FOR OSCAR F., WHO ALWAYS KNOWS WHERE HE GOES
Originally from Paris, based in New York for five years, I'm permanently struck by how different habits, routines, and expectations remain on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Parisian girls won't hesitate to show up in jeans at a fashion event, still love to smoke on the terraces, and don't feel guilty for never, ever working out. They don't line up in the snow at 11:00 AM on a Sunday to get waffles and scrambled eggs courtesy of Peels. They won't graciously accept "No" from a bouncer, even if they have failed to RSVP. And they won't go home at midnight for some beauty-sleep emergency. They also wouldn't declare a sweet "I love your shoes!" to the girl in the line at the deli. But they will marvel at the quality and quantity of services, delivered with professional kindness, found almost everywhere in New York City. When you're French, you never quite get used to it.
While writing this guide for my visiting friends, I was impressed by the quality of experiences I found in Brooklyn. When, two years ago, Condé Nast Traveler named the borough one of its "15 best places in the world to see right now" (which included the Maldives and Sri Lanka), Brooklynites responded with eye-rolling, mortified to be reduced to grass-fed-beef eaters and wine-bar fiends.
Of course, they're far more diverse than that, as the cohort of supermodels, editrixes, AAA-list stylists, and CFDA-approved designers based there can testify. Generously, these fashion insiders have agreed to take us on a stroll down the path of the delicious, the novel, the healthy, and the adventurous, from the quaint and fashionable Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill area to posh Brooklyn Heights, from the leafy Fort Greene to the hipster heaven that is Bushwick.
I hope you'll enjoy discovering their tips and insights as much as I did.
Have a happy, healthy, stylish stay in New York!
CAROLE SABAS
