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.

After shopping, I was driving home and thinking of a reddit post I saw the other day and reflecting on it, the poster titled it :

I want to feel like a gyaru

and I think I understood what the poster meant, I even commented on it, saying: 

If you mean mentally, it can be a journey to get into the mental state (which… for me it’s really a I’m doing this for me and idgaf about society kind of mental state). If it’s something physically that feels missing, I would go with akinagal’s tips. But if it’s more mental, you gotta hype yourself up, but also go out there with the attitude of I am just who I am and who cares what others think. The more I went out in gal the more that mental part of it started to click in.

I kind of just want to talk about that a bit more indepth. There's always the weird discussion about "gal is mind" as some people use it as an excuse to not do some things in gyaru (which, imo you need makeup and practice coordinating outfits, hair, and nails.) But I've also seen a lot of times (and been there myself) where it feels like once you do get the make, outfit, hair, and nail on, you're in a cosplay, you're not actually gal. That's why it's important in the beginning of your gal journey to really get into the "gal is mind" mindset.

But honestly, what the hell even is that mindset. GREAT QUESTION, I don't have an exact answer, but here's my thoughts:

Of course, Gyaru is about the rebellion against the societal standards in Japan, just wanted to be wild and free and just be you! I don't live in Japan, I live in the United States, so the standards are different here, but I can still take that "wild and free and just be you" and still be gyaru. I put on my make, I put together my co*de, I suffer to put my lashes and press on nails on, and I go outside. THAT IS IMPORTANT. I'm going to be a villain here saying this, but if you just put on your outfits together in your room and never plan to take it out, you'll never grow as a gal. Of course, you can start off with it, that's what I did! But there's a pivotal step about taking it outside into the world. And you need to realize a few things when you do go outside:

1. You're going to look different than everyone else
2. That should not stop you from doing what you're doing. 
3. Go out there expecting people to treat you like anyone else (don't expect compliments or negative reactions, go out there just expecting the typical golden rule treatment yaknow?)

Now, I will say my experience is only really limited to the New England experience. New England (mostly RI and MA for me) is very much a lack of color area but people really don't give a fuck. There are times I will go into CVS to grab something in full gyaru and literally no one bats an eye. I go to karaoke and I'm not treated any different when i'm dressed up vs when I'm not. I've literally gone to therapy in a OTT agejo code before. Even today, the only conversations I had today were compliments on my boots (nice), an "oh excuse me" (we were in a tight aisle), and "jeez they really want to see my id for melatonin." (yeah CVS is like that.)

And of course, you'll deal with creeps (you have platforms you can crush them), or mean looks or laughter from teens (they have their own confidence issues and they're just projecting on you), but compared to social media, this happens way less in for me when i'm out and about. I will say there's def other societal norms I'm not familiar with as the United States is so diverse so other gals may be dealing with things I never will.

I'll also finish this off with a very controversial statement: You can never win over every single gyaru in the world. Some Gyaru won't like your co*des, make, etc. Do not ask for validation from other gals for every step in your gyaru journey, the validation needs to come from within!!!!!!! You can't win em all over, don't beat yourself up for it. Some gals may see me as lesser because I don't wear circle lens... whatever lol!! Find me an eye doctor taking new patients and we'll talk then (I have to get a new prescription).

Edit: Also don't feel pressured to switch in just one day, it's a big gradual thing. It took me from 2022 to late 2023 to finally start wearing my gyaru codes in public, and that was just to karaoke. I revved it up this year and (along with some life altering events) started becoming more confident and developing myself!!! And I keep will!!

Yeah that's the yap. Loooots of yap.