Gaijin Gyaru
Posted by: kirin on 
Dec 24th, 2009 | 
Filed under: Fashion, Tokyo Kawaii TVGaijin Gyaru
29/AUG/2009 on air
Gyaru fashion is getting popular among foreigners?
A banker from Switzerland visits Japan every year. She likes Japanese Gyaru model such as Tsubasa Masuwaka and Kumikki. There were a student from Denmark and Sweden, models from the U.S and Brazil, high school couple from Mexico, 2 Russian women, and even a 15-year-old middle school girl from France. It was 484 foreigners that Tokyo Kawaii TV counted at the entrance of Shibuya 109 by the time it closed 9 pm. This number means a foreigner per 80 seconds.
It’s been 10 years from the birth of “Gyaru” in Japan. Nowadays “Gyaru” is getting popular in foreign countries, too? In Barcelona Spain, there is a Gyaru circle (a group of Gyaru) of Spanish college girls. They formed it 2 years ago. Some of them visited Tokyo this summer to shop Gyaru items and clothes in Shibuya.
“Everything’s cute!”
“I feel like spending all the money I have here!”
They are very much excited at several stores (such as COCOLULU, DELYLE and JSG) in Shibuya 109, which must be the most familiar department stores they knew from Japanese Gyaru magazines they read in Spain.
They stay 2 weeks in Tokyo, a weekly rental condominium for 3000 yen per person. They cannot spend much money for foods, because they want to spend money for shopping! Their meals are either from convenience store or fast food.
Over 100 items are on the beds that are what they purchased in Japan. “There’s no shoes like this much kawaii in Spain!” They bought Yukata only because they wanted to dress it to the Hanabi (fireworks) night. Good for them, they were picked by good-looking Japanese men there.
The members of Gyaru group meet up once a week to dance ParaPara. They also like to visit the store “AKIBA” in Barcelona where Japanese anime goods, decoden stickers, Gothloli outfit, and a bit awkward Purikura machine are available.
The Spanish Gyaru girls are willing to pay 3 times more money to buy Japanese Gyaru fashion magazine in Spain. They like a Gyaru model Aina Tanaka.
Salon del Manga is a Japanese culture event in Barcelona that has been held since 1995. There were as many as 60,000 people visiting this event in 2008. This event has turned young Spanish people more interested in Japanese culture. Teens and young 20s Spanish boys and girls hold ParaPara contest every month at a youth center. “Music and dance are totally different from ours!” “I can even make friends with people who I dance with for the first time.” They are excited about ParaPara dance today, which used to be very popular among Shibuya girls 10 years ago.
There is even a foreign Gyaruo (men’s version of Gyaru) in Shibuya these days. Alex from Russia never fails to go to a hair salon that is popular among hosts for Mori hairstyle whenever he goes to Shibuya. He is an international student to a Japanese private university but he looks as if he were a model or host (“host” here means something different from host in English, as explained here. “I didn’t know this kind of fashion until I came to Japan. I think it’s cool!” He has a girl friend for 6 months who is also a Gyaru.
At an office of egg magazine Spanish Gyaru girls can finally meet their dream model Aina Tanaka in person. Moreover they learned how to do Gyaru makeup from egg models. “Because we are afraid of mottled face in the future, we do not burn the face. Only for the body to get tanned, we go to a tanning salon.
For the face, use the same colored foundation.” “Gyaru need tanned skin color!” “Use a brush to paint your face with liquid foundation. In this way, your face will be smooth like a surface of pottery.” “It costs much money to be a Gyaru. We have to dye hair, decorate nails, get tanned at a tanning salon throughout the year, buy makeup and dresses, etc. I spend 50,000 yen per month for my hair and nails.” Aina shared her tips of how to be a more Gyaru-looking Gyaru. It has passed half an hour when base make was done. Spanish Gyaru girls were so happy because they could meet Aina, they spent 180,000 yen in average per person for shopping in Japan, and were called “Gaijin Gyaru” (Gaijin means foreigner) in Japan.
