To Tokyo and its Fashion
Hi there stylish friends,
This is where my writing story starts, and I want to share it with you. I want to tell you how I got to Tokyo and how I developed my own style.
I moved Tokyo in the second half of 2014 and have been around even since. I had no clue what going to happen and I have to admit that I was pretty nervous when moving here.
Deciding to move somewhere isn’t just a thing you decide over night. You’re constantly thinking about, contemplating, doubting about, wondering about what it takes and what it can bring to you. I had the same and really struggled with dealing with a big question: “What if I fail?“
So how did I overcome the fear of failure?
I moved here about a year after I graduated University in the Netherlands. I studied Asian Business and decided that I want to live in Tokyo afterwards. the first things that come to mind are usually negative things like:
“But I am not fluent in Japanese and they don’t speak English there”
“Tokyo is expensive and I don’t have much savings!”
“I have no experience, how will I find a proper job??”
Failure is the first thing that comes to mind. But that did not hold me back. Finding the simplest way to tackle these thoughts is the best motivator to make bigger moves in life.
For me, the money part was a thing I had to deal with the most. I wanted to move to Tokyo without the help of my parents. I had 2 options after graduating: Finding a job matching my education, full time, or doing part time jobs until I had enough cash to move and live in the place I wanted to be. I chose the latter because I was afraid of getting ‘stuck’ at the comfort of Having a full time job in a position matching my education.
So for the next year or so I decided to work as many hours at my part time job as possible. I worked at a Duty Free shop at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport as a store clerk, which allowed me to work unusual hours, that paid more. I set my goal for Tokyo as followed: Save up 10.000,- Euros in a year to be able to live in Tokyo for at least 6 months and kickstart my career from there. After about a year of doing crazy work hours at a really fun part time job it was finally time to take the big step: Move to Tokyo.
I saved up the amount of money I needed, continued studying Japanese and made sure my VISA was all arranged when moving there. I had no job prospects and was going to attend a language school for 6 month while job hunting. needless to say I was nervous, but what was there to lose? I didn’t have a great career yet, if I failed I would still have my ticket back, where I’d always be welcome back at my parents’ place and the worst thing that could happen is me not finding a job in 6 months. So yeah, in September 2014 I flew off to the city I love so much.
What about the Fashion part?
After moving I made sure I was always connected to the Fashion part of Tokyo. My firsts jobs were even related to the Fashion industry!
If you want to start chasing your dreams you can either make sure you have enough to live on without working, or work on these dreams while making sure you can still take care of yourself.
Tokyo is a very inspiring place to be. Throughout the years I met a lot of people that were very creative and inspiring. Photographers, Models, Designers, People crushing it in their careers. I started modelling through I friend I met during my exchange program in Tokyo in 2011. She introduced me to a photographer who took my first pictures (I was very uncomfortable, but they were very chill, making the shoot easier!) and have stayed in touch with that Photographer ever since!
It was quite fun and all of a sudden, on a random day walking in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, I got scouted for a model job! They complimented my style and my looks and asked if I could represent their brand, to which I replied: “why not!”
Instagram started to take off during that time so I made my own account and started to upload the collaborations I did ever since I started taking pictures. Throughout the years I met a lot of great photographers that helped me capture my style and motivated me to think more about style and create my own.
Tokyo has a lot of clothing shops, and even more fashionable people, always inspiring me. I made sure I kept to my own style, but always adapted to the local styles and feels. This had lead to where I am today, writing about how I look at style and living abroad.
My take on Fashion and living abroad
The biggest fears are caused by stories around you. Sometimes you got to ignore the negatives, focus on the positives, and take a leap of faith to make things happen. No matter what happens next, you will learn something from it, improving your life, improving your style.
Hope you enjoyed this story, as I will be uploading more about the details of life in the city of Tokyo, Japan. If you want to know anything specific, let me know!
