12/31 - Reflecting weird things I've learned / improved in from Gyaru this year

 HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE EVERYONE!!! I hope you all have enjoyed 2024, and we all have a wonderful 2025!! 

I already did a like, general look back on my gyaru year and my 2025 goals in my intro post, so I thought it'd be fun to detail some stuff I learned / improved on this year thanks to the gyaruness of life. Some of these might be kind of out there, some of these might be a bit more relatable LOL.

1. Learning to walk in platforms/heels! I mentioned in my first post I was suuuuper bad until my friend Katie told me "HEEL TOE BRENNA!! HEEL TOE!!!" and let me tell you, that helped. Walking in heels can be intimidating, I highly recommend you start with a thicker heel and walk around your house, and you will walk slower than normal. Also make sure you heels fit properly because an ill fitting heel is NOT good!!! I did notice I have gotten better in platform heels but like... mid-height heels are weird, since you kind of have to figure out how to angle your foot/walk. 
2. Learning to drive in platforms/heels. This is a weird one, and I don't recommend going in this if you're still new to driving in general. I sometimes would just forget my driving shoes, or i'd be in boots that were hard to take off and put back on, so I just figured it out. I have to adjust the pressure of my foot and my car seat, but it's a process. This is something I don't do often, but it's a once in awhile "ah fuck it."
3. Improving Eyeliner!!!!! I'm still not the best,but having to figure out my eye make has helped so so so so so much! I also realized the eyeliner I had been using was not good for me and finally got a new one. 
4. Improving on my color coordination/styling skills. I have to say, I think I really improved on this when it came to August with my holy chandelier dress look, and then having to work out how to coordinate various shades of pink, and figuring out what shoes work, what screams agejo, etc. I think a lot of baby gals think you just need the brand or the right make, but there's a huge importance to making sure everything is cohesive too!! I love seeing the thought put into all the co*des I see, you can really tell the vibes ppl have in their head.
5. Learning the proper nose contour. Half of it is because of gyaru, the other half is the fact I cosplayed Nico Robin 3 different times this year. That nose needs to be SHARP! I find that the basic just contour on the sides is my favorite, I cannot comprehend the button nose contour. It does not look good on me.
6. Improving my confidence and my mindset. Gyaru has just opened up something new in me. I feel so myself when I put together my co*des and put my make on, and even when I'm just barefaced in my cute tracksuits. It's so nice :) I've also just seen so much support from the community it's just put me in such a positive mood!!! To see gals interacting and posting for the sake of sharing the gyaru-ness of it all with others, it's just so motivating to see when there's so much chaos and horrible things going on in the world.

I could probably add in more, but I have to start getting ready!!! We have a party to go to tonight so I gotta gyaru it up!!!! 

12/30 - Sunday Co*de and Karaoke and gift giving!!!!

 Hi everyone!!! Happy Monday! I hope you are doing well!!! I am trying a new thing where I don't drink Soda, so I am on my third cup of tea!! I wanted to document last night because it was so fun and I had a really cool co*de I posted over on instagram and reddit already!!!

So first, let's start with the co*de!!! I think this is the closest to a hime gyaru look i've done.

12/28 - Back in the swing of it (Co*de and make and some yap)

Goooood Evening!! Happy weekend everyone! I hope you have been enjoying your holidays!! I was dog sitting this past week for a friend, so I had no gal items with me. I loved dog sitting and looooved the pup, but by the end of the week I was craving my own bed, my own pup, and my gal closet!!!

I got home yesterday night, and ended up sleeping, but today I woke up and my mom asked if I wanted to join her for a trip to Michaels, so I thought it was a great idea to get back in the swing of putting on my make and getting all dressed up!!

Dress + Jacket: Delyle Noir (thrifted via Mercari JP)

Shoes: Dream Pairs (thrifted from Savers but from research you might be able to order these via Amazon)

Wig: From the store Kalyss on Amazon

Necklace + Headband + Bag: Thrifted from Savers

I also have 3 lafufus (fake labubu) and 2 labubu on my purse!! I love these little guys but I think I have no more room for anymore lol. 

I also did a little bit of a different make choice today. I actually tried a different blush placement where I tried to do more of the center of my cheeks, I think it looks about the same as my other blush attempts. I also picked up a Lottie London mini highlighter at CVS on Thursday, which I used as my highlighter on my eyes. It'll be helpful for when I want a bright white vs a creamy white/when I run out of my limited hello kitty liquid eyeliner!!

