ARRIVING in New York it’s easy to feel the thrill of what

F Scott Fitzgerald described as the “wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world”. There are the streets bathed in sunlight and deep shadow, the fire hydrants, the yellow taxis, the latticed fire escapes that climb the side of buildings, the water towers with their pointed hats, the graffiti, the vast shop windows, chains of traffic that disappear to distant vanishing points between canyon-like glass and steel skyscrapers.

Some of New York’s intensity springs from its dramatic contrasts – youth and old age, wealth and poverty and, perhaps most fundamentally, nature in counterpoint to the man-made. From the depths of the subway to the pinnacles of its tallest buildings, New York is a city of light and shade, in the words of Woody Allen, “tough and romantic”.

My new book, New York Sketchbook, was written and illustrated as a result of many weeks spent travelling by subway train, ferry, sometimes taxi, but mostly on foot, carrying sketchbooks, art materials, and camera. New York has a way of adding drama to any situation, so just walking the streets with headphones on a sunny day will be time you never forget.

You gotta have style

New York fashion perpetually walks a balance between the practical, the tribal, and the desire for personal self-expression. For some, impact and originality is paramount, and New York is a place that accepts and celebrates the style and creativity of its characters, fashion doyennes, dandies, and eccentrics. There is a sense that anything goes here, and outfits that might stop traffic in other cities here barely raise an eyebrow.

Reflecting the city’s intense seasonal changes from humidity and heat in high summer to blizzards and sub-zero temperatures in winter, fashion changes organically throughout the year. Sometimes insulating layers and dry feet trump the need for high heels or an elegant silhouette, sometimes the quest for style eschews practicality: photographer Bill Cunningham observed New York traders skidding to work in sockless loafers during one particularly violent snowstorm.

Among the multitude of groups and sub-groups within the city, navigating the dress codes and sartorial dialogue of one’s associates, or sometimes not giving a damn, is a daily consideration. New Yorkers often accomplish this with a style befitting one of the most glamorous backdrops in the world, and as the great New York magazine editor Diana Vreeland once said, “You gotta have style. It helps you get down the stairs, it helps you get up in the morning. It’s a way of life. Without it you’re nobody."

Hot places to eat and drink

The variety of options for dining and drinking in New York is as dazzling, varied, and international as its citizens. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner can take you from exquisitely prepared dishes in glamorous towers or rooftops to tasty and convenient street food eaten on the move.

For many, each day starts with coffee at a favourite pit-stop. Competition among cafes for superior roasts and beans has led to some of the best coffee you will find anywhere in the world. There are also multiple breakfast options from the ultra healthy to the downright indulgent. Because of the way the city developed from small neighbourhood blocks, good things to eat and drink should never be too far away.

Despite this plethora of choice in New York I find it’s often wise to have a plan for your lunch or dinner destination before you set out each day. You don’t want to miss out on discovering somewhere special, and at any time of day, particular places tend to be “hot” and you may face queues. For some of the more exclusive venues you may even need to know a local or pull a favor to get table.

Since you are likely to do a lot of walking, knowing where you will next be refuelled – whether it’s meeting a friend for a long lunch or grabbing a healthy salad – will make your progress through the day that much easier and more enjoyable.

This is an edited extract from New York Sketchbook by Jason Brooks

About the author: Jason Brooks began working regularly for British Vogue after winning the Vogue Sotheby's Cecil Beaton Award for Fashion Illustration. He has drawn at the couture shows in Paris for the Independent newspaper, those in New York for Visionaire and London Fashion Week for Elle. His work is in the permanent collection of the V&A in London. He is the author of two previous books, Paris Sketchbook and London Sketchbook, the latter winning the 2016 V&A Book Illustration Award