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Kirin’s opinion:
I’m too old for Gyaru fashion (LOL), but it’s certainly fun if one has a specific fashion genre that she loves. I sometimes feel like buying some Gyaru items to mix with my ordinal clothes but I’m too embarrassed to enter Gyaru fashion store with completely non-Gyaru looking who apparently has no connection with Gyaru fashion. I maybe a bit shy… :p
It was scary though for me to ask someone with such long nails to put makeup on my face. I personally don’t like such long ones. They can be dangerous rather kawaii…(*_*) Have you seen Gyaru in your country? What did you think of their fashion, makeup, and etc.?
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Disclaimer: Tokyo Kawaii TV is a TV program owned and broadcasted by NHK Japan, and has nothing to do with this blog.
***There are archives of episodes listed under the page titled “Tokyo Kawaii TV” that is just located under the title banner of this blog.
***If you want to know the music that was used in the episode, please refer to this page and help yourself to find it by selecting the date when the episode was on air in Japan.
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December 24th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Wow, great article and show! It's cool that they got to meet their idols!
December 24th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I think that this Gyaru style looks better on Japanese girls. They have that "baby" face for it, not like foreigners. But everybody has its own choice about her outfit, it's just my opinion.
December 25th, 2009 at 4:46 am
I know the Gyaru from Denmark! It was weird seeing them on japanese TV.
Personally I would NEVER have nails like that! Like you wrote Kirin-san, I think they would be alot more dangerous than cute. I think some Gyaru fashion is really cute, but the tanning and the weird haircolor does NOT work for me. But I also find it innovative and cool.
December 25th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Every Russian woman is a gyaru, even though unconsciously!
When I met Misako San I had almost the same reaction….am I too old for this?
Those long nails are really scary!!!:D
December 25th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
That sounds interesting. (^ ^) As you say, many of us look young because of "baby face". That's why we have to wear too much makeup to make ourselves look like "grown up" maybe… :p
December 25th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
That sounds interesting. (^ ^) As you say, many of us look young because of "baby face". That's why we have to wear too much makeup to make ourselves look like "grown up" maybe… :p
December 25th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Really!? Wow…that's a surprise! What one thinks kawaii is all different, and so it's so natural you have likes and dislikes about any fashion that is even considered as kawaii.
December 25th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Oh but you're still young. I'm in my 30s. (LOL) Actually, I want to be free from this way of thinking. I should be able to dress anything in any ways regardless of age or gender. :p
December 25th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Yes, I'm happy for them!
December 26th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Gyaru culture is growing in the US, and there are even a few circles scattered across the country. It isn't usually something you see just anywhere, but the fashion and culture is spreading thanks to the internet. There are a lot of online communities for foreign gals to meet (like ricoche.net or everyday_gyaru on livejournal) and make friends. As for myself, I enjoy gal as a spectator, not a participant (I don't like tanning). However, I take a lot of makeup and hair tips from them, so maybe I'm a little more gal then I thought.
December 27th, 2009 at 12:58 am
There are websites for the Gyaru around the world to contact other? That's cool!
December 27th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Wow, those girls will remember that experience forever! How wonderful!
I think gyaru style suits some faces and not others. But really anyone can look cute with good hair, make up and photography!
I'd like to dress up cute more… but it just takes so much time and money… especially overseas because everything that you buy from Japan has a postage charge on top of it. Those girls must be really dedicated to save up so much to buy gyaru things. I wonder if they read your blog!!
December 27th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Haha, yes I would also be a bit scared if I had those long nails so close to my face! I remember seeing nails like that and… I would like to try, but only for one day.
My first question when I saw those nails was always 'But how do they go to the bathroom!?' A silly question, but I still have no answer. >.<
Aww, I think it was very sweet that those Spanish girls got to meet their idol! Such a great opportunity for them!
I mix and match gyaru fashion a little, but not to any great extent. I'm mainly envious of their hair though! (Mine won't grow that long, or rather, it's too thin, even if I did!)