I think my lash placement today was a bit weird... these lashes are at the end of their life. I am going to have to probably try to find these on Mercari JP as I love the shape, but the place I bought them from doesn't have them anymore!! I did order some more lashes in different styles, and also some bottom lashes, wow, I am actually going to use bottom lashes again?! What's next, circle lenses?! 

I don't have too much of a haul to share from our trip, I just picked up some yarn to try to get back into crochet again! I typically just crochet plushies but then I run into the issue of... what do I do with it when I'm done?!

Tomorrow I should be going out again as I have some friends I want to see since it's been almost a MONTH... so another code and make tomorrow!! 😁

12/22 - Co*de for the day + the mind part of being a gyaru

 Hi everyone!! Happy Sunday and Happy Holidays! I'm so happy we hit the winter solstice because that means more sunlight each day!! I need the sun to return.. and warmth... it's so cold here in New England!!

I wanted to post my co*de for the day as well as talk about a reddit post I had commented on a few days ago. But, starting with the outfit!

Outfit Details:

Wig: Prisila Wig (2 FX-05, 2 VM-03, 1 VM-01 all in LiYe)

Jacket+Shorts Setup: EmiriaWiz

Top: Charlotte Russe 

Tights: These were from Showcase (that shop that sells popular tiktok stuff)

Boots: Dear My Love

Headband + Necklace: Thrifted

Bow: Might be MA*RS? Got with a MA*RS dress I bought

Coat: Thrifted with modifications to all heart buttons

I started out with the goal of trying to wear my new clothes I got this past week!! I wanted to wear this setup out and figured i'd use my fleece lined tights I got last year to keep warm! Since my boots were black and my tights were like a brownish gray, I went with a black shirt. I accessorized with pearl items / black items since my jacket had some pearl detailing. I was also excited to finally use the jacket I DIY-ed!! I am pretty happy with how this co*de came out, very good for some casual stuff.

The wig was as always, a pain to put together. There's always that gap at the top of my head and I just have to hope no one is towering over me to see LOL. I'm working on getting some hair pieces in the 613 blonde shade to do something similar wig, but that's going to be a bit more hair science. 

I actually was only out for mayyybe an hour or 2? My only plans for today was to turn in some stuff to Savers that I set aside during a closet clean out yesterday, and see if I could find my friend a good gift for christmas, and I think I did! I also went to CVS to pick up some self tanner and another shimmer liquid eyeliner from the Wet n Wild Hello Kitty collection, as I'm trying to stock it up since I really like it!! The color is more of a warm creamy color instead of a bright white, but I really like it with my current eye make. But yeah, it was just errands.

Seeing Double and losing my mind

 Hiyo!! Short post for today! I did lots of christmas shopping but didn't end up taking any pictures LOL. But I wanted to blog about how I made a mistake when shopping on Mercari JP, but didn't realize until today! I had the last two items of my christmas haul come in, and one of them was a dress from An. When I looked at it, I realized it looked quite familiar to the dress from Selina I got in the mail yesterday.

I was honestly kind of confused... but also not heartbroken because I really like this dress so it's nice to have two different types of necklines! That just means now I need two hibachi dinners to go to (since I wanted to wear my Selina one to hibachi.)

The crazy thing, is that not only is the lace the same, the fabric the same, but the tag placement on the inside is the same! Which is like... very interesting! I guess these two dresses both were manufactured at the same place! Which, I noted that there were a lot of gal brands who made the same clothing with the same print. MA*RS I think is more unique, but with stella, growing rich, golds infinity, etc... you could find what you needed from another brand if you looked enough.

What's also crazy is I didn't even notice this when looking at the listing photos. Looking back now (shown below, images belong to the original sellers) they're basically the same!!! I think if you're looking into older kyabajo dresses (and... probably modern day kyabajo dresses) you should keep an eye out for this! Both of these were similar prices (27 vs 30 usd), but if you see a cute one for 100, look for other brands :)

Also, both gave me the impression the skirt was a cream color, but it's like a pure white in person!

12/20 - The big holiday haul

 Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!! I hope you all are doing great! I am still sick, but today is a great day for me because I had a huuuge package come in! I think this has probably been my largest clothing haul this year, and will probably be one of the largest ones I'll do in awhile in terms of volume.

