Seatmates: Yolanda Edwards
On living between countries, letting go of itineraries, and noticing what others overlook
This interview is part of Seatmates, a Window Seat series where tastemakers, travelers, and creatives share how they move through the world—what they pack, where they stay, and the travel rituals that shape their lives.
There are certain people whose work goes beyond inspiration in that it totally rewires something in you. People who expand your sense of what’s possible just by doing things their way. For me, one of them is Yolanda Edwards, founder and editor of Yolo Journal.
When I first discovered Yolo Journal, it felt like a revelation. It had everything I’d been craving: travel that was elegant but unfussy, deeply personal, and grounded in feeling. Yolanda’s taste is unmatched, but it’s her perspective that keeps me returning to her work again and again. She has shaped the visual language of travel for a generation and continues to champion the kind of story-rich discovery that never goes out of style. Her work made me want to slow down, look closer, and really approach travel as an art form. In many ways, Window Seat wouldn’t exist without Yolanda’s example.
Read on to learn which hotel stay was so perfect she wanted to copy every detail, what readers of Yolo Journal can’t get enough of (hint: it’s not just destinations), and the one place she always returns to when she needs to reconnect with herself.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m the founder and editor of Yolo Journal, a travel lifestyle brand I started in 2019 that creates 3 print magazines a year and a weekly newsletter, Club Yolo. I live between New York, Rome, and rural France—but truthfully, I spend most of my time on the road.
Yolo Journal has become such a reference point for those of us who care about travel with taste, intention, and feeling. Has anything surprised you about what readers respond to most or what they’re craving now that’s different from when you started?
(First, thank you!! Makes my day to read that!) I was surprised by how much our readers love style content. I never imagined that people would care so much about what I and other travelers wear, how we pack—I thought that was just what I cared about! I figured we would be immersed in travel content primarily, but now we usually create one style piece per week.
You’ve said before that you’re less interested in what’s new and more in what’s really good. As a fellow traveler who tries to notice these things, how do you train your eye to stay open, especially in places that feel overly documented?
Living in Rome and New York, I’m definitely surrounded by places that are over-documented. In Rome, I like to bring my dog to the Villa Borghese in the mornings, and we run up the Spanish Steps. Of course there are many tourists taking photos of themselves (as they should! It’s special!), but after our walk in the park, we walk down a street that parallels the steps, and there are never any people on it, and, no matter the season, there’s always some incredibly picturesque moment. If there are too many people, just move a block over!
Is there a place you often return to—not to live, but to reconnect with a version of yourself you don’t always get to access at home?
Greece!!! It’s a place that is very special to me—I feel like I had a rebirth-type experience there when I was 18, and every time I go back, I feel that again. I turn off my planning brain and just go into the ‘being there’ brain.
What’s been your most memorable hotel stay?
The Villa Feltrinelli on Lago di Garda remains the most special place I’ve ever stayed. A nosegay when I arrived, returning my passport with a ribbon around it on a plate, and decor so brilliant you just want to copy every. Single. Thing.
Is there a destination or property at the top of your wishlist?
Hong Kong!
What are your must-haves when it comes to luggage and items you travel with?
I’m a Rimowa fan—never the OG aluminum ones which are impossible to close—but I love the polycarbonate ones. I have a Trunk in forest green, and a Cabin trolley in olive (it was a special color edition they don’t have now, but if I were to get one today, I’d go for it in red!). I always have a bag that I put on top of my trolley, which I treat like a purse in case there’s a strict gate agent. That varies between my Il Bisonte x Yolo collab I did, or a Rue de Verneuil trolley bag in green wool. And I always have on my Metier Stowaway Crossbody bag in black.
What is your go-to airport outfit?
Regardless of the season, I’m wearing a stretchy kick flare pant since most of my flights are long-haul. I like these from Ann Mashburn, and these from Highsport. My shirt is always an oversized chambray from the Gap. If it’s summer, I’ll wear a Belgian loafer on the plane, and if it’s winter, it’s Sanders Chelsea boots. Always an oversized sweater for freezing planes, or, if it’s warm, as an additional pillow.
Do you have any rules or rituals when it comes to air travel?
We always arrive early to the airport even though we have CLEAR, PreCheck, etc, usually having about an hour once we’re through security before we have to board. That was my husband’s habit that became mine. Nothing worse than running through an airport not knowing if you’re going to make your flight.
When the plane takes off, I always video it until it’s up in the air—it’s just this thing I started many years ago and haven’t stopped. I will often bring something from home to eat; I’m one of those people who like to have a jammy egg with good salt and an avocado on the plane. (I swear my eggs don’t smell—nobody has ever rolled their eyes at me except for my husband and daughter!)
On the plane, if it’s an overnight flight, I will always have a drink to help me sleep. If it’s a daytime flight, I may ask for a can of the Mr and Mrs T Bloody Mary. I know it’s super salty, but it’s an ‘only on the plane thing’ that I really enjoy.
Last question: aisle or window seat?
Always get the window seat!!!!
To keep up with Yolanda’s travels, subscribe to Yolo Journal (worth every penny), subscribe to Club Yolo on Substack, and follow her on Instagram. Interested in being featured in Seatmates or know someone who should be? Drop me a line here.
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Tori Simokov is a Travel Writer and Graphic Designer/Strategist based in New York. To get in touch, email tori@v1projects.com. Want more? Check out Instagram, TikTok, or shop her curated favorites.
An icon! Love this, Tori.
Great read!! Yolanda is a legend. And so very happy to hear that she also arrives to the airport an hour early (it’s so uncool now but I simply cannot be a late airport person)