ギャル is fashion trend that hit Japan in the early 2000s that was quite interesting and is on a completely different spectrum from 萌え (moe) culture. It self-evidently evolved from the word girl - specifically referring to foreign girls. There are so many variations of this fashion as it has a long history, but it's safe to say the Gyaru days are over. Still, it's something that's good to know about since it's referenced a lot in modern Japanese culture and it still has a small following. But actually, it seems more popular as a Halloween costume than any type of trend-setter these days.

The origin of gyaru dates all the way back to 1972 when girls started wearing Wrangler jeans, centered around the Parco of Shibuya in Tokyo. This was considered New Fashion and considering this was 45 years ago, a radical fashion sense would be different. Over the last 45 years, the fashion became more bold and daring, and then now is becoming more subtle. There are so many different varieties of ギャル spanning over the many years. You want to be a gyaru? Then please do the following:

• dye your hair
• wear a short skirt (jeans preferably)
• spray a ton of tanning spray on your skin
• carry around a overweight luxury bag
• hang out in Shibuya
• party and take a lot of pictures

(There's a more modern version as well that requires less aerosol)

Japanese kuro-gyaru unit Black Diamond celebrating Halloween Eve in Shibuya! @bdiajp https://t.co/iCuEBynnhU #ハロウィン pic.twitter.com/e81Yie9nYe

— Tokyo Fashion (@TokyoFashion) October 30, 2015

1. ギャル Fashion Center is Shibuya 109

Shibuya 109 might be more than ギャル fashion now, but it really popularized this fashion, especially for younger girls with a rebellious spirit. The essence of Shibuya 109 ギャル culture is the Fukubukuro (surprise bag giveaways). It's when these sales became less popular that people realized that the ギャル trend has gone away. But that doesn't mean Fukubukuros have gone away. It's simply moved to Harujuku (see video at end of article). And also, the first day of the year has a huge Fukubukuro event that is still going very strong.

2. ギャル was actually a rebellion against fashion

To put it (painfully) basically, gyaru trends started as a teenage rebellion in the face of traditional ideals of beauty, popping up around Shibuya (the area around Shibuya station is a hotspot for fashion and shopping, with the main space for gyaru fashion being the Shibuya 109 building), which quickly launched a moralistic freakout, thanks to the more immodest style of dress, a lot of sensationalism, and – interestingly — the changing view of school uniforms (from boring to fashionable to – again, multi-dicked Darwinian monstrosity – sexualized).- The Toast: Gyaru, Ganguro, Manba

Another thing gyaru counters is the asian culture of white is beautiful, avoid the sun like the plague, which is coined 美白 (bihaku). This is a controversial aspect of all Asian culture that is extremely evident from Thailand to India to Indonesia. Being pearly white has a lot of advantages from income to respect. This is actually one aspect of ギャル culture I actually like!

3. There's a ton of ギャル vocabulary

Katakana is used for foreign / non-Japanese words

ガングロ	ganguro	a gyaru
ギャル系	gyarukei	gyaru style
ヤマンバ	yamanba	style of gyaru: colourful facial make up, heavily tanned skin and hair dyed in a bright hue
マンバ	manba	short for yamanba
黒ギャル	kurogyaru	toned-down version of gyaru (replaced yamanba)
ビビンバ	bibinba	gyaru fashion style with lots of jewelry
姫ギャル	hime gyaru	princess/rococo gyaru
コギャル	kogyaru	high school / kid gyaru
ギャルママ	gyarumama	gyaru who is still gyaru after having kids
キャバ嬢	kyabajo	gyaru hostess (paid companion) - classy style
ばいか	baika	biker gyaru
ビィギャル	bigyaru	b-girl, hip hop gyaru
白ギャル	shirogyaru	gyaru who doesnt tan
ヤンキ	yanki	military-style gyaru
オヤジギャル	oyajigyaru	masculine gyaru (female)
お姉ギャル	oneegyaru	older-sister gyaru (more mature gyaru)
汚ギャル	ogyaru	dirty/unhygienic gyaru (even by gyaru standards)
美白	bihaku	white is beautiful - what gyaru culture rebels against
やばば	yababa	gyaru version of 'yabai' meaning badass
ヤグる	yaguru	caught in the act of cheating
ヤグられる	yagurareru	caught in the act (they must catch their bfs cheating a lot)
にゃんつく	nyantsuku	flirting (meow sound + to stick)
ぴくみん	pikumin	go to toilet (pikkachu style?)
トッポギ	toppogi	go to Roppongi (party area in Tokyo)
おびえる～	obieruu	scared
溺死	dekishi	love to death (溺愛しすぎて死ぬ)

If this wasn't enough, this is a pretty conclusive list.

4. ギャル are stereotyped as unsophisticated

The first thing I ever heard about ギャル culture was that it's mostly girls coming from the countryside - meaning they are quite unsophisticated without much of a sense for fashion. ギャル fashion is a lot more simple than the mainstream Tokyo fashion which requires a lot of layers and following what's in and what's out and the time of year. ギャル is just ギャル, and they usually spend a lot of time on the streets in groups hanging around smoking.

The best quote the epitomizes Japanese culture comes from the president of my company about once a week - Japanese people love average. This is a far-cry from American culture. Anything seen not-average has to be exceptional, or else it's just going to be deemed as stupid. Tokyo is an extremely trendy city as trends happy by the season, not just yearly. But at the end of the day, most people go back to being average.

I thought there should be an expire date that everyone has to graduate from Gyaru someday, if they want to work for a company in Japan. When they become busy with “Shuukatsu” how can they switch Gyaru days with dyed hair in fair hair and long deco nails to such a boring look on the seminar days so often? This continues even after they happily get a job at the company. Most of Japanese workers are not allowed to put on flashy dress, hair or nails at work. Dying hair in light color is not considered good. I think natural brown is the only option. - Kawaii Blogger

5. A Male ギャル is a ギャル男 (Gyaruo)

Although less popular, such a thing exists. I actually ran into a gyaru/gyaruo couple at the beach the first time I was in Japan. I didn't know it at the time, but it was definitely gyaru fashion (I did run into them later in the city). It's funny thinking back, because I just thought they were just two attractive Japanese beach-lovers.

Fashion ends, but can still come back?

There are many reasons why people think gyaru culture has ended, but this is just the way of fashion. We've also learned that old fashion can return at any time, so there's still a chance! I'm still waiting for bell-bottoms or capes.

"Japan sees decline in 'gyaru' fashion style" Interesting article w/ some bizarre statements! http://t.co/VL67PmV7S2 pic.twitter.com/ZoXGXxfkvs

— Tokyo Fashion (@TokyoFashion) October 19, 2014

Next Up in Tokyo Fashion - Harajuku Takes Over: Lolita Culture