popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The name is believed to be derived from the term , meaning "exceptionally dark".

are teenage or women who continue to wear the style even after having children. Writing for BBC News, Mariko Oi stated that "gal-mama are young mothers who refuse to shed their gal-ness". They sometimes clothe their children in the same style. For example, Aki, a leader of her own named Brillant Lab, reveals how these mothers dressed and how they chose their children's outfits, hair and hair color to correspond to their mother's outfit. In other words, the child became a 's accessory. These mothers might parent differently than most in Japan; their parenting style can be quite contemporary for the Japanese societal norms, perceptions and it has been said that it is less stressful for their children.

is a male . Their style is similar to , including high-volume styled hair, similar fashion, and tanned skin. is often written in Japanese as () or (Template:Literal translation).

also known as , is one of the more flamboyant and expensive styles of ; it is considered essential to buy clothing from pricey brand names such as Jesus Diamante, La Parfait or Princess Melody or from the cheaper brand Rosy future. The substyle is largely based on the Rococo era, as the Japanese word ; who wear this style often wear dresses or skirts in pink or other pastel colors with many laces and bows. Rose patterns, rosettes, pearls, and crown motifs are also common. Headpieces range from large bow clips with pearls to headbands with a rose accent. The hair is bleached, crimped in a bouffant at the top, and curled wigs/extensions are worn to create -styled hair. The make-up style often has more exaggerated eyes than the typical style. The concept of is not limited to fashion; many girls see it as a way of life, often making or buying custom-made decor for their homes. The style blossomed in the early 2000s but has since declined or turned more casual; this version is referred to as . The style mostly draws upon the Japanese fashion brand Liz Lisa whose appearance and clothes are more casual than . The style is not to be confused with Lolita fashion.

(, Template:Literal translation), is a substyle which emerged in the late 2000s. Though it began as a casual alternative to the pricey, high-maintenance style, it has since taken on a life of its own. It is associated primarily with Liz Lisa, but brands such as Axes Femme, Tralala (Liz Lisa's sister brand) and Yumetenbou were also popular choices for gals. tends to stick closely to a similar palette to - pink and white - with occasional brown and beige, and is (like ) characterised by retro floral prints, as well as polka dots, check and plaid patterns. features girly elements such as floral blouses, miniskirts, thigh-high socks, heeled knee boots, ruffles, bows and lace details, but in a more casual form than its predecessor. Hair for gals may be either light or dark, but must always be styled. This style also does not require tanning, and the makeup, though still featuring the signature circle lens and fluffy lashes, may not be as exaggerated as . experienced a peak in popularity between the years 2010-2013, dropping as the 2010s continued, but has recently undergone an online resurgence.

defines those who wear clothing resembling Japanese high-school student uniforms with flair added to them. Slight alterations such as color or presentation of the garment are frequent. They may also be an actual high school uniform purchased from a . The term comes from actual female Japanese high school students in the late 1980s and early 1990s, around the Heisei era who wore this style during or after school sessions. They would shorten their skirts from their high school uniform protocol length to give them a miniskirt appearance and length and wear loose socks. The origin of these socks is American brand E.G. Smith. also often have dyed or bleached hair, accessorizing their high school bags with danglers or mixed educational material with cosmetic products and a portable mirror, things often banned in Japanese high school. Namie Amuro is said to be not only the one who popularized the tanned appearance, but also as having started the trend during the Heisei era. The term is derived from the mixing of the Japanese word () or Template:Literal translation but written in Katakana as , and the word . It is noteworthy that due to the Japanese educational system's regulations on uniforms, the uniforms varied by school, indicating higher standards in terms of grades or wealth. This mattered in fashion. The term of is closely related to () (Template:Literal translation). The importance of is that often on social network services the Kanji would be abbreviated to "JK" because the first letters used in these Kanji. In this case, these letters combined are not used to convey or be internet speech to refer to joking but is a direct abbreviation for the word . This subculture of fashion is closely related to JK business and compensated dating or .

is one that is most often compared to or confused with due to the fact that both styles were brought to the Japanese public's eye attention through the , , and Japanese biker gang culture with makeup and style. The magazine of choice is Soul Sister. This style can be understood by its style choice of apparel, such as track suits, greater use of denim, and a generally more masculine look. The style is also known as () and (). These girls were often seen driving as a couple, were or are mechanics, and sometimes ride bikes. They tend to have tattoos and piercings. This is not only done to look rebellious but the style caters to girls who live on the edge.

also often shortened to マンバ (Manba) is an exaggerated style characterized by an extremely dark artificial tan, messy bleached-white hair, and white makeup. is said to be inspired by the Japanese (, Template:Literal translation), an unkempt old woman with dark skin, white hair, and a dirty, unkempt appearance, who would disguise herself as a beautiful young woman to lure male victims. Like , the style was often considered to be a joke and deliberately unattractive, with some saying they liked the trend "because it looked stupid." fashion attracted a reputation as being "unclean" or delinquent.

Micro styles

Micro styles of are styles which are less common or just were trends, are magazine terms of little notoriety (e.g. marine or ), have declined in popularity or have become obsolete.

Bohemian

Bohemian is a substyle which is rarely worn and is considered less of an actual style and more of a seasonal outfit for those who participate in broader fashion. It is less of a substyle restrained by rules, being mostly worn in the spring and summer seasons or for those that live in warmer climates. Since the clothing pieces are of a lighter textile, only a jacket is used for layering, and woven leather accessories such as a belt and shoes are more often seen than in other styles. Sandals are often used in this style. Unlike most of the other substyles which use more apparel that easily hold warmth, such as apparel with thicker textile or woollen materials and multiple layers of clothes for one outfit, this style is also denoted by its use of airy, denim, flower-patterned, tie-dyed, and nomadic textile motifs in most of its outfits. Most apparel pieces are either maxi-dresses or knee-length dresses. The style seems inspired by late 1960s hippie fashion and takes its name from the Bohemian style of fashion. This style is sometimes confused with due to the similar floral prints and sihlouettes, but remains distinct.