I was doing some searching for yumetenbo to dig for some cute items, and found something that started this haul. The theme for this haul was "it's missing in my closet/I wanted to not buy anything from MA*RS". My goal this January is to wear as much of the items I can to see if I want to get some similar items, or if this is just a one time piece (that I will continue to wear). Every piece in this haul was also under 30 dollars! I actually have two items coming next week that I originally ordered, but i'll post about those once later :)

So... let's start! I'll try to group these since there's some similarities

First! We have two Rady sets! I work from home, so a lot of the time I am just in my PJS or kigus, but I wanted to get some cute roomwear and Rady is a great place to get some. I really like the marbled design and love pink and purple. The more muted one is much for softer, while the vibrant one is more terrycloth, but you can't feel that on the inside. I definitely would consider getting some more of these, but for now I'm going to be wearing these a LOT!

Next, I picked up some cute pink sets! The jacket and shorts set are from Emiriawiz, and the jacket and skirt set are from Dazzy Store. I love pink, and sometimes I want to wear something a bit more business-like. I don't go into the office too much, but when I do I want to wear cute stuff! I also think both of these could work for just wearing something not super-duper agejo out when I am out with friends. 

Along the theme of business casual, and a color I love to wear but don't own a lot of: minty green/blueish clothes! I love pink, but I also love wearing these colors once in awhile. The minty set is from Delyle Noir, while the blue/white onepiece is from Sugar! I own a few pieces from Delyle Noir and I really like the quality of the clothing, so I was happy to add this to my cart. I can definitely see myself wearing this to like, a drag brunch. (I really want to go to another drag brunch lol). The Sugar onepiece was one that just kept showing up in my Mercari JP searches... haunting me... I finally gave in. There's supposed to be a matching belt but this listing didn't have it, but I have a few I could make it. I actually LOVE a peplum. I know, very 2010s of me... but something about it is just... so great.

Speaking of Peplums, I also got this SUUUUUUPER cute onepiece from the brand Selina. I was shocked at how white the skirt was as the listing photos made it look cream. I also have a very very... like almost very similar dress coming in next week but it's from an. I definitely will be working on coordinating this for karaoke, but also maybe if I go to any fancy schmancy places with my friends next year!!! My friend Sam were talking about Hibachi, which isn't the fanciest thing, but it's an excuse to wear this! I also noted this dress comes with padding, so no bra needed (always exciting!). Can you tell I really like some of the old school kyaba dresses? LOL. They're so cute...

And finally! The reason this haul started! SHOES! I think I finally wrapped up my shoe collection for now, and there's no more shoes I need. Let me show you the final two pairs!

The pink shoes are from Mon Lily! I have tried to find a nice pair of pink heels, but both attempts I have tried didn't work (didn't fit, open toe which I don't like). I was a little nervous these wouldn't fit, but a try on and I found out they did! These will be a bit difficult to coordinate with my pink outfits, so I may need to use these as a pop of color in the future. 

And probably my most favorite item of the shoes. These knee-high DearMyLove Boots! Deary? Dearly? DearMy? DearML? That old logo is so hard to read. I found these boots for 16.69!!!!!!!!!! and my god I was ready to gamble if these would disintegrate the moment I put them on. I was also nervous they wouldn't fit. Luckily the seller put the exact mesasurements for these (and the mon lily shoes! same seller!). The only downside is they are kind of stiff, so I need to work them in. My pal Elin told me they'd look really good with my MA*RS fur trim items and I was like :O you are soooo right!!! I am definitely going to be wearing these a lot. I have some basic black thigh-hights, but I think these will work super well with some winter code ideas I have.

And that's it!! I technically had one more big gift for myself coming, but with the US postal system, I actually don't think I'll ever get it. LOL. But I am excited to incorporate these into my wardrobe!!

Detailing the Closet: Part 2 - Some of my not MA*RS items!

 Happy Wednesday!! I am home sick with a cold so I wasn't able to go out today, and all my friends are sick too.😖 I'm hoping that I am able to recover and go out and see some friends this weekend! Two of my friends are getting back from a long trip in Europe and I want to go see them before xmas!! Since I can't go out today, I thought I'd talk about some more closet items. 