But what I really want to know is: how do they learn the same para para dances? Are they specific dances for each song or does everyone make up their own? That's another mystery I've never figured out. Do you have any idea? ^^
December 27th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I think the TV station (NHK) gave them a copied DVD or something how they were on TV.
BTW, I was planning to rest in this period, however on second thought, I though can catch up on the old episodes of Tokyo Kawaii TV that I have not finished translating for you yet. Now TV stations are busy for special programs especially made for this period, and so new episode from Tokyo Kawaii TV is not released by the 2nd week of January.
However….it looks like more than 2 episodes appearing in this "home" page sometimes leads you confusion. Did you reach the Gyaru video when you pressed the play button? When I did, somehow it was connected to the previous episode at the bottom of this page, and when I hit the title of the post and then play button, it worked correctly. (?_?)
From that aspect, 1 episode per page is the best without such confusion…=_=
December 28th, 2009 at 12:45 am
I'm not quite sure about ParaPara, but I think each music has different way of dancing. But you can also arrange them as you like. In Japan it looks like teens buy ParaPara DVD to learn how to dance to cirtain eurobeat music.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
kawaii tv el mejor programa de moda en japon, q suerte de las chicas de llegar hasta alla y conocer a los conductores y su modelo preferida que experiencia dios mio .
January 2nd, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Hola. Sabes kawaii TV? Es famosa en su pais, tambien? Lo siento…no puedo comprender espanol mucho. No hablas ingres? Pero…gracias por el commentario.
January 2nd, 2010 at 7:58 pm
hello!!
I'm one of that spanish girls!! hehe The girl with 2 hair color
thanks for upload the video, youtube delete our videos from our acount ;__;
I'm happy that u liked it! ^-^
January 4th, 2010 at 11:59 am
Wow! You are the one in the episode?? The one who showed around her house? That's cool!
Thanks for the contact.
I'm glad you found this post, and please also share it with other Gyaru friends.
January 8th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
Nifty post I can never get enough of this stuff i love em all and I want to thank you for posting this I was looking for this data just the other morning
January 9th, 2010 at 2:33 am
i think this is the one of paris not gaijin gyaru….
January 9th, 2010 at 2:34 am
oh wait…never mid ^^;;;
the problem was my computer
sorry again ><
January 10th, 2010 at 1:50 am
oh good, you solved the problem. You know because it's possible that sometimes these videos work very strangely, as mentioned in the post. (-_-;)
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:47 am
Every song has it's own dance
I live in Norway, so I can't get my hands on parapara dvd's, but I just search through youtube, and I've found quite a bit 
March 27th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
I am so late coming into this, I just saw this off google haha. I find gyaru fashion really interesting, but after seeing the gaijin gyaru video, I must say that a lot of the clothing and items shown on the video is stuff that you can find here easily in America. I think I read somewhere that gyaru got its roots from american fashion so that explains why a lot of what they wear looks like clothes I find at the mall here. A lot of the neon shoes they showed I have seen here for a while, like the neon nikes and also there are stores like forever 21, zumiez and tilly's that have a lot of clothes that looks like that. I guess it really depends on who wears it, because on the Spanish girls it looked more normal, they looked like girls I see at the mall, but on the Japanese girls it looked really different and I think it is because you don't expect that to be normal in Japan maybe? About the guy gaijin gyaru I think that look did not really suit him, no offense but his hair looked terrible. Overall though it was super cute and interesting to see. thanks
March 29th, 2010 at 10:58 am
i really like this fashion
i am going to start dressing like this i am really fashion forward i can pull off anything really lol and people tell me i look asain but im not asian lol so its funny . yeah them nails are so scary there really long do the 3D things not fall off when they was their hands =/ i probaly wear them nails but not that long lol . does anyone know where i can buy them contact lenes ???? they wear to make their eyes look huge 
i think this fashion looks good on anyone as long as they are confident 
i love smiley faces lol 
peace out peoples :p
-chiyoko
March 29th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
You mean color contact lenses? In Japan you can buy them at Donki (http://tokyokawaiietc.com/archives/3696) but I don't know about other countries. I heard Korean lenses can make your eyes look bigger, though.