Chola

Just as the styles of , , , and even can be seen as disrespectful or even harmful by those belonging to the groups being emulated in these particular sub-styles; one style such as is heavily influenced by Rastafari culture; the question remains, is it appropriation or appreciation of another culture—particularly the culture of marginalized groups. For , the sub-culture it is emulating is already contentious within the larger Chicano culture and the term comes with its own complicated history; the book Comentarios Reales de los Incas has a quote that portrays how the actual word came to be and how it was utilized then in 1609: 'The child of a Black male and an Indian female, or of an Indian male and Black female, they call mullato and mullata. The children of these they call cholos. Cholo is a word from the Windward Islands. It means dog, not of the purebred variety, but of very disreputable origin; and the Spaniards use it for insult and vituperation.' The style itself takes enormous influence from Chicano as many wear apparel clothes that are more often than not the same as Chicano apparel or street wear. A combination of tartans, flannels, oversized t-shirts, and tank tops. Accessorized with bandanas, a baseball cap, dark sunglasses, gold chains, and even tattoos; which still in present-day Japan is still considered a taboo due to its past connotations. Baggy jeans are a must. There is also a Japanese music artist who exemplifies both and Chicana culture, MoNa. She has been interviewed and documented in the series from Refinery29: Style out there and The New York Times YouTube channel.

is a style of consisting of reviving through technology. It takes aspects of the fashion substyle and then makes use of technology as a way to revamp the style. The creators of this style have created all of their items themselves, which can be LED lights or synthesizers which are used on accessories such as necklaces, loose socks which are those mostly seen on . They would create new and different apparel pieces from the regular clothing pieces since they are mixed with technological enhancements. The creators of this fashion substyle are both Kyoko from Japan and Mao from Thailand, who immigrated to Japan, and has a degree in engineering.

or rock is a substyle in that often draws from Rock fashion from Rock music as its main inspiration. It is often confused with .

is a substyle in that often draws from Gothic fashion as its main inspiration. This substyle does not require the participant to tan themselves, unlike most of the other substyles. The makeup retains the same over exaggerated and dramatic false eyelash appearance but the makeup colors are more in line with Gothic fashion, as the colors are darker or even black, and white is more predominant than in the other substyles. The fashion motifs and pieces are generally studded, leather, ripped denim, mesh or fishnet apparel pieces with the most prominent apparel colors being black, white, red, purple and any color used in actual Gothic fashion. This substyle and are often confused and labeled incorrectly between one another.

To understand the substyle , one must first understand its name's origin. The Japanese word () can in English translate to either "flashy" or "vulgar". This substyle is the epitome of this: by its name alone this can be understood. The difference of spelling is simply for youth factor, by accentuating the vowels and adding the letter 'Y' to also not be too obvious about it. Examples of this fashion substyle resemble the work of artist Lisa Frank due to their use of motifs and color, with bright neon colors from across the entire spectrum. Leopard, cheetah, zebra or anything in printed patterns to early 1990s to 2000s hip-hop inspired fashion such has 'McBling'. Clothing shape varies from very loose fitting to tight but the colors are never toned down. In terms of makeup, this substyle and the substyles that range from ganguro to further are the only ones with the use of more pop in terms of color while most substyles use either muted to seemingly girly colors. Most of these would be pastel colors, such as pastel pink. Creation of this substyle has been credited to the egg model Kaoru Watanabe as she not only created it but also has her own brand of this fashion, JSG, the acronym for Japanese Super Girl.

is a style that takes to an even higher level than or . Instead of someone making their skin twice as dark as their actual skin color, it involves the use of face paint to seem as if the participant had physically dipped themselves in a colorful paint, to resemble an extraterrestrial, but with the same essential style of makeup. This micro-style can be seemingly placed as a form of body art. The translation of this substyle is unique skin in English. The creator of this style, Akane states in an Arte interview: 'I decided to create this style due to the fact that westerns have different hair and skin colors compared to the stereotypical Japanese features of pale clear skin and black hair, so when we want to do this we have to do something drastic. So, by changing our skin color or painting it we get to liberate ourselves; it is like a therapy from makeup, we are allowed to choose our hair color and skin color'. She also states that 'There are many mixed marriage children that are subject to a number of prejudices because of their skin color or their hair color; that is why I want to help by saying loud and strong that everyone is allowed to be whom they want to be.' She also stated in an online interview that: 'I decided to create this style based upon by many things apart from , but also Harajuku fashion and of course the idea of extraterrestrials; of course it is ().' In a Kotaku interview she stated that she has 'longed for the interesting skin tones seen in video-games, anime, and movies'. This substyle has been promoted in egg magazine.

is based around romantic overtones and aesthetics. It keeps the makeup, the deep tan, style, and aesthetic to a great effect, adding a romantic aspect to their apparel. Their choice of apparel pieces vary and , as they would replace the colors worn with dolly pastels, pink lace and sundresses that are frilled. instead of accessorizing with Lilo & Stitch, they instead accessorise mostly with characters from Disney's The Aristocats with the character Marie often used as a motif. The primary fashion brands are Pinky Girls and Liz Lisa. Tanning is achieved mainly through make-up and deep-colored tanning lotions or bronzer; sunbeds are not used in as they try to keep their complexion deep but not darker than intended. They appreciate more toned down things in life than just clubbing.

