Sunday, July 17, 2011

Gyaru/ Gal VS Guidette/ Jersey Girl

Hopefully this will be the blog of blogs.


Ok, so I'm sure that most of my readers are Gyaru, gyaru-inspired or at the very least know what gal is.












And im  99.9% sure that everybody knows who Snooki is.






With the "Jersey Boom" happening all over the media now, love it or hate it, everybody knows what guidos and guidettes are.  I am no exception. I love Jersey girls.


HOWEVER


I do not like people callin Jersey girls "american gyaru". Theyre not gyaru, and gyaru are not guidettes.


I will not deny that there are quite a few similarities: the dark eye make and nude lip, big hair, big lashes, long nails, stylish clothes.


Both love shopping and having fun, but today I'm gonna point out the differences between Gyaru and Guidettes.


Lets start with the Evolution of Gal:
(i stole this from Lisha, because i was too lazy to type it)


Ganguro/Gonguro
ガングロ/ゴングロ
late90s-early 2000s
"This style came about in the 90's. There was medium to dark tans galore, platform boots(the higher the better) white make up on the lips and mouth(from a light white to the bold white sported by Buriteri), and variations of lightened hair. Hawaiin themes were really common especially during the summer time, and the Alba Rosa clothing brand is really big on the scene.




The hair was bleached during this time because of the lack of colouring kits. The hair is usually seen as brown, med brown, blonde, and also white.
The clothes has a 70's and 90's feel to it; pastel or garish colours, characteristic knit styles, the way some of the dresses have a boxy feel when worn on the body, tight pants, etc.
I have not found alot of teasing or big hair styles when I anaylyze the hair the ganguros and gonguros uses."


Manba/Tsuyome manba

マンバ、強めマンバ
2000-
"Manba came after Ganguro had died off. It had two revisions. Many people refer to these two as "old school manba" and "new school manba".

Old School Manba is characterized by usually hair being browns, blonds, and maybe some tint colours, stickers on the face under the eyes(not drawn on with make up), lots of cute accessories, yarn or strange danglies in the hair, bright colours, flip flops, and more stylized eye make ups.
 NOTE: The MAIN difference between this style and Ganguro is the NOSE STRIPE~.
However, some girls in the scans of the old egg mags dont wear nose stripes at all.

Kigurumis, cute sweats, pajama pants are mad cute~
For the nose stripe, the "T" shape (white make up powdered over the eyebrows)is usually common."

New School Manba is what happened when the first phase of manba died out for a while, then came back~. Girls bleached and dyed their hair with bright colours, hair extensions are being put in, Banba started to evolve from it at about the same time, and cute goodies that you can adorn yourself with is still in. It's a more fun and perhaps more "childish" version of banba, but sexy clothes as long as they are bright are in~Stickers are not worn that much, or none at all.
The hair is usually teased big, and may have a flower or two in it.
Manba make up is a bit cleaner looking than Old School style make up.
Alba Rosa clothing goods can be spotted here and there.
Tsuyome Manba is the more extreme version of manba: Hair bright and can be so long that it touches the ground. Big big BIG hair is very important, but doesnt matter if its a ton of weave, yarn, or leis.
Eye make up is usually VERY bold and the eyes are done up to appear very large.



Banba

バンバ
2000-
Almost like manba, but the make up, sported especially by the Angeleek galcir, usually had glitter in it, and varied from really bold that could be mistaken for manba, or lighter and less in your face.
There are two clothes colour schemes, one very bright with neons, and one with more earthy and/or natural colours. The same can be said for the hair as well. Lip colour is white, nude, or pink colours.








Tsuyome
強め(つよめ)
around mid 2000s    
this is usually seen as a lighter and sometimes "tougher" version of Banba style. There are still tans, but the white make up is toned down or none at all, and usually the eye make up (liner, lashes) are bold and fierce. Hair colour ranges from browns, ash colours, or blondes. The clothes are sexy or sexy and cool, and has a more mature vibe than Manba, Banba and even the Ganguro styles. If one was to do a slow graduation from manba, they might go the route of Manba>Banba>tsuyome.
Lips are done in nudes or sometimes pinks.


Ok, now the Evolution of the Jersey Girl
.
.
.
.
I got nothing.

I have no idea how it started, when, by whom, nothing. It just was.
I'm pretty sure that Guidettes have been around for a while, but it didnt get get mainstream untill the premier of Jersey Shore and such.

but anyway, lets go some fashion comparisons:

gyaru is forever changing. what may have been trendy and fashionable last month may not still be whats in for this month. that doesnt mean that EVERY gal is gonna sell everything in her closet and buy into the new trend, but some might. So lets get down to the BASICS of gal clothes (just general gyaru-kei)


gyaru fashion basics (taken from Giuliam at Ricoche.net):


1. A distressed blue jean mini skirt. (You can even do the distressing yourself on a skirt you already own, though nice ones can be found everywhere from Forever 21 to American Eagle, if you shop in the US.)

2. Black dress shorts. (These go with absolutely everything and can even work in the winter.)

3. Opaque black thigh-high stockings.

4. Knee-high high heeled boots, in either black or brown.

5. A cute fur trimmed puffer jacket for colder weather.

6. Soft, flowy tunic tops to wear with skirts and shorts, in both solids and prints of your favorite colors.

7. A pair of black heels, with either a pointed or round toe.

Jewelery and accesories (in no particular order):

1. Gold or silver bangle bracelets.

2. Large gold or silver hoop earrings.

3. Long pendant necklaces.

4. A large leather or pleather bag in a neutral color, like white or black.

THOSE are the basics that wil get you through ANY trend in the gyaru world.







