u/skankyhunk

[Before reading this, please note that I do not ACTUALLY 'hate' anyone besides capitalism itself and billionaires' dirty money, (I do not believe in hating anything that doesn't hurt anyone. It's only when the hurt happens is when I am peeved.) I am being a little dramatic, having fun with a little rant. No actual Gals were harmed in the making of this post and no hate to any Gals! In fact, I love you all! Also, this is not a complete post with ALL of my thoughts on the topic, just a little piece of mind!]

This may be the weirdest thing to beef with as a gal, but I have to finally vent about this somewhere and get to know if there is ANYONE else who feels this way besides me! Someone hear me out pls! òwó. The topic is- hating brands. Brands are prominent in j-fashion in a huge way, which is true in our community too, of course. I hate brands. I always did. I hate capitalism. I sew, diy, and thrift my clothes and accessories - if it has a logo or a name of a brand on it, I remove it. I don't like feeling like a billboard, a walking advertisement, I don't find some clothing cuter, just because it is a 'gal brand'. I find it also weirdly dehumanizing. Like I would be a vessel for someone who makes millions, to encourage other gals to help them getting even more. And I for sure am not gonna pay for something a lot of money just because it has the name of the brand in giant letters on it. Vintage gal brand? Cool thing. Not worth ridiculous amounts of money (TO ME), I'd rather use that money to put together 3 full different outfits. I also hate hobbies and styles that are locked behind the amount of wealth someone has, elitism, gatekeeping. (Hobbies like Warhammer, fashion like Lolita) And brand worship is just weird to me. And kind of... lazy? It is easy to make a gal outfit if you just buy all your stuff from a 'gal brand'. Otherwise, you have to look around, be creative, make new and unique things! (That's another thing- everyone ends up looking the same since they all wear the same clothes from the same brands... I can only see the same exact outfit 37164 times before I get bored and sick of it.)

Relying on Brand often ends up limiting creativity and ingenuity. We would not have new styles if we just followed what already existing brands decided to release! It IS possible to be gal, and a beautiful one at that, on a budget- with enough willpower, passion, and creativity. I admire those looks more, because it took SO MUCH more effort to get there. And you can see the gal's personality and quirks more when they don't rely on brands. I just love that so much!! Glory to thrifty, skilled, and unique queens! That's pioneering! That's what I love to see!

I think fashion should be fun, not daunting or stressful in any way (As it is to many baby gals... I can just see and feel the stress many of them feel while starting out- looking up guaru brands and end up being mortified by the price they see, thinking they NEED that, and it saddens me.). I am all for deconstructing made-up entry levels that are locked behind something monetary rather than pure passion and love for the thing. Brand does not make you gyaru. Brand is just letters on clothing. I may be a total nutjob and alone on this, but yeah... This has been rolling around in my head for months.

And just to be clear- absolutely no hate to brand loving girlies, I love you all too, you do your thing and look fabulous doing it!

After all, your spirit makes you a Gal. You can't buy that. Thank you for reading 🫶💕