Related styles

is similar to as it has been inspired since the publication of , which enticed and engrossed women to work in Kabukichō as a hostess or a . They dress in a particular style that makes them mostly wear dresses that are revealing but said to be less, from the Japanese brand MA*RS or Jesus Diamante. As stated before, this style resembles as the participants have the same attire and also have long fake decorative nails. An exponent is a now known by her title () or Former No.1 Miss ; ().

is used to define middle schoolers who follow or fashion. The phrase literally translates to "grandchild ". It is sometimes referred to as (, Template:Literal translation).

was coined for who wanted to revitalize the style during the 2010s during its decline. By the time the style reached popularity and people had noticed its existence, the community of reacted to it differently than expected; what came was an antiquated, radical, and older or more fanatical accustomed to seeing in a different ideal and some have even shunned the style. This reaction can also be connected with the creator of the style and magazine for this substyle being the known as #N. This substyle and magazine have received backlash due to use of black, Latino and Hindu culture and culturally exclusive accessories such as the Bindi. Yet herself has stated in an interview on her own blog that herself, her own brand FIG&VIPER and the style she is representing within that brand have nothing to do with the subculture or fashion as a whole and the style was a probable misconception from magazines and Japanese television programs implying that it was. Even though she participated in the subculture when she was young, as a model, she has stated in her own blog, 'The fashion has nothing to do with her brand.' But those who were wearing said fashion were not using the same fashion style as before or in its traditional form as a substyle; from its apparel to their makeup. Previous, older and newcomers to the fashion substyle perceived it as not following the traditional look or values of the subculture. To them it seemed more western or even resembling grunge wear even though the style may resemble SeaPunk more than the actual grunge fashion it is said to resemble. The makeup was also considerably darker in terms of lipstick and the eyeshadow using more metallic or holographic textures and colors compared to earlier styles of and their use of makeup which did not use these textures.

was coined during the decline of subculture and new looks during the 2010s. The naming of this substyle derives from the Japanese word () which in English can be translated as 'neat', 'polished', and 'clean'. This style is also interchangeable with as they were both formed through the resurgence of the Japanese within the subculture.

Activities

Dancing

A regular pastime for is (), a dance performed mostly with hands, arms and legs; with hand, arm movements and gestures with legs going back and forth from left to right. When performed in a group, everyone should be evidently synchronized. It is mostly danced with Eurobeat music or covers of other songs but with the aforementioned Eurobeat remix.

One of the most famous songs and its tagline, 'GET WILD & BE SEXY,' is synonymous with culture and was a famous Eurobeat song of the same name, by the group Eurocker-Girlz also abbreviated to E-Girlz. There are many songs that can be danced to .

Hobbies

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2007 stylus pen screen

A common hobby is , known in Japan as . booths are mostly located in the electronic district of Tokyo, Akihabara, where they are a popular activity for both casual enthusiasts and professional models. In addition to being a hobby, booths can be used as a way into magazines. Photos taken in these booths are used by magazines to scout for amateur models (who are often readers of these magazines themselves), referred to as or in Japanese.

, also known as art, is another -associated hobby. is a compound of 'deco', a shortened form of decorative and 'den', a shortening of . Originating in Japan, involves the decoration of mobile phones and other electronic devices with materials such as acrylic, rhinestones, Swarovski crystals, silicone, and polymer clay. decoration is often ostentatious and makes use of 3D motifs as well as media influences. has also been used for events. Acer Inc. held a contest for the release of their Acer Aspire One netbook laptops in 2009. The contest involved three contestants presenting their respective designs for the netbooks in addition to a popularity poll.

Events and meetings

File:Girls in Tokyo.jpg

A group of , probably a circle

A group of who regularly assemble is called a circle or a , but can also be shortened to . vary by their members' gender, fashion style, region of origin, and age. There are two types of circles: , which comes from the Japanese , are small groups that base their meetings around casual gatherings. These gatherings can consist of clubbing, karaoke, , going out to eat at fast food chains or restaurants, and flaunting their outfits to one another. And , which plan, host, and have events with each other. These events can be huge concerts such as "Campus Summit"; which is a festival for . The term comes from the Japanese word . A is also known as a unit.

One of the most famous groups is Angeleek, which consisted of at least twelve members who predominantly wore . They have been promoted repeatedly in egg magazine and on national Japanese television. Another prominent in the same district of Tokyo is Shibuya's НЯК, also known by their Japanese name, . It boasted Shibuya's largest , with over a thousand members. As of 2021, Nachu, the leader of this , still has a website. НЯК has also made their own music. have seen a revival as of the 2010s with the creation of the newer group, Black Diamond.

Cafés

have their own themed cafés. Similar to maid cafés, waitresses wear attire and exhibit exaggerated personas in addition to other -themed rituals. For instance, a general rule in cafés is the prohibition of . Other cafés, such as galcafé 10sion, offer services such as the chance to wear makeup or receive a full makeover. Another notable café targeted towards the subculture is Beauty Café by GirlsAward. Created by the prominent fashion event GirlsAward, this café employs as an additional draw.

The Café in Shibuya, once the home of the and style, was closed in July 2018.

Related media

Clothing brands

Sources:

• Alba Rosa
• ANAP
• Ank Rouge
• Ash & Diamonds
• AVIRAPINK
• Baby Doll
• Baby Shoop
• Backs
• Banana Chips
• Banana Seven
• Barak
• Betty blue love
• Black Flame
• Black Peach
• Black Queen
• Blue Moon Blue
• Buzz Spunky
• Cecil McBee
• Celes cross
• CHIARA
• Chu XXX
• Cocobongo
• COCO*LULU
• Comfilax
• CRAZY TRIBE
• DaTuRa
• Delyle Noir
• D.I.A.
• Diavlo
• DURAS
• EarthMagic
• Egoist
• Emoda
• EmiriaWiz
• ENVYM
• Esperanza
• FIG&VIPER
• Galaxxxy
• GALEO
• GALSTAR
• GALSVILLE
• Garula
• Ghost of Harlem
• GILFY
• Glad News
• Glamorous Jane
• Glavil TutuHA
• GOLDS Infinity
• GYDA
• h.ANARCHY
• HbG
• HEAVEN AND EARTH
• HYSTERIC GLAMOUR
• HYSTERIC MINI
• Ingni
• INGNI First
• Jackrose
• Jassie
• Jesus Diamante
• Jerry Girl
• JSG
• Jungle roco
• Jury Black
• Kartica Blue
• KINGDOM
• Kiss Kiss
• La Carte
• Laguna Moon
• La Pafait
• LB-03
• LDS
• Lien
• Lip Service
• Liz Lisa Doll
• Love Boat
• Love girls market
• LOVE JUNKIE
• Lolita jeans
• Luxe Rose
• MAD PUNKS
• MADSTAR
• MAJORENA
• MA*RS
• MarpleQ
• MAXGIRL
• Mayhem
• Me Jane
• Miauler Mew
• Michell Macaron
• Midas
• Milkiss
• Moussy
• MURUA
• My favorite tiara
• My tane
• Ollinkari
• One spo
• Oneway
• Parfereine
• Pasta denim
• PEAK&PINE
• Penderie
• PINK.B JEANS
• Pink Latte
• PINK MIX
• Pinky Girls
• Planet blue island
• Princess Melody
• Pure Jolly
• Question Mark
• R&E Rosessence
• Rady
• RayAlice
• Rebecca Bonbon
• RED PEPPER (JEANS)
• RESEXXY
• Rienda
• Roco nails
• Rodeo Crowns
• RONI
• Rose fan fan
• Rosy Future
• Rote rosa
• Ruby rose
• SBY
• Sex Pot Revenge
• Shake Shake
• Sister Jenni
• Sirmione
• Skinny Lip
• SLANGY
• SLY
• Sliver Bullet
• Sneep Dip
• Snidel
• Spiral Girl
• STRIP CABARET
• Sugar gloss
• SuzyQ
• Teens Ever
• Titty&Co
• THIRTEEN XIII (Japan)
• TRALALA
• ValenTine's High
• Vanquish
• Vence
• Vice Fairy
• Vida Roseo
• Wakatsuki Chinatsu
• Wild Party
• Yumetenbou
• Zazou

