Brooklyn Street Style: The No-Rules Guide to Fashion

by Anya Sacharow, Anya Sacharow, Sioux Nesi (Photographs)

Brooklyn style is edgy, creative, and often localized by neighborhood. It’s not about chasing labels. It is stylish on its own terms, and it is dressing for life. Brooklyn Street Style explores what has made the borough a global trendsetter through more than 200 striking street-style photographs, as well as style advice from a host of Brooklyn tastemakers. This diverse crew of notable women in the design, fashion, food, and entertainment worlds includes style expert Mary Alice Stephenson, chef Leslie Parks, Girls costume designer Jenn Rogien, and award-winning actor and playwright Eisa Davis. Chapters distill trends—from the maker movement to eco-conscious fashion—and highlight some of the most exciting designers and boutiques. For both visitors and Brooklynites alike, the guide concludes with a detailed neighborhood-by-neighborhood listing of essential shops, markets, restaurants, and bars.

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2015

Reviews

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book is about women's style in Brooklyn, New York, in their 20s-40s mostly, mostly spring/summer-wear. It's a great book of advice and inspiration, of various fashions but also showing variation depending on these women's jobs.

At the end there is a guide to Brooklyn's shops, eating places and so on, online addresses (incuding blogs like Sartorialist), shopping advice, book selection and movies with Brooklyn in them. In between each chapter is pictures themed: prints, shoes, hats, accessories, headwear etc. There's no feel you have to dress all sophisticated, though I can say that some give off a vibe of being hipsterish, not in a bad way.

The last (short) chapter deals with older women's fashion, and I wish that would've been expanded. I was also left feeling I would've liked more pictures, perhaps even more text... hence the rating, but this is still a pretty good book. I got plenty of tips from this one, even though I'm not the most ladylike of women; this book was still very close to my taste, and I wouldn't mind visiting this place someday. :)

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't resist buying 'street style' books whenever I see them in charity shops, as I miss the outfit blogs of the 2010s. This one is unusually text-heavy, as it purports to be a style guide and includes interviews with many of the women photographed as well as recommendations of places to eat, shop, and visit in Brooklyn. However there is still plenty of what I really wanted: pictures of cool outfits. These exhibit a good range of vibes, from sporty and preppy to gothic and boho, combined in fun ways. A few looks were pretty inspiring, especially the Chromat cage bodices. However I think the cool arty women of Brooklyn have a more expansive definition of comfortable footwear than me. That may be the Edinburgh effect; to walk around this city you need flat boots like Doc Martens. The steps, hills, and cobbles rapidly destroy the soles of your shoes, and indeed your feet if you're not careful. It's genuinely unusual to see women walking around this city in heels.

While I enjoyed the discussion of sustainability in fashion, some of interviewees' comments contained jarring juxtapositions that highlight the contradictions of personal style as empowerment:

How do real women find their style and love the way they dress every day?

[...] If you have curves, this is critical: shapewear. Nowadays there's so much shapewear out there that's technologically advanced. It's no longer ugly, hot, ill-fitting biker pants under your dress. Great, sexy shapewear really accentuates your curves in a way that's flattering and helps you look great in everything you wear. And that's the key. Even the thinnest use shapewear.

Wow! That's good to know.

And also, my last tip, which I think is the most important is: Break the rules. It's about what looks best on you.

Although Brooklyn is clearly diverse in terms of ethnicity and background, this book leads you to believe that all the women there are thin. That was also typical of 2010s fashion blogs, I recall. Finally, I was astonished to learn that there are more than 2.5 million people living in Brooklyn. That's half the entire population of Scotland!

[Melanie Rippon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better by far than "Berlin Street Style". Main chapters: Make Your Own Rules; Mix It Up; Dress For Life; Wear Your Tribe; Wear Your Conscience; Make It Yourself; Don't Fuss; Embrace The World; Have Some Fun; Love The Street. Interludes: Mixing Prints; Shoes; Hats; Beauty; Accessories; Headwear. Postscript: Style Knows No Age - which really should have been a full chapter in its own right with a heck of a lot more photos in my opinion....

Each main chapter includes an overview of the relevant facet of Brooklyn style, with plenty of photos of diverse women in equally diverse outfits. The Interludes sections are collections of more photos, each around the relevent theme. There is also a Brooklyn guide, detailing shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, museums, markets etc. by neighbourhood. My only other (minor) complaint, apart from the Postscript (see above) is that many of the outfits are spring/summer, so not a lot of cold-weather outfits.

[Am Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this is one of those books that only features a select crowd of "semi-elite" folks (i.e. those already in fashion/fashion-related fields, run in certain circles, have connections to so-and-so, etc), and then says that their style is the definitive "Brooklyn street style". At the end of the day, what was the "Brooklyn street style" though? I still don't know.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Outdated

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent time capsule of 2015 American women’s fashion. High heel booties/gladiator sandals, skinny jeans, giant chunky necklaces, and strong dichotomy of pop-punk vs twee.

Pretty nostalgic.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure this series was good when it was released but it's been on my bookcase for 5 years and it's just too outdated now. I skimmed most of this and none of the outfits were classic/wearable now.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read with a wealth of gorgeous people wearing creative things.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as it was refreshing to see so many women of different circumstances represented. There are a myriad of artists, performers, etc. that are highlighted. Of course, there are more people in Brooklyn who are not artists or performers, but this book is not meant to be a comprehensive representation of all groups. The street style series has been more about the authors presenting their opinion about style in their area of the world, whether the title is Paris Street Style or Berlin Street Style. I think the perspectives of the authors are interesting as they highlight women that they are interested in and find stylish. If you are looking for a comprehensive street style book, this series isn't for you. However, if you are interested in different perspectives of street style and in particular from a woman's point of view, I recommend the Street Style series.

[Ctny · Rating 3 out of 5]

excellent book for naming dropping creatives
as a whole needs less copy more photos-more long boarding ladies!