I’m no stranger to fashionable cities, having lived in Paris, Milan, Monte Carlo and Manhattan, where I’ve styled the hair of some of the world’s most glamorous women. So it almost pains me to admit that the most trend-setting women in the world live in Tokyo.

I was there recently with some clients (the royal family of Saudi Arabia) on a trip across Asia that took us to Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Kyoto. But it was in the Tokyo neighborhood of Ginza where I got a lesson in chic. There, on every avenue, were some of the most handsome women I had ever seen -- women of all ages whose taste in hair and clothes was refined and elegant but with a little bit of a rock-star edge. Eighty percent of the women wore their hair cut above the collarbone in interesting layers and shapes that flattered their faces and played up the natural textures of their hair. From my vantage point in the Western world, where I often see women hiding in the security of long hair, I was blown away by the confidence and self-possession of the Japanese.

Rather than being slaves to the ponytail, the women of Ginza are open to change. They saw the short- and medium-length hairstyles on the fashion runways for winter and went for it. True, it requires some homework to find a hairdresser you trust and who is skilled enough to work with your texture to custom-create a cut for you, but the payoff is huge. The correct cut will take years off your face, be easy for you to blow-dry (and who but Saudi princesses can afford a hairdresser 24/7?) and make you feel great in your skin.