Magazines

Sources:

• AneAgeha
• Ane Coco
• BB Gals
• BETTY
• Blenda
• Blenda Black
• Boy's Hunter
• Candy
• Cawaii!
• Chum
• Coco
• Deco & Deco
• Decolog Paper
• Decolog Paper Snaps.
• Deco Puri
• DECO Remake
• Deco Rich
• Deco Venus
• Docomo Girls Style
• Edge Style
• egg
• egg furisode
• egg's Beauty
• egg's Room
• Ego System
• ES POSHH!
• FOXY egg
• Gal's Beauty
• Gal's beauty school
• GALMORI
• gal's Oops!
• GAL'S UP! Charisma Style
• Getton☆
• GLiA
• Happie
• Happie Nuts
• Hair Make Nuts
• Heart Candy
• Hime!
• Hime deco ROSÉ
• Hime Style
• HONEY Girl
• I LOVE MAMA
• JELLY
• JK egg
• KATY
• KiLaLa
• Kinjus
• KiraJob
• Kireni Yaseru! (Happie) Nuts
• Koakuma Ageha
• Koakuma MUSEE
• LOVEggg
• Luna Hime Style
• Mama ANGeL
• Mama Jelly
• Majesty (Japan)
• Men's Digger
• Men's egg
• Men's egg Bitter
• Men's egg Core
• Men's egg Hairs
• Men's egg Youth
• Men's Knuckle
• Men's Roses
• Men's Spider
• Men's Yukai
• Mercury
• Moreru!! BETTY
• Moreru!! JELLY
• Moreru!! Ranzuki
• Nicky
• Paradise Queen
• Pastel Sister
• Pastel teen
• PINKY
• PopSister
• Popteen
• Pretty Club
• RaFFLeSiA
• Ranking Daisuki
• Ranzuki
• Ranzuki Super Gal's Make
• Ranzuki Shibu*suna!
• R(anzuki) Tribe
• Room Paradise
• ROSE
• RyuRyu
• S Cawaii!
• S Cawaii! HYPER
• Scramble egg
• SG
• Shibuya 109 Book
• Shibuya 109 Sisters
• SHIBUYA STREET NEWS
• Shibuya Production
• Soul Sister
• Snap Jelly
• Stonew
• Tabete yaseru! JELLY
• TiaraGirl
• Used JELLY
• Vanilla GiRL
• Yasukawa (Happie) Nuts
• Yaseru! JELLY

Popular recurring models, icons and idols during its peak were Tsubasa Masuwaka, Kumiko Funayama, Rie Matsuoka, Hikari Shiina, Kaoru Watanabe, Kanako Kawabata, Hiromi Endo, Aoi Mano, Satomi Yakuwa, Sayoko Ozaki, Yuka Obara, Rina Sakurai, Nana Suzuki, Mie Miyashita, Maya Koganei, and twins Gura and Guri Yoshikawa. Notable, recent include Yuki Kimura, known for her magazine and online alias as and model Iwamoto Sayaka', known as . In Japan they are also both known for being models for Gravure from the books they have appeared in.

Charity and fundraising events

Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, clothing brand GALSTAR launched a fundraising event where they donated a percentage of their revenue to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

overseas

Often referred to as foreign or western and online as . Women and even men outside Japan who participate in ; "western" also includes countries outside of the West, such as in the Middle East. This includes women who have gravitated towards this fashion by going or doing and its substyles and men who gravitate to . Western or created their own communities or groups and forums.

Outside of Japan, there are websites critical of western participants. These websites ridicule people's looks or appearance by giving them advice on how to better wear the style. A documentary has been made on YouTube, about three different Japanese street fashion styles and three participants and the negative reactions they received. Even so, in 2011, these western or held their first event, the Awards which was created by an English with the online username Lhouraii Li. It was done to spread awareness of this style and to bring positivity back into the western community. These events were done with Lhouraii Li and they were mostly done online. They were ended in 2014 by the creator of the event, Lhouraii Li, due to online backlash against her online award show. There would not be another contest until 2016 where they were made into an event in the Netherlands and were broadcast via livestream. Three years would pass until this community award ceremony would be brought back in 2019 in the United Kingdom, just as in 2016 this was an in-person event and was only made into a live broadcast online for those not able to join the event. These contests were made so that one could vote for contestants within categories or subcategories of this fashion and gain Internet attention from peers by winning within a category.

During the early 2000s, most anime conventions saw a glorification of and presence as they held gatherings, meetings or events usually organized by their and peers in these conventions in their country or where the actual gathering would be held. International and national meetings among members of the community were held on an almost annual basis.

As of late 2018 to early 2019 there was an increase in activity for the community caused by the comeback of egg magazine as well as a resurgence of in Japan. This has affected the community as well, as a new magazine, "Papillon", was published beginning in October 2019. The foreign magazine also made a comeback. In 2021, the magazine GAL VIP had an article written about their magazines by a Japanese website; it is the oldest magazines addressed and not the latest. Also in August 2021 a six-minute documentary on western or has discussed the substyle of on YouTube.