Today's theme is pieces that aren't from MA*RS! I know when it comes to Agejo, a lot of people think MA*RS, but I also have been trying to collect pieces from other brands! I actually have a good chunk of Datura and Delyle Noir pieces, but those I wear more for work. I also wanted to include my born this way setup, but it's actually in my laundry basket at the moment 😅

Also, some of these pieces are more hime/non agejo, but wanted to share them because I like them!!!

First, I have this mini onepiece from Glamorous Jane!! This was something I bought early on in my gal clothing buying days in 2022. I really liked the pink and I thought the stripes and the lace detailing at the top was so cute!! I typically wear this with my black fur trim jacket + matching skirt combo from MA*RS, as the pinks are pretty close in color. I recently wore it out back in November! The only downside is the lace in the back is really long, I might just trim it and use a lighter to prevent fraying though.

Next is this GORGEOUS dress from Jesus Diamante. I actually saw HelloLizzieBee in this dress and I was like "where do I get this. how do I get one." I was so lucky to find it on Mercari JP back in 2022, and I wore it to my company christmas party and I've also worn it for some of my more fancier get-togethers with friends. I love the light pink with the leopard print and roses. This is such a good piece. I still look at it and I'm so happy with it. I also really like the silhouette too!! I've considered getting this type of dress in other prints, but I don't do Hime looks a lot so I have held off against it.

This is a dress I've yet to wear out yet, but it's from One Spo! I was so shocked to find a dress with a print that felt very similar to MA*RS, but the color is def not as "pink pink". I remember showing my mom this dress and she said I should wear it to the New Years Eve party our neighbors invited us to! I think it's a great idea. This dress also has a built in petticoat, so it's plenty poofy. I only spent 40 bucks on this which I felt like was such a steal for something this cute!!!

Speaking of a steal, this dress from C.R.E.A.M was only like 30 bucks and I was SO shocked when I found it. I had seen this dress in another color, but I wanted to see if I could find it in pink and i could! This dress does take a second person to put on, and clear bra straps. I really want to wear this out for maybe my birthday... or potentially Katsucon this year? I really like the old school Kyaba mini dresses, and I always have to stop myself from buying them because... where am I going to wear them... and can I afford that much dry cleaning LOL.

    

The final piece from this haul, which is also my most recent get!! Is this babydoll dress from Vina of the Valley!!!!! I saw this on instagram a bit ago and I was like... wow... I want it. This was one of my 3 large xmas gifts to myself (the other being mercari jp haul, and the other being a secret for now as idk when its coming). I put it on and I felt like a cupcake. It's definitely different compared to what I typically wear. My sibling wants me to wear this to the con I'm going to with them next month, but my friend Dev also wants me to wear to Katsucon!!! Katsucon I might just wear mostly gal clothes and like. 1 cosplay so it's def an option!!! If I wasn't sick I lowkey wanted to wear it to my karaoke outing. Maybe once we start up again next year we will!!!

Ok! That's all for this closet detail. I hope you enjoyed!!!!!! 😀

Yap Session: Mercari JP demons and how I'm trying to fight them

I literally just posted on my story about the demons I fight on Mercari JP, and when it's hard to resist buying something, and I thought it would be helpful to just like document the demons and what I do to fight them.

The simple answer for what the demons are is: it's cute and it's not overpriced. 

Now, for various gals overprices may mean differently. My type of "its not overpriced" is if it's under 30 dollars, or under 100 dollars for a brand that is typically sold much more expensive (MA*RS is like my only example here lol). I also do a lot of comparison to the brands original selling price and the quality of the item, if it's with tags and under 100 I am like, losing my mind.

Interestingly, I am not like this with Xianyu just because of how damn tedious it is to buy from there. The first piece I bought from Xianyu was cute, but I had no idea about the sneaker replica industry and how a forwarding/shopping service got raided by the Chinese government and for a few days I was unsure if the shopping service I was using would have the same issue. 

But, anyways, back to Mercari JP. There's always that like initial oh my god it's perfect let me drop my money right now and get it, but I have implemented some points for myself to let me stop and like, think about it. 