March 29th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
That's interesting~!
I don't know why Japanese Gyaru look very different. Maybe the looks mixed up with oriental face and western makeup plus sexy but kawaii outfits are something very unique?
April 15th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
I learned much about gyaru from manga Gal! and dorama Gyarusa (Fujiki Naohito; Erika Toda; Aragaki Yui etc) lol
Gyaru style is cute & colorful. I kinda like it. But i think Ganguro is a bit too much ^ ^;;
April 17th, 2010 at 5:18 am
Ganguro is way out-of-date now. There's no Ganguro girls in Shibuya. It's a long time ago…
June 25th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
This gives me alot of hope~!
I myself love Gal and Gyaru clothing~!
But i am american, And have alot of facial piercings.
So sometimes i think that if i went to japan, I would be very shunned. (T-T)
Or not thought of as very cute.
But my dream is to learn japanese a bit better then i do now,
And hopefully become a model for fashion magazines in japan~!
So thank you very much.~ (^-^)/ <3
June 26th, 2010 at 12:53 am
Ganbatte ne~ (^_^)/~~ Do you subscribe to Japanese Gyaru magazines? Being a Dokumo (http://tokyokawaiietc.com/tokyo-kawaii-tv/dokumo-a-subscriber-to-a-fashion-model) is one good way to be a model to a fashion magazine.
August 31st, 2010 at 2:56 am
I like Shibuya gyaru fashion like with models Yuma and Aina http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/yumachi-aina-…
September 1st, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Haha, I don't know much about Gyaru girls, but I've heard of their names.
September 23rd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I’m not japanese and here where i live gyaru isn’t popular
I often wear gyaru and i love that style ^-^ I don’t care if people stare at me and maybe laugh 
I’m not very young, i’m 17 and in some months i’ll be 18, i don’t think that fashion have an age, you just have to be confident and fit well in your outfit ^-^
<3 Gyaru <3
September 23rd, 2010 at 1:53 pm
OMG 17 or 18 y.o is considered very young! In Japan Gyaru fashion is popular among girls aged 17-25 or so…I guess.
Whatever age you are, you should dress as you like, it's your life!
September 27th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
scary D:
November 25th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
I really like this post. I'm really happy to hear that they're was a high school couple from Mexico! ^-^
Lovely blog! ^-^
November 26th, 2010 at 1:17 am
Thank you Jasmine! I'm glad you liked it~<3
November 26th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
You're welcome! ^-^
December 15th, 2010 at 10:49 am
This is a really great video!
These girls are amazing because it takes so much self confidence to pull the look off (as well as time, money and effort)! I think that fashion doesn't have an age limit, if you just alter the style to suit you it will still look good. I'm from Ireland and when I go out looking like a gyaru I get stares and comments! This gives me inspiration.
It's really nice to see this kind of video! Thanks for uploading it and Arigato Gozaimasu to the gaijin gyaru gals who took part in the documentry!
Aishi teru! xox
December 15th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Thank you Ageha-chan for your comment. I hope you enjoy your style as much as these gyaru girls.
December 19th, 2010 at 7:05 am
what's the song in 11:56 ??? I just loved it T.T
December 20th, 2010 at 1:33 am
If you want to know the music that was used in the episode, please refer to the following page and help yourself to find it by selecting the date when the episode was on air in Japan. (Aug 29, 2009 for this case.)
http://www.nhk.or.jp/kawaii/music/100523.html
December 24th, 2010 at 3:56 am
I really like gyaru group Juliet, they can really sing well http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/juliet-gyaru-…
December 25th, 2010 at 10:27 am
thank you x3 you were really helpfull x3 sorry 4 my bad english u.u x3 <3
December 26th, 2010 at 5:54 am
Your English is not bad. ^ ^ Hope you find it. I'd suggest you copy and paste each song on youtube search and find the melody that you liked to get the title of the music you wanted. Good luck!