As stated before, the magazine Papillon was published in 2019, but there were two predecessors: Gyaru-go who only published on April 12, 2016, and Gal-VIP on September 1, 2012. They are both online magazines while Papillon has online and purchasable issues.

scandals in Japan

In 2012, the model Jun Komori committed fraud and helped with said fraud on an online auction website in Japan. She worked with Ryusuge Suzuki, who was the penny orders section owner of the World Auction website in Japan. She had to close her official blog due to the backlash.

In 2016, a from Canada of Chinese background who is known by her online aliases "Sheina" and "Ningyosama" was arrested and sent home due to her actions to procure a residency permit for extending her stay in Japan. Knowing her travel visa for Japan had expired, she had thought that marrying someone she knew would enable her to stay longer. She worked as masseuse, a kyabakura and a fuzoku or a prostitute. But this is considered a breach of promise in marriage as she and her then partner were both in agreement to marry for money (700,000 yen as initial payment to him) and residency. At the same time this news was released, varying news outlets that interviewed her were lied to, telling her side of the arrest story and skewing her reasons; this is called a providing a false statement according to the law instead of following the legal information retrieval law. Her deception also disappointed enthusiasts of Japanese styles such as lolita fashion and cosplayers. She was later deported from Japan for these actions.

In 2014, a was arrested due to multiple cases of rape to gang rape happening within its and this would not be the last of these malicious ; in 2019, another was found with the same criminal delicts acted towards the members of their group.

In 2021, egg magazine created a video on their official YouTube channel by making a prank video and using domestic violence as the joke. They used makeup to create fake wounds or injuries commonly associated with Domestic Violence and by the end of the video were laughing at their prank video. All of the participants, models, and the egg magazine model herself participated in the creation of the video, the decision to make it or complied in the creation of the video. The video shows the participants and models not taking domestic violence seriously. The date of the video's release was on International Women's Day as well as Women's History Month, which attracted even more criticism.

(): is not a style, rather, it is a title that have garnered themselves over the years because of their manner of showing and acting out towards others on the street. Especially when this title has been given by the Japanese population when asked in a survey of the most used words of the decades or buzzwords rather which are used on a daily basis. Because of their rudeness towards others, masculine character: such as drinking beer, smoking in public places, swearing, and overtly sexual manner of dress. (Template:Literal translation) and is used as slang to describe the most revolting .

Influence in media

Anime and manga

Gals! was a manga that had much influence on fashion, it is a manga that centers completely on the subculture. This manga has become once again renowned in the subculture of . Though it is said that a reboot of the series may be impossible. Other manga having ties to subculture include Gal Japon, a slice of life manga surrounding the subculture published in 2010. The 2018 manga called My Roomie Is a Dino received an anime adaptation in 2020. The manga Super Baby features a protagonist named Tamao, who lives near locations or near locations representing or are influenced by , such as the mall 109. This manga centers on fashion and subculture. It started publishing in 2017. Debuting in 2017 and is still being published today, the series Yancha Gal no Anjou-san. The manga Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! debuted in 2019 and ended in 2024. In January 2018, the manga My Dress-Up Darling had received publishing and remains an on-going series; this manga received an anime adaptation, which aired from January 2022. Citrus, a yuri manga and anime, has characters.

File:Enn and Lily as Marin Kitagawa and Shizuku Kuroe standing, front view 20220507b.jpg

My Dress-Up Darling cosplayers of Marin Kitagawa and Shizuku Kuroe (2022)

Many other manga have characters in or related to . For example, Peach Girl, a manga that started publication in 1997. The 2003 manga Bijinzaka Private Girls High School (), had a titular character named Nonomiya En. In 2005, the manga Galism: Love Supreme Sisters () was released. In 2009, the manga KECHONPA was published, instead of being a shōjo manga, it had a drama-driven plot. Also in 2009, the anime Hime Gal Paradise ran on Japanese television and revolves around a main character who is initially ordinary but enters a high school where every student is a . In 2014, the manga and anime series Please Tell Me! Galko-chan was published. It mostly discusses topics ranging from gender differences, sexual behavior or body complexes, and differences in both the female and male bodies. Galko-chan, the protagonist of this manga, and her older sister are both .

A stop motion anime series named Milpom was created to promote the lifestyle. The mall of Shibuya 109 is shown as the first shot as the scene in the pilot and is present during its entirety. It lasted from 2015 until 2017. The voice actresses of this series consist of magazine models, including Anna Yano who appeared in mer and KERA magazines, Saki Shibata from the magazine mer as well, and the popteen models Hikari Shiina and Ai Matsumoto. Hikari Shiina voice-acting Milpom and Ai Matsumoto voicing the secondary lead, Pon-pon; after the pilot her name had been changed to Silky.

Non--orientated series have also included characters. A non- anime, being the well known series Pokémon has also had a representation; first in the original anime within the first season on episode 15 called . The Team Rocket members Jessie and James are disguised as a mix that might now resemble to and , respectively; but it was simply an early representation of at that time. In the 2018 movie Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us Risa is a character. But the Pokémon series already had a representation by the actual Pokémon, Jynx. But fans and Pokémon company themselves disagree since the appearance of this Pokémon in 1996 for Pokémon Red and Blue on the Game Boy and the series since. The comedy anime Mr. Osomatsu has a character named . The series Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san has also had -influenced characters: two and one are customers. The first is a customer as well as a fujoshi. She appeared in the second chapter of the manga, titled Girls from Overseas. She also appears in the first episode of the anime. The other two characters appear within later episode of the series as clients, too. In the non--oriented series Sgt. Keroro, the character Angol Mois takes the appearance of a in her human form. The anime series Great Teacher Onizuka has a group of students. The manga and anime After the Rain has a on chapter six of the manga and on episode 3 of the anime named "Raining Tears" or as an AV Idol on a VHS.

