New York · Culture and clubs
Which NYC Private Club Are You? Vogue’s Satire, Matched to the Real Rooms
By Eden · October 2026
In May 2025, Vogue’s Elise Taylor wrote a joke piece called “Which New York Private Club Are You?” It opens with the city’s private-club boom and her own two memberships, then sketches a fictional character for each club. She is clear that everyone described is made up.
The characters are exaggerations, and they say something real about each club’s reputation. Below, we give Vogue’s version of each room in a line, then what our guide says about the real thing: the atmosphere, the published costs and how you get in.
Downtown and after dark
Chez Margaux
Vogue’s read: the polished downtown insider who would never wait in line, because she already has the restaurant’s VIP number.
In real life: French dining, velvet rooms and late-night dancing. The Signature application lists a $2,000 initiation fee and $3,000 annual dues for applicants under 30, and it asks for a referral and a recommendation from an active member.
Zero Bond
Vogue’s read: the self-styled entrepreneur who joined to “network,” and who is quick to offer a Friday-night guest-list spot.
In real life: a NoHo club built around social connections, culture and downtown energy. The published 30 and Under tier costs $750 to join and $2,750 a year, and membership requires an application.
Casa Cipriani
Vogue’s read: a status-anxious regular among stylish Europeans, hoping to be seen with the celebrities who walk past. Vogue also notes, citing Page Six, that the club reportedly expelled three members over a photo of Taylor Swift.
In real life: harbor views, Italian dining and live jazz. The point of that story is the club’s strict privacy policy, which is worth reading before you bring a phone to dinner.
San Vicente West Village
Vogue’s read: the Hollywood insider, or the insider’s child, who keeps pitching projects at a club meant for socializing and gets a polite call from the membership director.
In real life: discreet hospitality, rooftop terraces and late nights, with clubhouses in both West Hollywood and the West Village. Vogue’s joke makes a fair point: it is a social club first.
Explore San Vicente West Village
Maxime’s
Vogue’s read: a young aristocrat who spends down his portfolio to get inside, then relies on an English accent and a signet ring to charm the room.
In real life: London-style dining, bars and private hospitality. Vogue credits the interiors to Rifat Ozbek.
Flyfish Club
Vogue’s read: a single line, and a crypto-scandal joke. It tells you nothing about the dining room.
In real life: a food-first Lower East Side club with a speakeasy lounge and a select-member omakase counter. It publishes a Junior tier at $700 initiation plus $2,300 annual dues, but membership is currently at capacity and applications go to a waitlist.
The old guard
The Colony Club
Vogue’s read: a Park Avenue matriarch, formal with her children and sharp-tongued about her late husband, toasting herself with gin gimlets among Elsie de Wolfe interiors.
In real life: a historic women’s club with a private social life and deep traditions.
Doubles
Vogue’s read: a daughter-in-law who joined at her mother-in-law’s urging and has come only for Christmas brunch and children’s birthday parties ever since.
In real life: red stairs, a luncheon tradition, and dinner and dancing.
The Century Association
Vogue’s read: a publishing executive who wanted to be a Beat-style writer and now hosts authors he loves to criticize.
In real life: a club for literary conversation, art and longstanding tradition.
Explore The Century Association
Work, creative and wellness
Colette
Vogue’s read: a wealthy heir who works from a private office, waits for omakase and privately wishes the family’s scandals had drawn more attention.
In real life: a coworking-style social club with private offices, meetings and polished business hospitality, plus an omakase bar.
The Twenty Two
Vogue’s read: not a member at all, just someone who went to one fashion dinner and posted it to Instagram.
In real life: a creative community in a hotel setting with private rooms. AFAR reported annual dues starting at $1,800 for people aged 29 and under in May 2025, so ask the club for current terms.
The Aman Club
Vogue’s read: a solitary drinker on a Tuesday night, nostalgic for a vanished world of yachts and international travel with a friend who has dropped out of contact.
In real life: quiet luxury and spa-led hospitality in the Crown Building. The Real Deal reported a $200,000 initiation fee and $15,000 in annual dues in January 2026, and membership is by invitation and approval.
What the satire misses
Vogue’s characters are about who you might meet. Choosing a club is about how you would actually use it. Before you apply, check the application route, whether a sponsor is required, the first-year cost and the guest policy, and then picture an ordinary week there.
If cost is your first question, start with our comparison of joining fees and first-year charges. If you are worried about getting in, read whether you can join without a sponsor.
Based on Elise Taylor’s satirical piece in Vogue (15 May 2025), whose characters are fictional, and on public club information and dated reporting. Club descriptions are ours, not Vogue’s. Confirm current terms directly with each club.
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