ギャル Discovery Self-Questionnaire Part 1

Hello!! So this was a questionnaire that was mentioned in the gals group some time ago and I'm now just getting around to it. Some of these questions would be very deep and long in response so this may be cut into two parts! Enjoy! 
 

What Gyaru means to me

Q: What initially drew you to gyaru fashion, and how did you discover it?

 

It was when I was taking a look into decora fashion actually, I loved the colors but wasn't really keen on wearing that look itself but just loved the creativity and obviously this iconic picture popped up when you typed in decora haha
But when I went further into decora, Mamba popped up and that's where my deep dive into gal truly started.

Q: How would you describe your personal take on gyaru fashion?       

 

Gal was always seen as a style that showed glam, independent woman. A hard worker, hustler, gritty but in glitter and gold. The style always resonated to me in that aspect as that's something I've seen around my household ie my mom and aunt and definitely saw that's how gal is for me.

Q: What's your favorite sub-style within gyaru fashion (eg, hime gyaru, kogal, rokku gyaru), and why?

 

I actually don't have a favorite 'sub-style' but if I would choose it'll be simply amuro-kei or gyaru-kei lol I don't think they are official substyles but they were mentioned over the forming years in gal history but the reason for those two is because they feel the most 'free-ing' or experimental. I love balance in terms of styling for my comfort and ease to really push my styling abilities. I don't want anything too sexy or cute or too simple or over the top. I believe I can really prove to myself that gal wearing and in spirit. 

For short I love namie and believes shes that mix between the two and gyaru kei is someone who embodies and wear anything and it reads gal, I'll drop examples below

Q: What are some key items or accessories that define gyaru fashion for you?

 

Nails , and accessories like necklaces and jewelry are like the icing on the cake that pushes the look even more because it makes it complete and fun. Also the type of nail designs and jewelry can really tell you about how someone sees their creative input.

Q: Do you incorporate elements of gyaru fashion into your everyday wear, or is it more of a special occasion thing for you?

 

I didn't really wear the fashion in full because it was when I was 19 years old that I had a stable job and such to really devote myself into that fashion…but right now, I'm in a tough place where I can't fully express myself and not in the right mindset but I do try to keep my nails and hair done at least during my 9-5 work week.

Q: How do you decide on the right outfit for a particular day or event?

 

I usually look at what the occasion calls for and look at my closet and see what could match what's close to the image in my head. If I need more inspiration, I'll take a look at my phone and see what can match closely with what I have in mind. It actually doesn't take long because I usually gravitate towards what feels right. 

Q: What do you think makes gyaru fashion stand out from other fashion subcultures?

 

It's the attitude and how it was so prevalent in Japanese pop culture and how even in the music industry it was such a big thing that artists would make it their brand. Also that gal can evolve to fit the era of that time while still making it timeless! Gal can be a trend in anything

Q: Are there specific trends in gyaru fashion that you're excited about right now?

 

Ah trends? well I do like that brand coming back in but also phasing out? Basically that you don't need to be glued to proxy services to order thing from japan to make a staple gal look when you can just go to online and buy from fashionova but I see more as an evolution than a trend.

Q: How do you feel when you wear gyaru? Does it boost your confidence or make you feel empowered?

 

Oh my it…mnakes me feel so free and so in tune with my soul? Yes I feel confident but that free-ing feeling is so strong because it feels like I achieved the look I've always wanted as a kid, that I am the person that I wanted to be. I am THAT gal but obviously I need to work more to get that feeling back after I moved and not facing adult hurdles which knocks you down mentally y'know. 

Q: In what ways do you think gyaru fashion allows you to express your personality?

 

It makes me feel more me, just that I can look good in being me and makes me even more intune with myself with being me.

Q: Have you ever faced any misconceptions or negative reactions because of your gyaru style? How did you handle that?

 

Not really, most were positive experiences and were more curious about and asked for more information about it. Granted I don't wear the very 'out-there' type of gal substyle which I know that it can garner some type of comments.

Everland : Sanrio Edition~

[ 2025.05 ]

Long overdue but I hope you enjoy, there will be a video posted later and when that does I'll link it back here
Sanrio Adventure

Hello, 여러분! I hope you're all comfortable and ready for a read, because I'm going to tell you about a little trip I took with my friends. In Korea, there's an amusement park called Everland. I always heard Everland was better than Lotte World because the park is slightly bigger and has more rollercoaster rides and geeeeze, they were right. Anyway, the point of this trip wasn't just the rides, but the themed event happening at the time. Every season, Everland collaborates with some movie, animation, TV show, or character to showcase new rides, snacks, merchandise, or decorations. Sanrio Friends Carnival is always paired with the spring season with different themes to show off the beautiful garden displayed in the middle of Everland. 


 

Each character has their own special garden section, along with matching snacks, drinks, and merchandise. So my friends and I decided to dress up as our favorite characters, take pictures, and just have a good time. I tried to dress like the best dog boy, Pompompurin. 