When episode 6 of the mini anime series of the smartphone rhythm game Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! named first premiered on YouTube in 2022, it was accused by American and English-speaking viewers in general of "doing/promoting blackface" and "cultural appropriation" due to a scene inspired by fashion substyle of perceived as being blackface. The next day, the episode was withdrawn indefinitely and a public apology in both English and Japanese was uploaded on the official Twitter account. The removal of the episode is controversial and many fans of the game and show, either Japanese and American, were disappointed with the company's decision, with some blaming Sega for its "bending the knee" and "listening to outraged Twitter who insist that everyone should respect foreign cultures while applying and imposing their own Western prejudices, views, puritanism and imperialism against foreign media and subcultures". The episode was reuploaded to YouTube on March 15, 2022, with some modifications that removed the typical tan, make-up, and the previous items.

Colourful, the 2010 anime movie, has a secondary character, , not only from her appearance and nonchalant attitude, but , forms a major part to her role.

Television

File:Exhibits at Edo Tokyo Museum - Dec 3 2021 various 20 58 05 686000.jpeg

Exhibit at Edo Tokyo Museum on December 3, 2021

Japanese television have a had an enormous amount of -based content during the Heisei era. These television programs could center on and even commercials employed . Some of these shows were made by for to boost their popularity and morale as a Japanese fashion style and to do the same for the featured models. They also popularized the magazines or the stores in Shibuya 109 that appeared in these programs since they were either the producers or had a contract with the producers.

There were often single segments about within programs. One of the earliest being about and their love for tropical clothing and a new type of thigh-high socks that looked like bell-bottoms that had at the time been released in Shibuya 109. The show GAL-TEN, created by for , was produced by egg magazine and broadcast by TBS Television in the 2010s. Other television segments used or models to promote the show and the models themselves; such as this segment promoting model Rina Sakurai. Another example of television segments about were those about make-up application, such as the big eye trend of the early 2010s called , said to make one's eyes resemble a child's. There was also a television segment on parapara competitions with and even nationwide who were all from a certain from the Kantō region of Tokyo all the way to Osaka. Another television segment regarded three and their way of making money by being sugar babies by using older men with the older Internet system of Japan for . While doing so, one of the participants told of having made 200,000 yen and when adjusting for inflation made about 1,400 dollars with three dates in one day.

Shows that were relevant to the actual lifestyle or subculture of during the Heisei era included television specials about the or in general. For example, the Angeleek had its own episode on Japanese television, fully dedicated to their events, general outings with each-other and how they helped a younger generation participate in or join their group to continue its legacy. Western have also appeared on Japanese television: the Spanish Hysterical appeared twice, both in Spain and while visiting Japan. The American Diamond Gal appeared in a segment on a Nippon TV program. This segment was created with an exaggerated situation and staged moments to provide more drama. Western have appeared on Japanese television since 2013, with a whole segment of a Japanese variety broadcast dedicated to various western who were either in Japan at the time or abroad. Others that reflected and tried to capture the daily lifestyle of on Japanese television were the Japanese FashionTV segments known as "Tokyo Girls". The first episode of this series filmed a day in a shop-staff one spo daily custom. The only proof of this episode existing since FashionTV's deletion of these episodes is a tumblr with gifs of this episode. On the same tumblr there is also proof in gif of the episode of the shop staff Miauler Mew being followed for that episode.

South Korean comedian Park Seong-ho depicted a or in 2012 for the KBS Entertainment Awards which was shown on KBS2, a sketch-comedy show called Gag Concert. In the character of Korean: ; RR: Template:Category handler, he depicted someone so self-absorbed that she barely takes notice of those speaking directly to her and is portrayed as an idiot. But in an interview, Park Seong-ho admitted having little understanding of the phenomenon.

Movies

Some movies either center around or have a influence to give it either a cult following or for a nostalgic factor for those who participated in .

In 2009, Japanese model from the magazine appeared in her own film, 'GIRL'S LIFE'. The protagonist in is also a . A renowned scene in the movie is Haruka having to choose a name for herself since she started working as a hostess in a and after a minor disagreement with the hostess bar's manager regarding the nickname she originally proposed, she reluctantly decides to be nicknamed , a reference to the magazine for which she models.

Men's egg created in 2011 a movie that is reminiscent of 'Kamikaze Girls' premise; two people from completely different sides of life have to befriend or even help each-other. The movie 'men's egg drummers' is about the young teen named Keita who was suddenly become the overseer of a shrine after he's father inexplicably falls ill. Keita has to now find new members for a drumming performance before an annual festival.

In 2016, or known in English as ' gals riot' was released. A group of high-school in the 1990's place a time capsule. Jump to current day, were said group are older not participants of said fashion but are reminiscing on those past events.

Flying Colors, a 2015 film, has a protagonist, .

The 2018 Japanese movie Sunny: has a group of women reminiscing about their high school years in the 1990s and their time being .

Music

Many genres of music are popular for and are sung or made by or for . From Eurobeat, to EDM, Trance, and other genres of music or Eurobeat remixes, they are casually listened to by . Eurobeat remixes are regularly danced to as well with .

Singers such as Koda Kumi, Namie Amuro, and Ayumi Hamasaki are internationally famous, and regarded as inspiration for many . Other J-pop artists who were considered to be essential to listen to were LOVE to LOVE, GAL DOLL, KAHORI, and Juliet. Other favorites include Sifow, who was at the time not only a model but also a singer for J-Pop as she had been a solo artist when starting her music career as Sifow.

musicians

• (men's egg) ASAS
• (men's egg) CiEL
• (Template:Literal translation)
• GAL DOLL
• Angeleek
• black diamond
• Hiromi, a.k.a.
• Izuoka Misaki ()
• Juliet
• KAHORI
• Kalen Anzai
• Kana Nishino
• Lil'B
• LOVE to LOVE
• Mayumi Iizuka
• Miliyah Kato
• Tsubasa Masuwaka, a.k.a. Milky Bunny
• Hikari Shiina, a.k.a. Pikarin Shiina
• PlayZ
• Rina Sakurai, a.k.a. Rina
• GAL's ( GAL's)
• Sifow
• SioreeNa
• Suzuki Kirei
• Sweet Licious
• Tomomi Itano
• Aina Tanaka and Yuma Takahashi a.k.a. yumachi&aina