Guidette Fashion Basics:

The Top

Tight female-sized muscle tees, tanks, bikini tops and tube tops are essential to show the cleave of your bountiful boobies. Cropped tops are critical to emphasize tightly toned abs. Black, white or red lace bras are optional.



The Skirt

If you can sit in the skirt and you can't see your thong, your skirt's not short enough. And if you can sit at all, the skirt's not tight enough.


The Shorts


Like the skirt, the shorts should be tiny enough that your butt checks stick out. In other words, Daisy Dukes aren't short enough.

The Jeans


Skinny super-low rise acid-washed and/or ripped designer jeans that have been made even tighter by sitting in a tub of hot water and letting them dry while you're wearing them to become like a second skin are almost tight enough. They also need to be cut low enough that the waistband of your thong is exposed.

The Dress




The dress should be bright and tight and/or made from less than a yard of animal print fabric, with a cheetah print being the most popular. The dress, like the skirt, needs to be shorter than a micro-mini and too tight to sit in unless you're wearing spandex or jersey –preferred dress fabrics of Guidettes. Sequins and beads will kick up the sex factor. Plunging necklines, strapless and/or super sexy high slits are a given


classy right?
Pattern wise  gyaru tends to lean towards florals,leopard print, plaid, and metallics. though most will simply wear what they like. Guidettes are mainly about zebra, leopard,sequins and metallics. sometimes they can be a little matchy, but it all comes down to a matter of personal tastes. 
for gyaru accessories are what can take an outfit from plain to fab. for a guidette, its boobs. just sayin...












Hair
gyaru hair has gone through every phase possible. from "High bleach" to neon, to shaved heads. however when  most ppl think gyaru they thing BBC: Big, Blonde, Curly. However gyaru hair color ranges from platinum to jet black. color doesnt really matter so long as its styled.


guidettes typically have long hair thats either Black, Blonde or a combination of the two. its usually straight with lots of volume at the crown or in a poof. it can also be in that weird crunchy lookin style.

Makeup

dear god the makeup.

gyaru makeup is mostly about the eyes. liner, shadow, and lashes will always reign supreme. Gyaru have mastered makeup application:




guidette makeup is nowhere near as complex as gyaru makeup. Dark eyes, light lips and pink or nude lips dominate, but the main point it bronzer. the more bronze the better:






also i didnt search for ugly guidettes...this is just what happened lol.




ok lah. Lifesyle wise, gyaru and guidettes are pretty much in the same boat.

They like to party and have fun. most have jobs to support their fashion makeup and tanning habits an so on.

however nobody understood the look at first and they were ridiculed for not looking like everybody else. then the looks started to get more publicity, some negative, some positive (no publicity is bad publicity). and then eventually, it went mainstream.





and BOOM.




There you have it. 

Gyaru are not "japanese guidettes" and guidettes are not "americas answer to gyaru". 

they are just girls living their lives the way they want to.

what style do you prefer?

9 comments:

Alisa said...

I really enjoyed reading this, and I totally agree. Jersey style isn't my thing, but it's cute when done right. But it definitely isn't gyaru!

Tilanie Bellamy said...

Definitely prefer Gyaru.
I dunno, the Guidette just does not appeal to me too much.
I enjoy the different fashions Gyaru styles have to offer as opposed.
But I still like Guidettes just as much.

Lolo said...

Thanks for posting this and maybe people will get their facts right. Do you know how annoying it is to get on my banbaandmanba dash on tumblr and see people calling manbas/banbas little snookis. Lol not even snooki can get that dark!

Momoko Mitchell said...

ahhh great read.

Salla Västilä said...

Nice one. Thanks for this post!

bouncybrown said...

Great post! I hate that the two styles are getting lumped together. It's weird. It's easier for lazy people.. like when they refer everyone from Latin America as Mexicans, as if anything south of the U.S. is Mexico. Haha, I'm rambling!

I think the Guido/Guidette phenomenon is very interesting. I know the term "Guido" started as a racial slur for Italian-Americans. I am curious about the evolution of the style!

Balls said...

The 'Gyaru' styles you posted with dark orange skin are not Gyaru they are Ganguro. It's two completely different things. Gyaru is fashioned after Hime Gyaru who is cutesy and does makeup to make her eyes look twice the size they really are. Ganguro is trashy and extreme.

Balls said...

The 'gyaru' styles you posted with dark orange skin are not gyaru they are ganguro. They're two completely different styles. Gyaru is fashioned after Hime Gyaru who is cutesy and sweet and wears light delicate makeup to make her eyes look twice as big. Ganguro is trashy and not at all Gyaru.

Ragrunzel said...

Balls, that's not quite right :) Ganguro is one of the substyles of Gyaru. Hime Gyaru also is. There are more substyles than you can count, each one's different, but Ganguro, Manba etc definitely belong to the style!

And @ this post: ah, finally. I hate it when people think that these two things are the same!
Gyaru is my favorite subculture forever :)
the guidettes also do what they want when it comes to styling, which is great!