When we arrived, what we didn't know was that... it was going to be cold and raining. It was May, so we thought it'd be rainbows and sunshine, but NOPE. Fortunately, it warmed up later in the day, and the rain eventually stopped. Surprisingly, even though it was a Saturday, it wasn't as crowded as I expected. I was actually able to ride most of the available rides TWICE, even! There were a lot of children there on field trips too, which was interesting. Field trips on a Saturday? Wild. I also took that as an “I'm going to eat whatever single item I can find” kind of day. The themed area with the food and merch was cute. HOWEVER, if you ever expect to see any Sanrio character besides the big four plus that frog… fish… man creature you've got another thing coming. 

There's a lot of favoritism for Cinnamoroll and My Melody. The usual. But there was barely anything for my little boy. My pudding dog. I really love him, but unfortunately.... Everland does not love him back. I was disappointed. In the end, I got myself a cute little capybara hat because it was still raining, and why not. Despite everything, I had a good time and stayed until the very end. I think next year, I'll try to go even harder with the themed outfit haha.


Byeeee!

 

Baby Metal Club x EGG Pop-up + Photo booth

[ 2025.06 ]

I've risen

Hello everyone, it's been forever! If you're reading this now, this basically means…I wasn't diligent in putting out all that I wanted to do . Plus, I was also just lazy. So for now, I'm going to try my best to put out all the things I've done since February. Ahah…omg, life happened so fast! But anyway, for now, I will talk about the Baby Metal Club x EGG collab pop-up they had in Seoul in late June.

This will be a short one because my opinion of the brand is still the same, and I was fairly disappointed in this collaboration . The things that were being shown were, to say the least, lackluster… it felt too safe. There were just overpriced T-shirts, 100% cotton, but honestly, for a printed shirt, it wasn't enough to justify the cost. They did come in different colors, such as pink and blue, which were very cute, but again, very simple basic types of shirts.

They also had a few accessories, like pin stickers and a hat with an Egg and Bellish logo. They also had some items from the older collections that were for sale. I was thinking about getting the bedazzled sweater, but I realized, and my friend convinced me as well, that it would run short on me... 

But everything else was very cute. I didn't buy any of the collaboration merchandise because there wasn't really anything that would fit me or suit my style. Instead, I opted to buy a purse/ a functional item, which was really cute. It's a black, zebra-print reversible bag. I really enjoy it, and it was marked a very reasonable price: 75,000 KRW, which is equivalent to almost $50 USD. I deided to take some cute photos outside the store with the cute bag..

After waiting around and such under the heat, we decided to take some 인생네컷  which is english for the 4-photo booth pictures Life 4 cuts, eat some Japanese food, and go about our day. 

She is having another pop-up for her new collection, Girls' Generation,  this time, there are 2 or 3 products that I'm very interested in buying before I go to the states to see my family. I will write about that as well. Hopefully, I will catch up on the rest of my blog entries so that I will be able to give them some substance, instead of just a Baby Metal Club pop-up visit!

Thank you for reading so far, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Baby Metal Club Pop-up Day

2025-01-04

Feeling: 

This is my second time typing this because my dumbass forgot to hit the “save draft" button ... .but wooo here we go again! 

Set the stage

Helloooo everyone, so last weekend I went to spend a Saturday to check out the Korean Gyaru clothing brand called ' BabyMetalClub ' or BMC for short. Some of you have seen this brand around TikTok and Instagram because they have hosted multiple pop-up shops here in Korea and in Japan before. I think this year's collection, Glam Kiss, is leaning heavily on the onee/agejo vibes. Compare it to Rady and DaTura giving that same type of styling with the gems and jewels. However as sparkling as they are I wish she or the designer could have pushed it more? Maybe add a decal on the joggers, add some leopard print on some of the items, etc. Bring some good ol staples from the past and interweave them to something modern .

Her last collection felt close to old Ma*rs with the lace detailing, ruffles, and sexiness but this one fell flat. Although, in my opinion, I think her target audience isn't just gals but more of any Korean girlie that would add this to their wardrobe without it being standoffish. What I mean is that the fashion here in Korea is, yes, very organized and chic at times but also very boring and flat. Muted colors, black and beige, ;ess is more are the top things to go, and adding any pop of color or print would make you stick out like a sore thumb. So to the outside, it's good but could be better, while in Korea this is 'glamorous ' .

Last year's collection

All in all, the vibe of the collection was cute and very gal pop princess, maybe channeling some juicy couture but still left to be desired.

On the actual day

Saturday was a packed day for me as it was also my nail day so to match the weather, which was ice cold winds, I decided to do icey nails, I rarely have blue designs but I thought 'Why not' and felt random, in the end they turned out really cute. Maybe I'll do a year of nails 2024 edition. 

So after a morning of nails, I headed down to Hongdae which was where the pop-up was located and ngl, I was a bit nervous because I hadn't done something like this before and was ready to meet the designer herself I was getting the butterflies. Once I arrived, I saw I had to sign in for a reservation and saw that I had to wait for almost 2 hours. Hehe kinda shitty but oh well, I decided to take this time to do some window shopping and head to my favorite cafe!