Video games

File:Cosplay of Junko Enoshima from Danganronpa at Katsucon 2014 (13600371944).jpg

Cosplay of Junko Enoshima from Danganronpa at Katsucon in 2014

Many characters from various Japanese media have a connection. For example, in the Yakuza series, especially in its third iteration, Yakuza 3. It debuted a side-mission which would then be included with its gameplay and features in later sequels. Where in fictional or as the game refers to it as , the player would need to recruit women to join a hostess club. These women were actual from the magazine . These models are used as actual character models in the game; their whole appearance was replicated to the smallest detail to have them created and placed as 3D characters. These models from Koakuma Ageha are Sayaka Araki, Nemu, Rina Sakurai, Eri Momoka, Riho Nishiyama, Rina Aikawa, and Muto Shizuka. They have even been compared to their replicated three-dimensional counterparts. These characters would become hostess of these fictional hostess clubs; if the player chooses to do this side-mission and complete it. But the hostess club section of the game first appeared in Yakuza 2 in the sense of visiting the clubs themselves and not in the similar way as in the third game where the player recruited actual members for the clubs. They even have their own magazine in the games called Kamutai magazine which is also replica of the actual magazine Koakuma Ageha. This content was omitted in the Western releases of Yakuza 3.

In Danganronpa, the character of Junko Enoshima is inspired by subculture; she is called a super high school level (in the English dub, this is changed to “Ultimate Fashionista”). The Persona series also has a . In Revelations: Persona, there is a named Yuka Ayase. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle has a enemy as a character. The player must defeat her to proceed in-game; she is known as Shinobu Jacobs who is encountered later in the game. The visual novel escape room series Zero Escape has the character that is portrayed as a .

The Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode series, known as Style Savvy and Style Boutique in North America and the PAL region respectively, is based on multiple Japanese street fashion subcultures and has a main focus on brands and selling apparel. The video game has a variety of brands and styles but also some of these that can be interpreted as mimicking or representing some fashion brands. For example, the in-game apparel brand AZ*USA (AZ-USA in the West) has a striking resemblance to the brand D.I.A.; another would be the brand CherryBerry (April bonbon in the West) also having its own representation of the style. Most probable inspiration would be the brand COCO*LULU.

The video-game franchise Animal Crossing by Nintendo also had a , but she only appeared in a spin-off game of this series. Specifically the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer on the Nintendo 3DS, the character named Lottie appears in that video game for the first time, she is a character represented as an otter. After multiple encounters with her, there will be an in-game event on the third day of gameplay, where her uncle Lyle will state himself that she wears too much makeup in a game dialogue and in a later in-game event she can even be found without her makeup. She will state to the player character, that it was due to the fact she woke up too late for work but would often wear her makeup to impress a male colleague; the colleague's name in game is Digby. She also appears in Animal Crossing: amiibo festival on the Wii U. Here are her looks on in-game. This character has recently been added to the Nintendo Switch version of Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, through the paid downloadable content of Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise. Though that isn't supposedly the only influenced character in Animal Crossing; but instead of a non-playable character it is an actual villager within the series. The gorilla villager Jane (or Fever, ) has been remarked having a like appearance in () on the Nintendo 64 and Japanese versions of said game on the GameCube.

Another video game franchise with a character is the Dragon Quest series. On the Nintendo DS game Dragon Quest IX there is a as the fairy character, Sandy. The video-game company, Nintendo did not only cater to by the use of video-game promotions with or video games related to the subculture. They have a series of applications that can be used for both the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS. They are on the Nintendo DSiWare and the Nintendo eShop. It is a application for both video-game consoles developed by the company Atlus. In Japan this series of applications are known as and abroad as the 'Sparkle Snapshots' series. Nintendo has made an homage to by having weapons in Wii U game Splatoon being inspired by culture as weapons in-game such as the .52 deco gal and .96 deco gal; they have also used amiibo as a costume for the same game, a outfit for female inkling characters. Besides that Splatoon 2 octoling idol Marina voice actress is a known as Alice Peralta and also has her own group with the voice actress of Pearl as the LAIDBACKS.

The Super Gals! anime series had its own video game, it is a series of threequels published in 2001 and 2002; produced by Konami for the Game Boy color and the PlayStation. The anime series Hime Gal Paradise also had its own video game on the Nintendo 3DS published by Nippon Columbia-games.

The avatar fashion web browser game and virtual community which later became a sequel series on the Nintendo DS, Poupéegirl, was popular amongst .

Web

On the Internet, there are many makeup tutorials and event videos of meeting each other on YouTube. Many videos discuss this fashion subculture, such as article videos, history videos, makeovers, and questionnaire videos. There is also a video that has been uploaded by the YouTube channel of the older women's magazine as the Jinsin channel; that has the twins Guri and Gura Yoshikawa giving a make-over to an elderly women to resemble them.

There are also parody videos and even Japanese television program fragments remain viewable on YouTube, ridiculing and . One of the most famous is the 2011 created by the Japanese music group , which achieved brief popularity outside of Japan as an Internet meme. A recent parody that can be also interpreted as an honoring of every notable that has appeared in manga, anime, and hentai is the YouTube video Sushi. It refers to an actual sushi restaurant in Rio de Janeiro.

Products and commercial media

There are many products for and products endorsed by them or their companies, such as magazines.

Make-up and beauty accessories

File:Fake Eyelashes.jpg

Various fake eyelashes

Cosmetic products, ranging from makeup to false eyelashes from non--owned cosmetic companies to -created and owned cosmetic companies were plentiful during the Heisei era.

Tsubasa Masuwaka's cosmetic line and false eyelash brand are manufactured and sold by the Japanese company Koji Honpo Co. Limited (). Both of these brands still exist, but with new packaging and a different target clientele. Cosmetic company Meiko Cosmetics Incorporated (), also known by its license name SHOBIDO (), best known for its false eyelash brand , released many commercials during the 2010s with many models from that time period, including Chinatsu Wakatsuki, Natsumi Saito (), Satomi Yakuwa (), Kurotaki Maria () and Muto Shizuka ().

There are many advertisements for wigs from Japanese companies with endorsements by models.

