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ditor, correspondent, critic and influencer, Lynn Yaeger, is one of the most recognizable figures in fashion. With her distinctive bright red hair, blunt cut bangs, cupie doll lipstick, and voluminous frocks, she cuts an intimidating figure. Even more intimidating at times is her unique narrative voice, which is replete with irreverence and acerbic wit. Yet while nobody would ever accuse Lynn of being approachable, exactly, anyone who is fortunate enough to befriend her can attest to what a delight it is to be in her company!

We were so excited to sit down to record an episode of our COUTURE podcast with Lynn Yager. Recorded remotely, in the throes of shelter-in-place orders in New York City (only a city mandate due to a pandemic can get Lynn to stay home alone for long!), Lynn let us dive into a number of interesting topics in the course of our conversation. Below are 5 fun facts we discussed with Lynn.

• Lynn grew up in Long Island (“…not a good fit…”), she originally studied political economy at The New School in NYC, and was a left-wing trade unionist, whose movement appealed to her because she’s a self-described “terrible employee.”
• While in school, Lynn got a job at The Village Voice because she had spent her tuition money on 4 French dresses and needed the income. She was placed in the customer service department answering the customer complaint phone, a job for which she was “completely ill-suited.” Her membership in the union saved her from being fired multiple times.
• Lynn took a chance submitting an article to The Village Voice. She didn’t bother typing it, she just gave them her long-hand draft because she assumed they wouldn’t publish it, but they did. The second or third article the publication published was noticed by the editor of Cosmopolitan who paid Lynn to re-print the article.
• Lynn has always been a fan of vintage and estate jewelry but was never interested in contemporary designers…until she first attended COUTURE a few years ago and her eyes were opened to the fabulous designers on display at the event. She hasn’t looked back!
• Lynn has a condition called prosopagnosia, commonly called Face Blindness. In the recording, she tells us about when she first realized she had the condition, which she shares with her mother, and how she uses other cues to try to figure out who people are when they first come up to her. (Inside hint, if I run into Lynn when I’m not wearing a show badge, I just tell her my name, i.e. “Hi Lynn, it’s Michelle Orman!”)