New York’s Coolest Matchmaker Shares Her Go-To Beauty Equation for Valentine’s Dates
Lounging poolside with an electric orange bob and tangerine lipstick, and hovering above one XXL paisley kaftan, Amy Van Doran looks like the 2019 equivalent of Edward Scissorhands’s backyard salon muses. She’s in Florida for a conference, where she delivered a talk on dating before jetting back to New York. “We have conferences for matchmaking, it’s crazy,” she says. Ten years ago, Van Doran began doling out free love advice (“like Lucy from Peanuts”) in a performance piece that’s since evolved into the East Village’s best-kept romantic secret. Modern Love Club, a gallery-meets-matchmaking-hub where she now heads a team of five women, is already changing the conversation around date-night beauty for the city’s most eligible singles.
“I really believe in radical self-expression,” Van Doran shares. “I would rather have one connection with a person who loves everything about me than thousands of generic online first dates because I have a great photoshopped picture. You don’t need a ‘perfect’ body, clear skin, or orthodontic superiority to find love—it’s how we are different that makes someone actually reach out and say hi.” This attitude is clearly embodied in her personal “1960s beauty drag queen on acid” aesthetic (that soda-pop hair has been a conversation starter with every boyfriend to date), and it’s working. From the 50-or-so applicants she interviews each week, Modern Love Club takes on less than 20 annually, with careers that run the gamut from creative directors and actresses to technologists and finance folks. Of her 16 clients last year, four were married within 12 months. “I want everyone to be the most realized version of themselves. Only then can you attract the right person and build an authentic relationship with someone that loves and adores you for who you are.”
Alexandria Harris, an attorney who sought MLC’s wisdom, distinctly remembers the striking difference between previous experiences in the circuit. “Unlike other matchmakers, Amy didn’t tell me how to look for my dates,” she notes, adding that she showed up for her most important romantic encounter in her natural state: waist-length braids topped with a gray Stetson hat. “My [now] husband stared at me for approximately one minute and 40 seconds before saying anything, which creeped me out. He told me later that he immediately knew I was the one.”
Wedding bells aren’t the only marker for success, of course. The potential for cool nights out with a tuned-in counterpart proves just as valuable to many Tinder-tired New Yorkers like designer Sarah Krasley, who praises Van Doran’s team as a “portal to this whole other New York,” filled with straightforward, kind, interesting singles on a quest for deeper connections.
“It’s kind of fun to see people’s reactions change as they get to know me—it’s easy to make a face-value judgement call because of the way I look,” says brand manager Tess Kim, who shares Van Doran’s penchant for bright hair and stacked eyelashes. “People think I’m this wild person, but all I do is make broth at home and look after plants. Amy knows that the way I look is integral to who I am and will help me to attract someone just as unique.” This appreciation for originality plays into Van Doran’s multidimensional approach. FUTURELOVE, a group show she curated with Gabrielle Sirkin featuring vintage Man Ray works alongside contemporary pieces from emerging talents, fittingly opens at Modern Love Club on Valentine’s Day. “I just want to put the people, and the things, where they belong—curating matches and art!” she enthuses. “With the space primarily focused on love during the weekdays and the gallery open on event nights and weekends, they work symbiotically.”
Plus, it’s hard to imagine a better location for a first date than a cool-kid art opening that’s anything but stuffy. Her advice for anyone seeking new beginnings on this heart-steeped national holiday? “Be the most amplified version of yourself so that the person looking for you can find you.”
