Japanese B-Girl Gyaru Style
The japanese street style of B-gal gyaru places an emphasis on RnB urban culture, music and fashion. Braided hair and tanned skin form the signature look.
What is B-Gyaru?
B-kei, which is widely considered to stand for “Black-style”, is a movement that has swept through the street scene of Japan. Urban RnB culture is pretty widespread socially and geographically, but there we go. That’s what it stands for. A bit odd, since the original B-girls and B-boys knew that “B” stands for “break”, as in “breakdancing”. We’re not going to argue with it. We’re just going to… move on.
B-Gyaru is a subset of gyaru styles which rebel against traditional Japanese ideals of beauty. B-Gyaru places an emphasis on urban culture, especially the music and fashion of hip hop and RnB. B-Gyaru gals are female members of the movement. Their signature look features urban inspired clothing, braided hair, and tanned skin.
Where did it come from?
Hip hop culture began in New York City sometime around the late 70’s. After years of development, it finally caught mainstream America’s ear in the late 80’s. Soon, the culture began to spread across seas. First, the music began playing in Japanese dance clubs. Soon, multiple aspects of the culture (such as graffiti, break dancing and fashion) gained more traction. As time went on, what was initially filed as a bit of a fad continued to rise in popularity. Now that rap and pop are some of the most popular music genres in Japan, although the style is continually evolving, there seems to be no stop to its popularity.
B-Gyaru Brands
Gyaru gals like to shop for brands like Baby Shoop, ANAP, House of Dereon and Dance by LB-03. You can buy the clothes online, but if you find yourself in Japan then head to the gyaru malls in Shibuya 109.
Tanning
While pale skin or Bihaku is traditionally considered a more beautiful look in Japan, the B-gyaru are known for their tanned skin as a countercultural opposition to tradition. Instead of using skin bronzers, the b-gals head straight for the tanning salons or bake in the natural sun. The purpose behind the tanning is to differentiate themselves from the average Japanese norms and appear more like their favourite icons.
Footwear
Think ‘urban’ and you’ll get it right. B-gals adorn their feet with everything from towering heels and studded boots to basketball boots and sneakers. It depends which aspects of urban culture they feel most drawn to and what their outfit’s doing that day (or night). B-gals are likely to ensure that their b-boots (as in basketball boots. See what we did there?) and trainers are in line with the latest trends, scouring sites such as Sneaker News for makes like LeBron 11 or Air Jordan, and sometimes giving their look a clicquey social cachet with limited-issue trainers. Then again, for mooky purposes, a cheap pair of sneakers with graffiti flourishes will work equally well. But keep that footwear urban for all-over B-Gyaru style.
Braids, bright colours, and more
One very noticeable aspect of B-gals is their hair styles. Instead of traditional hair colours, many choose to kink or curl their hair and dye it bright shades. Another popular option is to weave the hair into cornrows, intricate braids and ponytails. The great thing about braids is that they work on all types of hair.
For further style inspiration, see all the Tumblr B-Gyaru styles, tagged by real people who live and breathe this kei trend.