Fashioning a Life in Tokyo

Discovering a Different Viewpoint

Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, Janette's first visit to Japan was thanks to Washington's sister-state relationship with Hyogo Prefecture, in western Japan, which allowed her to undertake a study abroad trip to Nishinomiya City in 2001. During her visit, she briefly visited Tokyo, where a new world of style awaited her discovery. "I remember walking around and seeing all these girls wearing brightly colored tights," Janette recalls, "back in the States, I had never seen colored tights before, it was not a trend at that time. But in Tokyo they were wearing items like green tights with orange striped shirts. I wondered, 'how are they pulling off this crazy color combination?'" A lover of unique style, Janette tried the look on herself,  "it did not work out," she laughs.

That did not curtail her interest in Tokyo's fashion scene. "I wanted to study fashion at college, but to succeed in fashion, in any creative space, you must have a different viewpoint from those around you. If you study and work in the same place you grew up, you're likely going to wind up having the same viewpoint as everyone else, but if I can bring my American viewpoint on style and merge that with Japan's, maybe I can create something different, something new." After tenaciously devoting herself to studying Japanese, Janette applied and was accepted at Tokyo's prestigious Bunka Fashion College.

Janette returned to Tokyo in 2004 to begin her studies at an institution that has produced some of the world's leading fashion designers, including Takada Kenzo, Yamamoto Yohji, and Watanabe Junya.

Exploring the Calm Chaos of Tokyo

Upon moving, Janette found herself in a city of "calm chaos." "Tokyo is such an amazingly managed city," she states, "it is huge, but not overtly chaotic. In New York or Berlin, for example, you are met with lots of spontaneous chaos from the people themselves, but Tokyo has calm spontaneity. For example, when walking down a normal street you turn a corner, and you're faced with a unique building sandwiched in there. You discovered it rather than it invading your personal space."

With the support of her peers, Janette was able to explore the city from her dorm rooms in Machida, a residential area in western Tokyo, but she longed to be closer to the thick of it. Her next step was to move within walking distance of the college, to Minami Shinjuku. "I wanted to be in the middle of everything, to start networking and begin my career," she explains, "I loved it there and ended up staying for 13 years."

After graduating, Janette became somewhat of a renaissance woman. Along with working as a stylist and designer, creating costumes for Harajuku's Kawaii Monster Cafe (recently reopened as Kawaii Monster Land), collaborating with the colorful fashion designer Yamamoto Kansai, and styling musical artist Nicki Minaj for her Japan tour, she also worked as a fashion journalist, becoming the fashion columnist at The Japan Times alongside writing and translating for publications such as Numero Tokyo, Vogue Girl Japan.

A Story Set Against the Backdrop of Tokyo

Eschewing a "traditional" career path, Janette has built a personal brand all her own, one that she shared in her renowned blog Tokyo Fashion Diaries, launched in 2011. Readers both domestic and international resonated with her observations and insights, written in both English and Japanese. "Blog posts where I was really honest with my opinions did very well," she says, "my blog on Cool Japan, which was about cross-cultural understanding, gained a lot of attention."

There was also a lot of interest in Tokyo's unique fashion sub-cultures, but Janette quickly learned how delicate a topic that can really be. "I actually got a little bit of trouble from certain Japanese people when I wrote about subcultures," Janette explains, "because you cannot discuss and state things about them from an outside perspective. I have some regrets about that, but it taught me to go directly to the source."

Since arriving in 2004, Janette has seen the city's style evolve over the years. "It's calmed down a little since I arrived," she says, "people are dressing a little bit more homogenously, I feel social media has made everyone dress the same. That is not to say you can't find interesting people still dressing to the nines." The location of Tokyo's "fashion hubs" has also shifted. "Today, there's a vast range of places you can head to for fashion. The classic spots people frequented still exist, but there's even more locations popping up as those spots become saturated."

Exploring Tokyo's fashion scene and sharing it with the world has been at the forefront of Janette's career for over 20 years, for this reason she was invited to become one of Tokyo Tourism Ambassadors in 2023. One aspect of the city she finds the most freeing when it comes to fashion expression is its safety. "It is safe to be yourself in Tokyo. You can feel comfortable being yourself, wearing whatever you want, and not worry about people invading your personal space. The result is amazing fashion right there on the street."

A City Where You Can Express Yourself

With a shift in the online landscape, with people leaving blogs for social media, Janette knew she had to make a move, "I needed to take all of my knowledge and know-how and apply it to consulting." In 2017, Janette founded the creative consulting and production agency Totteoki Pro, leaving behind her writing days to focus more on digital brand development for Japan's luxury cosmetic brand Shu Uemura. Of her career and the opportunities, she has created for herself, Janette states: "I don't know if I've been lucky or if I've been smart, maybe a little bit of both."

While she may not be hitting the parties and events as much as she used to in her blogging days, Janette keeps her finger on the pulse of the city. When asked where she currently draws her inspiration from, she responds, "I love to get on my bicycle to go through the city, it is very bikeable, and I love exploring all the little in-between roads and getting to see everyone's unique little houses. I will get a lot of inspiration just by leaving my apartment, going to the convenience store, and walking alongside the river here in Nakameguro."

For visitors wanting to explore Tokyo's fashion scene, she has a handful of recommendations. "I do like going to hang out at Azabudai Hills. It is a little bougie, but the landscape there is stunning." She also recommends her old stomping grounds of Shimokitazawa, where she lived for six years. "I love walking from Higashi-Kitazawa Station to Shimokitazawa and then ending at Setagaya-Daita Station, where you can get a view of Mt. Fuji."

Her final recommendation to fashion lovers visiting the city: "I challenge everyone who is coming to Tokyo and is interested in style to not be afraid to pack your most interesting pieces. Don't worry about wearing them proudly in the streets, people will appreciate you showing who you are through how you dress and express yourself."

Movie: Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Misha Janette

From Washington State, USA. After graduating from Bunka Fashion College, she began her career as a journalist, contributing to media outlets in Japan and overseas. In 2011, she gained wider attention through a popular bilingual blog that served as a bridge between Japan and the rest of the world, and she became active as an influencer. As interest in her personal fashion grew, she also took on styling work—from New York Fashion Week brand shows to costume production for artists. In 2017, she launched her creative studio, "Totteoki Pro." Photo by Fujishima Ryo