Non-Asians copying 'Asian' styles/fashion tendencies

[NanteNa]

Alright, so this has been on my mind for a while. I'm all pro the freedom of styles and expressions.. But something that crossed my mind lately is how you all feel about 'white girls' or 'black girls' (a bit stereotypical here, I know) copying eg. the Japanese Gyaru style?

Something I've noticed a LOT-ALOTTA is how gyaru has spread like a disease (no offense, I like talking in pictures.. lol) all over Europe. Especially Finland has been captivated by the style.. As part of the beauty blogger community, I've noticed SO many Finnish girls dressing up Gyaru style with HUGE lenses and HUGE lashes.. Being Caucasian comes with big eyes already..

Just some examples of the girls - I'm not trying to hate on anyone; these are SIMPLY examples of what I'm talking about..





So, what do you guys think?
Is it a bit too much or super cool?

I know that huge lashes and lenses are part of the whole 'gyaru' thing, but personally I'd probably tone it down a bit - I'm white, lol. I already got big-ass eyes.


Sorry about the big photos.. >_<"

[nobora]

My personal opinion is that they got to tone it down. I mean if you have big eyes already why make them bigger. They kind of remind me of Lady Gaga's eyes in one of her videos.

[WingsToDiscovery]

I think it's stupid. I know a lot of people who refer to them as "awfuljin."
It's really funny you mentioned this because I was leading a tour through Harajuku and Shibuya yesterday, and right outside of 109 there were these two gaijin girls totally dressed up in like gothic-lolita outfits, with the parasols and stuff. I was interviewed on TV earlier in the day as I was ordering a Turkish kebab, and the same crew was now filming these girls and asking them questions. They really just try WAY too hard.

I was also in Akiba around Christmas and there were a group of gaijin maids advertising their maid cafe. They were really dumpy and totally not something I would ever pay for, but if that's what some Japanese guys are into then I can't knock them for it. It was just so awful seeing these unattractive gaijin girls trying to be maids. I'm scarred.

(I should note that I'm talking about gaijin who try and do all Japanese styles in particular, not necessarily gyaru)

[NanteNa]

I think it's great that they feel inspired - but I'd probably (for my particular style, if I were to try this) tone it down to fit my own features. Asians have small eyes and small irises. They use circle lenses to make them appear bigger.. white girls using circle lenses is like.. chicks on crack or something. I'm not saying that they shouldn't EVER wear them.. I've seen a few girls who pulls it off even tho they're not Asian.. But when they start praising the 16,5mm. circle lenses - dude.. I get worried >_<"

[Suki]

It's like a bunch of drugged up little creatures came out of purikura pictures. Applying mascara on lower eyelashes doesn't look good, unless your goal is to make yourself look like a furless human panda. Definitely not my thing.

[WingsToDiscovery]

Originally Posted by MissMisa

Sometimes I wear fake lashes but I've yet to try circle lenses.



As a cosplayer and a fan of Lolita, I wouldn't say it's an asian only thing or only looks good on asians. Lolita looks weird to the outside world whether you are asian or not, and most people hate it, so the ethnicity doesn't really bother me.

My eyes are pretty small and I have very thin eyelids so wearing lashes and probably wearing circle lenses wouldn't look too weird for me, but I'd never go so big that you can't see the whites of my eyes, that'd look weird.

As for the first pictures, the girl is pulling a stupid face which doesn't help, lol. Think it might be a little too much on the black eyeshadow.

Second girl looks like she's put a bit too much on and it's made her eyes water or something?

This is my eyeliner/lash look, no contacts. Don't think it looks too OTT but some people might disagree:

I don't necessarily mind cosplay; if people want to look like idiots for a day it's fine by me.
But as I always say, and I can never drill this into people's heads enough, there will always be exceptions to everything. There may be girls (like yourself) who have certain inherent physical traits that allow you to adopt the style a bit more easily, and can pull certain looks off. But most of the time it's dumpy white girls who try and cram themselves in extra small school girl outfits and cake on make up. They think it's "kawaii" or whatever, but it's not.

[spoonybard]

.....and yet, there are some fashions in Japan that were actually created in Western countries. Not the gyaru thing, but since some people are talking about other fashions as well..... Asians are not the first race to spike their hair, plaster white make up all over their exposed skin, dress entirely in black clothes.....

I don't really like the gyaru look, no matter who does it. I don't mind them as people, but their look tends to make my eyes resemble theirs when they are using circle lenses, and so it's completely against my will, which makes my case different. XD XD XD But seriously, just ignore it. The person is what matters, not what they look like. On another note, which is related to this: YouTube - Mameshiba 19 - Fava Bean [with English annotations] XD XD XD

[JohnBraden]

I don't like how they look.... a little creepy for me....

[WingsToDiscovery]

Originally Posted by spoonybard

.....and yet, there are some fashions in Japan that were actually created in Western countries. Not the gyaru thing, but since some people are talking about other fashions as well..... Asians are not the first race to spike their hair, plaster white make up all over their exposed skin, dress entirely in black clothes.....

Hey, I'll be the first to tell you I don't like it when the Japanese pop culture scene is put on a pedestal for no reason. But we're not talking about western adopted fashions in Japan; we're talking Japanese fashions in the west.

[RealJames]

In the first two pics, the first one, is way overboard.
Even in Japan it's just too much.
It's not attractive, it's kind of unnerving.

Originally Posted by MissMisa

This is nice. Honestly it looks good, my gf thinks so too.