Gyaru (ギャル), also known as gal, is a Japanese fashion style that peaked in the 2000s. Although it has declined, it still has many followers. Many aspects of gyaru are descended from ganguro. In some substyles, like manba (マンバ), the two overlap to a large degree. Furthermore, gyaru is similar to bimbo in Western culture.
It has many diverse substyles, with some commonalities. Gyaru style typically involves styled and coloured hair, trendy and often sexy gyaru-style clothing (especially from the shops in the mall Shibuya 109), and heavy makeup, with a focus on false eyelashes, enlarging the eyes, contouring, and circle lenses. Additionally, many gyaru use the "gyaru-moji" (ギャル文字) style of typing and certain specialized slang (ギャル語). There are also certain common hobbies among gyaru: dancing Para Para was at one time a very popular activity in gyaru circles.
Two common elements of gyaru looks, especially in anime and manga representations, are tanned skin (ganguro - especially for older or throwback styles) and bleached hair. However, not every gyaru has tanned skin or bleached hair, and not every character with tanned skin and bleached hair is a gyaru.
In mainstream media, gyaru are usually depicted as either an energeric or an extroverted character, while adult media depicted either as a high-school student prostitute or a character with unusually high sex drive.
See also
ganguro - a stereotypical and most recognizable variant of gyaru consisted of tanned skin and brightly-colored hair
kogal - a substyle involving young gals and often incorporating gyaru-ified school uniforms