• I have to ask myself what I like about it. "It's cute" is NOT an acceptable answer. Is it the color? Is it the print? Can I visualize myself wearing this somewhere?
• I need to think of a place to wear this. If I can't figure out if it works for a social event in the city, a casual WFH outfit, or a rare "lets go to the office" outfit, then it's a pass.
• Can I DIY it at home? Can this be something I can easily thrift here in the states? I have to always remember shopping service fees + shipping fees, so it's not really that cheap. This typically removes a lot of simple one color basic skirts etc because those exist everywhere.
• Is the seller even active or is this a lost cause.

If I can give myself answers for these that make me still want the item, I put the item in a "wish list" tab on my phone, and give myself a good while to sit on them. I try to do one big order once every few months, but these past few months I have been using shopping a crutch as a stress relief, even though it only kind of works. Something I'm trying after my last xmas items come in is to wear the items challenge, and hold off from a mercari JP haul until ... March. Oh boy! That will be fun. 

Gyaru DIY - New Coat

Happy Sunday everyone! 😀

Winter officially begins in less than a week!! But here in Rhode Island, it's been suuuuper cold. Being a mostly agejo gal, I've taken the challenge of finding some cute new winter code ideas! I initially was just looking at coats online as well as stopping at the Savers in Attleboro and almost walking away with a coat (but then I saw the leather peeling 😓😓), however, I decided to take a look through one of my Koakuma Ageha magazines for inspiration, and here's what I snapped pics of!

This lead me down the idea of using coats as dresses or as tops! Especially Himena's look with the skirt and the belt... ugh it's so cute. I think eventually I will still try to get my hands on a MA*RS coat, but with current finances, it made sense to try the thrift store and do a little modifying!

Which leads to: the DIY of the coat! I thrifted a simple black coat for about 17ish dollars. I tried it on in the store and liked the initial fit, and there sadly wasn't much color when it came to the coat selection... New England loves their neutrals, especially black, but in a way, having a basic black coat is good since it'll work with a lot of my outfits!

I went ahead and used some Dill buttons I had picked up at the Franklin Mill store in Franklin MA! I actually picked these up for a different project, but I figured they would work. I will say, they're a bit small, so I may purchase larger buttons in the future and harvest these buttons for other projects.

Overall, I was really happy with how it came out! After I put it on to try out coordinating it a bit, I realized it is a little big longer than Himena's, and also a bit bulky on me. Even with adding in my chain belt (also a DIY!) it felt like I needed to get one of those clothing cincher things. 

Either way, here were my first two attempts to coordinate it. 

Image on your left was just me slapping things on. I got these boots at the thrift today but they're an awkward length and might need some extra coordinating to make work, but they are pink!! Not my fave, would not wear out. a 2/10.

Image on your right was me thinking "hm, do I have a skirt I could make this work with." and I did! This is the MA*RS Yuki replica skirt, and I used the two scrunchie things I bought as leg garters right on the top of my black books (finally. something to use them for because they're a bit awkward to work with) I think I might develop this look a bit more for a code out, and def will be playing around with my other skirts too!

Overall, for 17 bucks (and then like 6 for all the buttons i bought), not a bad first coat! I think even if I don't close it i'll wear it out. I may consider taking it to a Tailor to shorten it a bit/have it brought in more. I would try to add fur, but god... I don't know if I'm ready for fake fur all over my room... I have real fur from my puppy!!

Anyways, that's all for this blog!!! Have a great day everyone!!

Detailing the Closet: Part 1 - My most cherished pieces

 Happy Thursday!! Today has been a very off dayfor me, but I want to keep trying to blog to give myself something to do in the evenings when I don't have plans. I was kind of hoping I was going to be able to blog about a purchase I made earlier this month, but that hasn't come in yet! (Nor... do I know if it ever will lmao 😅)

But, instead of doing my typical thursday night window shopping, I thought I'd take some time to appreciate some of the items I already have! I have a lot of items in my closet, so I figured I'd start with documenting them a bit at a time. 

Today's items all have one thing in common: they're my most cherished pieces! These are in no specific order, I have a deep love for all of them! 

First, we have this BEAUTIFUL MA*RS dress. I got this back in 2022, during my searching, I had saw someone list this on Fril/Rakuma for a... bit pricier than other MA*RS items at the time. But I was really drawn to it. The fur trim, the huuuuge bow, and the length of the dress all just called out to me. I know there is a pink version, but in second hand gyaru buying, I know that's pretty rare these days. I was so happy when I got it, and I think this dress honestly started waking up the idea that I want to dress like a glamourous gal more often.

