Gin is fairly ordinary in terms of clothing, aside from the inside of his captain's cloak being a lime green color, and doesn't wear any unique items. His overall appearance, however, is not as normal: his eyes are constantly slitted, he is unusually thin, and he bears unusual silver hair which has a purple tint to it in the anime. He also keeps a wide smile most of the time, which he has only been known to wipe off on rare occasions.
As Gin doesn't display any emotion while speaking combined with his use of sarcasm, he is distrusted by many, most notably Toshiro Hitsugaya and Rukia Kuchiki. Rukia once commented on how she felt like snakes were wrapping around her neck whenever Gin spoke. Kaname Tousen notes that Gin has a similar effect on just about everyone when explaining Wonderwice Margera's frightened reaction to Gin. In the anime, Gin speaks with a distinct Kyoto dialect, which is indirect and polite. His English dubbed voice is also formal and polite, but with a rather mocking and facetious undertone.
Gin is often nicknamed "Kitsune" (Fox-Faced) from Ichigo.
Not much is known about Gin's prior history, except that he once saved 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto's life. They have been friends since then. Hence, Matsumoto is one of the few people Gin seems to truly care about.
He graduated from Shinigami academy around the same time as Kisuke Urahara became a captain and was immediately given a seated position because he was hailed a genius, graduating in only a year at a very young age, this being the fasted graduation in history.
It is also known that Gin served as the lieutenant of 5th Division Captain Sosuke Aizen before becoming captain of the 3rd Division and that he became captain at the same time as Byakuya Kuchiki.