This Brooklyn Street Style Guide Has No Rules

Blair Waldorf would never admit it, but Brooklyn is slowly staking its claim as the most stylish New York borough — and to prove it, it now has its own book: Brooklyn Street Style . The book, written by Anya Sacharow and Shawn Dahl, is like a guide to how to be trendy in Brooklyn, complete with bar recommendations, fashion advice, and over 200 of Sioux Nesi’s beautiful photographs of Brooklynites doing their thing.

This isn’t your typical style guide, though, as part of what makes Brooklyn so great is its “no-rules” approach to fashion. Restrictive (and often pretty offensive) fashion “dos” and “don’ts” aren’t welcome here; Brooklyn Street Style helps you dress for you : your personality and your life. The contributors include Girls costume designer Jennifer Rogein (yes, the woman who dresses Lena Dunham), featherweight boxing champion Heather Hardy, and butcher Sara Bigelow — proving that your personal style has nothing to do with labels and fashion magazines (unless you want it to).

New York Fashion Week kicks off on Thursday, and this week-long celebration of mainly conventional beauty can feel a bit overwhelming for some people. The diverse and body-positive Brooklyn Street Style is the perfect antidote for the NYFW blues.

Check out some images from the book that are simply to die for:

Brooklyn Street Style is launching on Thursday in Brooklyn, with a panel discussion about what defines Brooklyn style. Well, this selection of images from the book makes one thing perfectly clear: whatever your tastes are, Brooklyn fashion is about being yourself.

Images: Sioux Nesi/Abrams Image