This was a SHOCKING find. I had yet to see a listing for this piece before I found it. I actually found this for sale on bunjang, which was a website I was semi-familiar with as I had used it before. This is one of the dream dream dream items of mine.

I LOVE THE HEART PATTERNS... But the typically shared nightgown camisole just would not work for my chest (I have a nightgown camisole in another print and I still suffer with making it look right). I really like there is an option in a similar-esque print but in a different silhouette. I definitely am keeping my eyes out for other dresses with something similar in silhouette as I really like it.

 I actually sat on the idea of buying this Alba Rosa coat for a year. Actually, I had been keeping my eyes out on a separate listing since about January of 2023, slowly watching the price go down. Around Late Autumn 2023, the seller shot the price right back up, and then I had saw someone had bought it, and I was devastated. This colorway is my favorite of the Alba Rosa coats, and I had already owned a black and white version, and I really just loved the feeling of the coat. I ended up finding another seller who had listed theirs for a similar price, and I decided this was my 2023 christmas gift. It was overly expensive, extremely expensive. Like my week long trip to Ireland, including flight, hotel, food+drink, and activities, was about the same price I paid for this coat. I'm pretty sure my sibling's venue for their renn faire wedding cost less than this coat. But god, do I LOVE THIS DAMN COAT. I've gotten so many compliments from random folks while wearing it. I will probably never buy another Alba Rosa coat again because this one is my ride or die. 

This setup from MA*RS is super special to me because it was one of the first setups I bought for myself! I Really enjoy the heart jewel chain pattern, and I really want to work on styling this set more. I  actually saw a post on instagram of Himena in this setup!! And I need to go find it and save to try and recreate it/use it as inspiration. I also have a matching coat to wear when it gets cold in the winter. It's just such a good setup, and a good print!

And to wrap up this first part of the closet, is my dream dream dream dream dREAM DREAM setup. This actually consists of 3 pieces. I bought the jacket for pretty cheap early on, and then tried buying this setup back in 2022 and it fell through. I found someone who was selling the top and skirt, and I got them as a birthday gift to myself, and I love to wear these pieces out. If it's too cold, I'll just wear the top and jacket with some nice jeans!! This plaid pattern is supreme and I would love to collect more pieces in this print. I think there's at least 1-2 other tops and 1 other skirt out there. There's also another jacket, but it's not that different so I'm not too into finding it.

Ok! That's the first part of the closet! I won't make promises of how often I'll post these. But I hope you enjoyed!! 😆 

12.9-12.10: Trinkets and Bingo and Friendship!

 Gooooooood Morning! This week has been busy and it's only Wednesday! For the longest time, I only really went out and did things on Wednesday. This week is not like that though, since I am in the middle of busy season at work until Christmas. This is the first Wednesday in awhile we cancelled our weekly karaoke !! 😓

However, this Monday and Tuesday were pretty eventful! I'll start off with my outfits for the days!

For Monday, I ended up not doing any make. I'm trying to find more of a casual style to wear, but I am also trying to work on timing to have time to get make done between work and events! I also just slapped on my alba rosa polo with some jeans, cowboy boots, and my alba coat to keep me warm. 

I tried a bit harder for Tuesday by putting on some make!! It was... ok, not my best lol. I also tried doing something a bit more casual since I was going to a dental appointment. My top is a MA*RS replica from taobao, and honestly, tying the boat was the most frustrating.

I think overall, outfits were OK... and I need to work on time management more to be able to put myself together faster!

Now for the details!!

----

Starting with Monday, I got a new friend in the mail! It's a fake labubu (a lafufu!) I was recommended to try and get one on tiktok shop, and I've tried 3 times now and I'm 99.99% sure all 3 of mine are fake. I'm lucky even my fakes are still cute though! The macron lafufus are much more different than the real ones. I think for now, I'm OK with my lafufus and one day I'll get a labubu if the hype ever dies down. For now they reside on my purse with my kuromi and hello kitty! 

Mondays have turned into Bingo nights for me! My friend Jordan showed me this pub he went to once and we found out they do Bingo on Mondays! The first week we went, I won twice!! Last week I won once, and this week was a no-win, but I honestly really enjoy having a drink and chatting with folks. The regulars have welcomed me with open arms which makes me really happy!! 😁

Similar to how the "zings" of Eurobeat music make me happy, there's something aesthetically pleasing about putting the dauber on the paper. My mom bought us some glitter daubers, and I get lots of compliments on them! I bought myself a pink glitter dauber to start taking since I love pink so much. I have to be careful about buying so many different kinds, because it probably can last me a long time.

