GC Day 21: How did you come across Gyaru?

"How did you come across Gyaru?"

     I've wonder if I've talked about how I got into Gyaru on this blog before or not.  I'm sure I have lol  But if I haven't, or if I never told the full story, here's my story!

     Back in high school I was introduced to J-rock (Japanese rock) by a schoolmate.  She was really into Nightmare and Dir en Grey.  She was also really into Visual Kei!  It was something new to me and immediately struck interest in me.  I loved the idea that some of these bands were using what are perceived as "feminine" traits and appearances along with a very hard, harsh and "masculine" sound.  I was also just struck by the dramatic and dark imagery of both their fashion and their music videos.  Although the sound and literal music of these bands are important, their visuals and styles were just as important.  My classmate decided to show me An Cafe and I with those three bands started an obsession!  As any fangirl, I began to research them and learn about the members.  So with just a little digging I came across terms like Visual Kei and Oshare Kei.

     After a while I got into even more groups on my own:  the GazettE, Mucc, DecoLa Hopping, D, Lycaon, and so many more.  And with these discoveries arose even more terms like Decora and Lolita.  I found it all fascinating, so vibrant and creative!

omggg I thought Yuuki and Eve were so goreous ♥ (and I still do)

     It became a pastime of mine to spend hours looking up Decora girls and Lolita fashion snaps.  Eventually I became familiar with magazine scans and specific magazine names.  Of course Kera came first, soon after came FRUiTS. 

     There was another magazine I would look for scans of but sadly I no longer remember the name of it.  All I remember is it was for Japanese rock bands, some members would be featured showing their makeup tutorials as well as hairstyle tutorials!  I was entranced by every aspect of it!  Y'all already know I'm as curious as they come, so I wanted to know to know more!  I wanted to know what they hairstyles and makeup styles were called, what brands they were wearing, so I could research properly.  People like Eve (with the pink and black hair above) shifted me towards similar makeup styles.  Decora, Lolita, and oshare kei didn't stick with me as much.  So without much knowledge of what everything was called, "visual kei makeup" and "visual kei makeup tutorial" became my frequent google searches.

* this is the magazine I was describing!

     Eventually "related images" would catch my eyes during my hours of researching and I just happened to click on a picture of a Gyaru makeup tutorial.  Now I didn't notice the word Gyaru right away.  But after a while I noticed I would come across the same site source for a lot of these pictures: tumblr.  I did not create a tumblr immediately.  Instead I would just open the sources of the images and save the pictures to my laptop.  I would also search "Kera" on tumblr.  Since I wasn't accustomed to tumblr, it took me a while to notice there was a tagging system.  And under some of these images was "Gyaru"!  Once I clicked the tag, that was it!  ♥（・∀・）

     I believe Re:No was the first Gyaru model I knew.  It helped that her name was displayed along her spreads in Kera magazine.  I loved Re:No and her flashy, yet cutesy rocker look.  Since I was already into rock music and fashion (since middle school, yes I was that emo kid don't judge me), the first Gyaru substyle that enticed me was Rokku!  But obviously it took some time before I could actually identify the substyle.  Rokku captured my heart first and I still have a soft spot for the substyle~ 

How did you come across Gyaru?  Was it similar to my experience?  What was the first Gyaru substyle that you fell in love with?  I'd love to hear your stories! ♥

Until next time!

~ Love you! x Amiman ~