January 30th, 2011 at 6:32 am
i know gyaru groups here in vancouver, canada ^^
some pull it off while others really fail at it LOL
January 31st, 2011 at 12:55 am
Oh that sounds interesting.
I never thought of people who fail at it in your country. Gyaru looks are good on western people.
February 1st, 2011 at 6:40 am
i am happy they met their idols!
I am a gal in chicago (usa) and i love reading and watching things about western gals!
kirin, some girls dont know how to do the hair and make up and sometimes style which makes them fail at it. they just need help,advice and lots of practice.
February 13th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Thank you for sharing the video ^-^.
I know about a sweedish gal (well she grew up there), she is a celeb in sweden but has moved to Thailand now see http://www.fokis.se
But I'm a gal and I live in Norway, I've got some of my friends into it to, but I don't really fancy the long nails, they're kinda scary.. I know it seems strange that I am a gal that is Norwegian, but I'm really Chineese ^_^
I really like you'r blog! 
February 14th, 2011 at 1:16 am
Thank you Micheo.
Enjoy your style!
Gyaru fashion is well received by both Japanese young girls and non-Japanese women. So I don't think it's weird when Norwegian dress like that.
March 15th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Hi were good ^^ i realy lik gaijin gyaru there are cute
I'm from Sweden and like to blog about gyaru and many thimks 
this is my blog http://www.fukami.blogg.se
May 29th, 2011 at 2:05 am
gaijin gyaru wa KIMOCHI WARUI! KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMOI! they remind me of takaratzuka review girls.
May 29th, 2011 at 6:23 am
I think they are already kawaii as they are. So sometimes when they apply too much of makeup, hmm…it can be a bit scary look I guess… ^ ^;;
June 19th, 2011 at 12:37 am
Waaaii.!! Incrível.!
Sou brasileira e sempre gostei do estilo gyaru, apesar de não ser muito divulgado aqui…
Sempre fui fã da Aina Tanaka e acho ela linda, por ter uma cor de pele mais escura (muito comum aqui), e usar cabelos de tons mais claros. As roupas que ela usam são fofas, perfeitas, são tudo!
Só acho meio exagerado algumas perucas que ela coloca… (São perucas, né? o-o), Algumas ficam muito enorme e fazem a cabeça dela parecer menor que o corpo…Parece uma boneca Susy rsrs…
Pena que aqui não tem muito como adquirir esses produtos (roupas, lentes de contato, etc). Também, como a própria Aina disse, pelo menos uns 50 mil por mês (Isso no Japão)!! Isso é um absurdo. Como aqui tudo é mais caro, imagina se essa moda pega? D:
Esse é um dos vídeos que montei sobre meninas Gyaru. Espero que gostem!
[youtube DCiOEsVzMds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCiOEsVzMds youtube]
June 25th, 2011 at 1:51 am
I would have to disagree, I've met many non asians with a "baby face" (I personally have one), I think it more as to do with skin tone. Gyaru style is supposed to shocking, blatantly different, and, in a lot of ways, is an extreme version of the "california girl" look. Gyaru doesn't look appropriate on alot of foreigners because it looks natural on them; not extreme. Most foreigners don't look odd with a dark tan, outlandish clothing, and blonde hair; seeing a dark tan and bright blonde on a naturally fair asian does look odd and outlandish.
June 25th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Actually there are many Japanese men who dislike Gyaru styled Japanese girls. I think it depends on one's taste. If Gyaru look does not look good on Japanese girls, I cannot explain why the style is supported by so many young Asian girls.