OK! Onto Tuesday! My friend EJ and I went to support our friend River at their community choir concert! We started the evening with dinner at a Chinese Buffet! I haven't had food at a chinese buffet since I lived in PA. My family used to take my sibling and I there as a special treat. This one we went to had WAY more options and so much seafood... I chose probably the least colorful meal of chicken, pineapple, and sesame balls 😂 Once we finished eating, we drove over to CT and watched out friend perform!! (for the sake of privacy I won't be sharing the photos I took). But it was such a wonderful performance! I think it's really cool that community choirs exist, and the director talked about how important it is to go for things and that it's never too late to go after your dreams! I actually ended up crying quite a few times.

For now, it's time for me to get on my work grind, but I have a few events this week I might try to remember documenting my codes for! I think I might also start putting together a closet tour. I'm waiting on a few items to also come in so I might document those too!!!! So much to blog about, it's so fun :)

Yap Session: The pressure to buy "gal brand" and how a brand doesn't just make you Gyaru

Wow! It's time for a Yap session! Basically I'm going to let my mind wander on thoughts here, not a lot of pictures on these types of posts. Most of these are inspired by my own gyaru experience + talking with some lovely mutuals on instagram + discussion posts on reddit!! Please forgive me I cannoooot keep a straight thought and I've tried rewriting this like 3 times already. It's Yap. Hopefully the more I do this the more to the point  Ican be.

Today's topic is surrounding the pressure to buy "gal brand". I put "gal brand" in quotes as some brands aren't made for gals specifically, but they're popular amongst gals.

Ever since I started working on my wardrobe, I started immediately with buying MA*RS pieces. I took time to scour on Fril and Mercari JP until I bought some items I thought were cute, as well as just because it was MA*RS and it was cheap. This was in early 2022, so prices were not great, but still better than today.  I actually went back to look at my purchase history, and most items I were buying were MA*RS and were about 20-30 on average, with my more expensive purchase being a 500 dollar haul of 3 listings totaling 19 items from 1 vendor, who ended up giving me freebies as well.

In my internet community lurking, I saw all these gals with amazing wardrobes of MA*RS but didn't think about how they were a decade ahead of me in collecting these pieces. I also fell into the Alba Rosa coat obsession (As most gals do!). The entirety of 2023 was me considering buying a Pink and White Alba Rosa coat for 1800 dollars, which I eventually caved in December 2023 and did after the first listing I was watching got sold (It was also 1800 dollars lol).

When I got the coat, I was really excited, it felt like I was the equivalent of someone who just spent all their money on a name brand designer bag. I also felt the same way with my MA*RS pieces. I was like "I'm gal! I have the brands!" I feel like this is something a LOT of baby gals deal with too, you see gals in brand, the inspiration pictures are brand, and they think it's the clothing that will make them a true gyaru and will get recognition from other gyaru.

And the reality is that it's not the case. You actually have to put in effort to read as a gal (and even then you still might not to the faceless accounts on tiktok lol but who cares what they say).

Something a lot of baby gals struggle with is "not looking gal enough". I saw Cindy write about this on their blog  and I really agreed with the statement of "I think a lot of you guys just have lame outfits and are bad at makeup."

It is actually really easy to make gal brands look bad or fall into the trap of looking like you're in a gyaru cosplay vs actually being a gyaru. Trust me, I've seen it and I've BEEN in that place. I posted on my instagram all the way as the last picture the first time I tried to style one of my cutest MA*RS dresses, and my god. It was so bad chat... no hair styling... poor make that I censored... was I even wearing nails?! 

It's really important to work on your make and understand how to style your hair (or invest in a wig!) and work on styling your pieces to make them look good. I love to work on color coordination and see what I have in my wardrobe to make a piece work. I think it would be fun as a challenge to try and do a non gal brand look... maybe something I'll try in January :)

There's also a really important thing you need to help you distinguish from being someone in a gyaru cosplay vs an actual gyaru, and that's CONFIDENCE. You really need to walk the walk and show you are confident and comfortable in what you're wearing. Gal is about being sexy, free, not confirming to standards (and it's still possible in the US! Many people don't live in fashion-filled districts and so you do stick out like a sore thumb lol why does everyone in RI wear neutrals please bring in some color....) Confidence and knowing this is who you are makes people know this is just who you are and they'll stop asking if you're in an anime costume (this is. a frustrating question i answer once a month. but luckily once i let them know i'm like this they're chill. This is probably because lack of fun clothing in new england).