There are three notable wig brands: , , and . Aquadoll made a commercial featuring many models and actresses to promote their various wigs. LOVES WIG made multiple commercials for wigs created with popteen model Kumiko Funayama's endorsement. And Prisila made a commercial with the endorsement of popteen model Nana Suzuki for a smaller array of wigs such as clip-on bangs and clip-on extensions. Prisila is also known for its taglines that have appeared in Japanese television and magazines as well, such as 'No wig, no life!'

Japanese hair-dye products also had -based ads during that time that now appear on YouTube. There are two notable hair-dye brands noted in the subculture: and . models Tsubasa Masuwaka and Kumiko Funayama promoted Palty and Beauteen, respectively. Tsubasa Masuwaka has even appeared in advertisements for its male hair-dye variant of Palty. And South Korean Pop group KARA appeared in a 2011 commercial for the Palty brand with Tsubasa Masuwaka placing the dye on her hair while KARA sing their new song, (, Template:Literal translation).

During the movement's heyday, electronic hair tools and accessories were created for . Tsubasa Masuwaka endorsed the TsuyaGla Perfect portable hair straightener collection, which was produced by the brand . It is a hair straightener including accessories such as plastic covers to create curls with them to almost the same effect as a hair curl with a hair curler. They were produced in candy pink, midnight navy, and virgin white. CJ Prime shopping also made a professional version of the TsuyaGla Perfect hair straightener with the endorsement of Jun Komori as model, this version being simply called TsuyaGla Pro. The same Japanese company have also made a wave hair curling iron and regular curling iron with Kumiko Funayama as the endorser; this time the products were called TsuyaGla Wave and TsuyaGla Curl.

Toys and mascot items

File:West entrance of Shibuya 109 Harbour City Branch (20181121152832).jpg

West entrance of Shibuya 109

In 2021, a selection of gashapon were released to the market, made to resemble various folded origami paper cranes made by . Their poor appearance was noticed by the Japanese public. But these origami were made to have this appearance due to the artificial nails of the who made them, and were sought after due to their rarity and handmade nature. Each gashapon also came with a philosophical question or phrase. In 2022, magazine egg produced a series of capsule toys for both and collectors. The selection of these capsule toys ranged from six different magazine covers made into keychains, plastic pins with slang and new models from the magazine in metal pins with the added bonus of all of these variants having an added magazine logo as a sticker. On September 14, 2022, Sanrio made a collection of 17 items based on subculture, consisting of four mascots on keychains, accessory cases, and hair clips. A collaborative commercial between Russia and Japan was made with a photoshoot with model Natsuko Matsumoto the Russian mascot Cheburashka. The merchandise franchise made a short featuring talking to each other, when the mascot character appears and gives worldly triva. The doll Jenny produced by the company Takara Tomy also had influence, adding an entirely new doll to the Jenny line named Jessica with appropriate -influenced clothes that are based on the substyle , but are misclassified in the commercial as .

Electronics

In a competition for the Japanese music company, AVEX Inc., Kumiko Funayama won a special background for Japanese flip phones with Sanrio and , AVEX's digital music distribution company, to create a specific Hello Kitty character that resembles Kumiko Funayama herself. Another Japanese electronic brand, Fujitsu, collaborated with both Kumiko Funayama and three brands from the Shibuya department store 109: Cecil McBee, COCO*LULU, and Pinky Girls. This mutual effort was made through the use of their flip phone products from the line of NTT Docomo. In 2011, electronics company Panasonic produced the Panasonic Lumix FX77, a camera praised for its use of face-altering functions such as adding makeup onto a photographed bare face. This was commercialized in collaboration with then- model Yuka Obara, presented by the American news program CBS News on their YouTube channel. The Japanese company FuRyu, which produces machines, collaborated with then-popteen model Tsubasa Masuwaka for their new machine in 2011. In 2011, an iOS 3 "no make-up" application "The " or "The (, Template:Literal translation) was released. It did the inverse of most photography filters for selfies, removing make-up instead of adding it. There is a version as well. The corporation Heiwa, which produces machines, has also had collaborations with such as Muto Shizuka and Momoka Eri for making a machine; called ().

Naver corporation and Line corporation from their software application line of Line games being known as the free-to-play application Line Play featured models and singers, or characters from . It is a social networking and avatar virtual community application that is not only used by but has influences within the game and commercial partnerships. The use of these would be through in-game gachapon machines through either in-game currency or by microtransactions where items of virtual furniture or clothes could be acquired by playing them. Those to note are from J-pop singers Ayumi Hamasaki and Koda Kumi; model Kumiko Funayama (), Hikari Shiina and characters from the Sanrio or San-X line or the character by Chinatsu Wakatsuki.

See also

• Cosplay restaurant
• Ecchi
• Gravure Idols
• , a type of lettering used in Japanese mobile phone texting to secretly send messages
• Host and hostess clubs
• Materialism
• Sun tanning
• Uniform fetishism

External links

• Gyaru – Subcultures and Sociology
• The History of the Gyaru – Part One:: Néojaponisme » Blog Archive ()
• The History of the Gyaru – Part Two:: Néojaponisme » Blog Archive ()
• The History of the Gyaru – Part Three:: Néojaponisme » Blog Archive ()
• Defining The Gyaru Girl: A Look Into Japan's Gyaru Culture | YABAI - The Modern, Vibrant Face of Japan
• Cultural Anthropology of Gyarus and Gyaru-os (Yusuke Arai) | bookmeter (in Japanese)
• The Japanese Gyaru: Popular Culture, Globalization and the Reflection of a Trend | academia
• Fashioning Japanese Subcultures
• Think Global, Fear Local: Sex, Violence, and Anxiety in Contemporary Japan
• Tokyo Fashion City: A Detailed Guide to Tokyo's Trendiest Fashion Districts
• What are gyaru? (About the Slang, Fashion and History of Japan's Gyaru/Gal) | Japankyo
• Global Asian American Popular Cultures
• Fashion Theory, Volume 1 Berg Pub., 1997
• A look through the era of gyaru style for women | jprime (in Japanese)
• About gyaru subculture