June 27th, 2011 at 8:07 am
Funny how Japan stole most of that fashion from Europe, but now years later if anyone outside Japan wears it its called "GAIJIN Gyaru"
a lot of them were cute. But she was the prettiest. Let Japan keep their baby faces :/
Also I just had to say that Swedish girl was really cute
October 5th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
omg the way the caucasian girls talk…can you say asian wannabe much?? LOLZ
October 26th, 2011 at 5:28 pm
This is great about those gaijin gyaru's…But,I must to say that gyaru fashion just look much much much faaaaaar better on japanese girls than foreigners. For that kind of make up and style,you just have to be…mmm,born for that.When I see some japanese gyaru, "its cute" ^__^ ,but,when I see some western gyaru girl,"she's creepy! " xDDD its just point face shape,eye shape,body shape.Some western girls who are tiny,with small eyes and round or oval face can wear gyaru fashion very good.
But,anyway,who likes;GANBATTE! <3
October 28th, 2011 at 2:18 am
I think western people for example have longer eyelashes and bigger eyes naturally so they are already beautiful. Many of us suffer from small eyes and short eyelashes because of flat face. So sometimes when I see western girls dressing like Japanese Gyaru, they look too much. They look even better with less makeup.
But what beauty means should be different from one person to another, so it's also true there are many Japanese men who dislike Japanese Gyaru, but prefer natural look. ^ ^;;
October 29th, 2011 at 8:05 am
@kirin true,I also find A LOT OF guys who dislikes gyaru.I didn’t expect really, because it is still as popular style in Japan 0__o? Also,when I show some pics of gyaru models to my western friends,they also don’t like it much.
They said it is a good style for someone who is famous or something like that.That’s not for ordinary people. Somehow that gyaru style reminds me of the style of westerners,so that seems to be just a little makeup, no eyelashes or contact lenses. 
but anyway,who likes gyaru (I mean on the western girls),you should ask someone is it suit for you,b’cuz,really,that make up for japanese girls doesn’t suit for a lot western girls and you just have to accept that. 
BTW,I do gyaru style(I have oval face and small eyes,so gyaru style make me look better 
) and soon when I finish some things about my blog,I’ll put it here,so that you can see how it looks my “gyaru life” xD
November 9th, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Hi! Anyway I started to write my blog.Its about fashion around the world and the views from my perspective.I'll write about Asian fashion,especially japanese ones and I'll write about me and my "gyaru life".So,I just started ,its not right now some big thing,but I hope that with time you'll like it ^__~ Feel free to go ,check it and feel free to comment (just good ones! ~ ) Okay,greetings from Meee <3 http://ninablingbling.blogspot.com/
November 25th, 2011 at 9:45 am
It is supported by many girls and women because they have more freedom to break out of the conformity of traditional gender expectations. They are more free to dress in what they like, rather than dressing to according to how men wanted them to dress.
November 25th, 2011 at 9:56 am
Don't worry, there is such a thing a "Ganjiro"! Many Ganjiro make an effort to remain beautifully white and apply sun-block. Some will use a very light bronze for a skintone, but they don't tan religiously like the rest of the Gyaru. The idea is that being a GAL isn't in the tan, but in the attitude you have and the fashions you wear.
January 4th, 2012 at 5:16 am
think Gyaru looks beautiful and even on some girls that aren'rt Asian but those girls from spain…they look like they are i their 30's trying to look young..and I know they prob arent that old but they look it. I don't think they pull that look off at all.
January 6th, 2012 at 2:35 am
I think the difficulty of Gyaru fashion or makeup is that point. Some may look older than their real age… :p
August 25th, 2012 at 7:51 am
I’m not sure exactly why but this blog is loading incredibly slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end? I’ll check
back later and see if the problem still exists.
August 25th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
This page certainly has all of the information and facts I needed
concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:25 pm
I loved your article! The tokyo kawaii tv archive is also extremely useful and interesting!!And thank you for blogging in English! That way more people can read about wonderful Japan!
October 9th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
This wеb ѕіte really has all of the information I neеdеd concerning thіs
subject and ԁidn’t know who to ask.
January 2nd, 2013 at 9:33 pm
I'm also a gyaru but i don't tan my face because i'm already that brown xD. I've got my circle lenses from Pinkyparadise. GEO lenses are my favorite!
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