And you can infact, do it without gal brands. Now I'm kind of inspired to try and do a non-brand gal look... this will have to be something I work on in the new year. :) Anyways chat, I've got my Monday night bingo, so manifest I win!! :D

Gyaru DIY - Pink Floral Setup!

 I know I just did the intro post but I do want to ramble about what I did today, which was complete one of my many DIY projects! I want to talk about it from idea to fruition!

For some general info, I am an absolute fan of setups. If it's a matching top and skirt, then that's one less thing I worry about when coordinating an outfit. If I see a decent listing during my online shopping that is only half a setup, I'm less likely to want to purchase it.

At some point late in November, I was doing my annual time to look through all my clothes and see what I don't need, and I had noticed this floral tank in my drawer. I originally picked this up at the thrift store earlier this year for less than 10 dollars.

I had worn it a few times on its own, but I had the thought of, "Hm, this could be turned into a skirt, huh?" And with that, I went to eBay to find another version of this top. I ended up paying 21 dollars in total for the new top including shipping, and it came with no flaws! I did end up buying a larger size as I planned on making it have an elastic waist band. For sizing info, my top is a size 6, while my skirt was made out of a top that was a size 12. 

This top was a bit confusing to deconstruct at first. There's a zipper on the side I had to remove with my seam ripper, which I had to seam rip both layers of the garment off the zipper. After that, I had to carefully (but not really) cut off the portion of the tank I was going to use for the skirt for both the inner and outer layer. I basically tried cutting an inch above the bust line that existed on both layers.

After that, I had to resew one side of both layers (that were no longer connected via zipper). Then I went ahead and sewed both layers together at the top. The elastic band was basically some stretchy fabric I had as scrap from a leftover seam rip project. I'll be honest, when I put the elastic band on, the top ruffle got stuck in there, but the upper tank covers the issue so I really don't care to fix it LOL! 

Aaaaaand with that, the setup was all done! I didn't touch the top tanktop at all lol.

I think for a DIY project from someone who isn't the best at a sewing machine, this came out really cute! I do definitely need to wear shorts underneath for this one, but I do for even my ma*rs setups. This one is just a smiiidge transparent if you look close enough.

I think the matching setup is just supreme. Two pieces made to go with each other... it's beautiful. I think if you have access to a sewing machine, DIY is so fun. I've been seeing lots of other gals with their DIYs which is sooo cool! 

I have two more DIY projects I hope to either work on in 2025 or earlier, but I'm also competing with the fact I should be working on a cosplay right now lol... Anyways, enjoy your Sunday! :D

The Grand Intro Post + 2024 Reflections and 2025 Goals in terms of Gyaru

I am not an English Major so I have no idea how to best start off a blog post! Welcome? Hello? Hi! This is what I'm calling my yap corner, except instead of yapping I'm typing, but just imagine me yapping while you read this. A lot of this yapping will be surrounding my life outside of work, which includes any trips I go on that I remember to document, karaoke discussions, bingo events, gyaru clothing hauls, DIY projects, co*des, and other things to document! Mostly Gyaru!

Now for some context on who I am! My name is Brenna, I'm 26, I currently reside in Rhode Island, USA, and I have a lot of varied interests, but I have been slowly learning about the Gyaru subculture since last 2021/early 2022. I do a lot of online window shopping and I also try to DIY some items! A lot of this year has been finally coming to terms that Agejo is my calling, but I have also been into wearing Ane Agejo and pieces that might read as Hime Gyaru. 

In terms of other interests, I'm into almost any music(including Eurobeat ofc), Karaoke, and Bingo events! I also really like AXiS of Tokyo 7th sisters (Taki and Sabina are my top fave), Ar Tonelico, Epic of Zektbach... and I play video games once in awhile! Not as much as I used to though. 

Bear with me as I develop this blog, though I work to make it pretty and work on adding images in an ~aesthetic~ way.