#gal blog

[tokyodolldiaries]

"The elevators [of Shibuya 109] are thronged with colorfully dressed Gals, their hair shades of orange or blonde, or covered in floppy hats and hair pieces, their white-painted eyes peering out of brown skin. Strange walking dolls."   Kate Klippensteen, page 132 

WHAT IS A GANGURO?

Dark tans, flashy makeup, and bleached hair. The word ganguro (ガングロ) describes an early substyle of gyaru that existed from the mid-90s to about 2008 (as estimated by Kubo Yuka in her book The Last Moments of the Ganguro Tribe: A Study of Gyaru Culture). They were inspired by American fashion, notably California surf culture, but by the 1990s, they evolved into something uniquely Japanese.

These ganguro were largely middle-class teens and twenty-somethings with disposable income. They hung out in Shibuya, shopped at Shibuya 109 (Marukyu), frequented Para Para dance clubs and Karaoke booths, ate fast food, and gabbed with like-minded friends. They had fun. 

In 2000, Tokyo-based writer Kate Klippensteen and photographer Everett Kennedy Brown collaborated on a book called Ganguro Girls. The book includes images of real-life Ganguro, a small questionnaire filled out by each of the girls, and brief but astute blurbs about the subculture by Klippensteen. It's an intimate snapshot of this short-lived (and my personal fav) period of gyaru. 

A lot can be learned from these primary sources. Let's dig in and see what we can find...

☆ read more on my blog ☆

[s3rena-gal]

Hi Nestlings,

Thank you so much for the kind wishes! I’m feeling much better than last week 🩷 (not 100% but still lol)

₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊

Back to the mood boards!!

This one is of one of my favorite substyles (and the one I like to dress in the most), Tsuyome!! 🩷🖤❤️

😈 I love the incorporation of animal prints!! I remember one gal said that this substyle is their version of mcbling, and I see it! They have a lot in common! No wonder I like it so much lol

😈I also love how you can add any color to it (I like red and pink if you couldn’t tell lmao) and mix it w other substyles! It’s so versatile because it looks sm like its western counterparts 🖤

😈 while most of tsuyome is budget friendly (via thrifting or hand me downs), the only gripe I have with it, is that if you want a DIA belt/bag, u gotta sell ur soul and wallet to the depop gods lmao And I definitely don’t have that kinda money lol (it’s cheaper to make ur own w supplies from the dollar/craft store)

₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊

So yea, I really enjoy tsuyome, and will be using it for the rest my gal days 🩷🩷

Love u!!

Xxx,

-Serena

[kittentwinkles]

yall should go check out my blog :3

[tamakidoll]

𐙚ྀིྀ ⠀︵　𝒟𓏵𝑙𝑙 ˖　ㅤ૮𐔌ྀི ´ ཀ ྀི 𐦯ྀིა⠀

[missl3idy]

[meowiu]

pink envelope﹒ 𐙚 ˚ ﹒⟢

[princessparasitic]

[massagemisstress]

Reblog if you would wear diaper 24/7

[cinawol]

padded & playing roblox before class <3

[tokyodolldiaries]

At first glance, gal fashion may seem like an imitation of its Western counterparts, but at the core of this movement was the motivation to dress like people who were far less distant: Shibuya 109's charismatic shop staff, magazine models, and domestic musicians. - Yusuke Arai, social anthropologist, pg 8

A quick scan of my blog will undoubtedly reveal a deluge of 90s-era gyaru: tan-skinned girls on towering platforms with white-painted eyes. I'm an old-school ganguro who loves old-school ganguros. 

As an old-school gal and lifelong student of gyaru fashion, I am constantly on the hunt for primary sources. I recently came across the book Shibuya 1999, a collection of photographs of Shibuya residents from the late 90s. Most of these residents are gals. 

Similar to what I did in my How To Be A Ganguro Girl post, I want to dive into Mike Nogami and Masami Takahashi's (collaboratively known as Clown) fantastic photography book to see what we can learn. There are too many beautiful coordinates in the book, and I want to give them all justice, so I'll divide this into parts. This is part one. 

It's possible that at the end, I'll compile a compendium of everything we learned. A fashion study review! 

But for now, let's tackle today's coordinates... Class is in session. 

☆ read the rest here ☆

[s3rena-gal]

Dear Nestlings,

I’m Serena!! Some of you may know me from the kaigai idol scene online, but if ur new, hi! ❤️

Here is my carrd with my other socials btw!

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

This is my gyaru blog, where I will talk about my gal journey, as well as my take on it as a disabled person (autistic), and using it to indulge in my special interests.

Some info about me:

😈 I am 26yo

😈I am bisexual and non binary (demigirl)

😈 I have been doing gal for almost two years

😈I am an alt singer-songwriter! My stage persona is gal (ofc lol) and inspired by the characters of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss!

😈 I am autistic and epileptic

・┆✦��♡ɞ✦ ┆・・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

I can’t wait to show everyone my thoughts about this amazing style and how I like to use it! 🩷

Xxx,

-Serena

[princesspollypoket]

aaawwwww~~~~

[meloncholygal]

I was not meant to hoe around. I was meant for soul crushing life long devotion

[toteangel]

victoria’s secret ─── .✦۶ৎ

[cinawol]

diapered ballerina 🩰🍼

[tokyodolldiaries]

Gal fashion certainly didn't reflect the traditional image of a Japanese woman: moralistic, faithful and a good wife and wise mother. At the same time, their style was far from what most men would expect of their romantic or sexual partner. - Yusuke Arai, social anthropologist

As you'll know from my previous fashion study post, we're making our way through Mike Nogami and Masami Takahashi's photography book Shibuya 1999 and breaking down the coordinates inside. This is part two.

Well, let's not waste any time. Class is in session! 

☆ read the rest here ☆