The cafe I went to was called 'Verticle Cafe' and they sell this delicious, scrumdiliumptious, lotus cheesecake! It's so light and airy, not too sweet or bland but just so right. It's like my staple and I recommend it to anyone coming here. Also, the blue drink is just lemon syrup with tonic so it's not too bad. I don't like coffee and their tea options weren't giving me what I was looking for soo… the pop lemonade it is!!! After enjoying my alone time I checked the wait time and saw it dropped from 79 to 30 to 19 within 3 minutes and I had to book it across the way to make it on time haha. BUT ya girl made it.

The Lotus Cake and Lemonade Pop

One of the random korean stores to pass time.

Inside the Pop-up

image by @mood25_hd naver

As I walked in, I was welcomed by one of the shop staff, he looked good heh and I was given an items list of the clothes I wanted to purchase, which included the clothing number, color, and quantity etc. Once you're done, you can hand it up to the clerk and get your items there fressshly packaged. The area had a couch and table that had gal mags and items spread across, which was one of the photo areas where you could take a pic with friends and even the designer herself.  They also had a photo booth where you could get specialized BMC-themed pics. I didn't take any as there was a long line to get in and I honestly didn't have time for that so I will post the examples below. 

iphoto booth samples

the order form.

hweisei egg mags, ignore my crocs lol

They pretty much had all  of the clothing from this collection and some from the last collection you can get and try on. Lots of fashion girlies were there, having fun and trying on clothes. I even saw a jirai-kei person there supporting as well, which was pleasant to see haha. I was aiming to find the sleeves turtleneck top but saw that it was actually more expensive than the pink jeweled one, however, I saw that I could get more out of wearing the pink one than the turtle neck one and copped it. 

modoles modeling the collection hung on the walls

corner of the  pop up, I stayed mainly in this area

Final Thoughts

I was in the store for about 25-30 mins, because most of the items there were 

1. Not my size
2. Too short for my taste
3. The style/cut wouldn't compliment my figure.

Plus I'm tall so most of the skirts/ bottoms would look like I'm wearing children's clothing, speaking of the sizing, now I know this is primarily a Korean brand but since gal is a widespread fashion style I am a bit disappointed that the sizing isn't at least slightly inclusive, for example, everything in that store was “one size” or made for a size xs/s. luckily with the shirt, I could fit but it is slightly tight in the chest area so keep that in mind big boobie peeps. But c'mon..its 2025 lol

After a long day of deciding and judging, I bought the singular item and bounced. The packaging was nice and I was given such cute goodies, like stickers and a lollipop! I did stop at one of my fav shops to buy a jacket that was on sale. So cute! 

top plus the goodies that came with the purchase

jacket I bought from my favorite store

Yeah…this was a lot, but I hope you enjoyed the read. In the future maybe I could write about how gal is portrayed here in Korea and how it's represented vs elsewhere. It's an interesting topic to share I believe...anywho I would see myself buying a couple of more items of hers but to re-do it in my own vision HELL I may even start making some stuff for me. 

Have a good day and tell me how you feel! Thank you~

ENDING OF 2024

Feeling: 

This Year ended way too soon

Wow, the new year is about to come in very soon and all I did was go to immigration to extend my visa and get my teeth cleaned! Even though I won’t be going out to party like I did years before, I think staying inside with myself and planning out the new year will properly roll out all these backed-up blog entries lol


Anywho after a very stressful day of forgetting wallets and being late to appointments, I saw that Gongcha was selling a grape sangria??? In a cute heart-shaped bottle?? I think they are trying to use up all the leftover Valentine's Day stock but whatevs It was really cute and I really enjoyed it~

The drink had a very grape taste with a splash of lime. I would order it again and decorate the bottle with some other fun cocktail drink for tonight. 


I will enjoy playing Nikki and have a good NYE, happy holidays, and Happy 2025~

Ah I miss writing....

Hello everyone,

It's been years...so so long before I had written everything. Im not too sure where to start. I do want to say that I am still living in Korea but I am thiking about moving soon, to another country but Ill do an indepth think piece about because miving here did killed my creativity and motivation to do any sorts of arts and my paasssion of wearing gal. 

Living here made me overthink, overanaylize and become overly critical of how I look becasue living here isn't as ...freeish as I thought becasue being appleaing to appease the masses is important here.

But now~ I had find some structure in my life and trying to make some routine for myself. Here's something to expect in the next month or so:

• 4 day trip to Japan
• Remodle My Room: Fruitger Aero Edition
• My first time in a Study Cafe in Korea
• Starting my underground idol Journey

etc

Yes, hopefully I can start a rythm of pumping these blogs out because I have so much backlog and content to talk about. I also feel more to the gal I am by blogging and typing out my feelings. 

I hope you all enjoy my words and my stories~