Affordable Pieces for a Dressy Holiday

While I’ve said before that I don’t have many dressy holiday parties to go to, I know some of you ladies do.  Besides that, I realized that we’ve got 3 winter weddings that would require a little dressing up!  So, when I was asked how to share pieces from Eva Mendes’ line at New York and Company for dressing up the holidays, I was intrigued.

Usually I’ve shopped at New York and Company for workwear, but they actually carry apparel for casual wear and dressier and social occasions–especially now with the addition of the Eva Mendes collection!  Her line is sophisticated yet fun, and includes dresses, skirts, and tops that you can wear for those dressier holiday events.  But, my favorite part is that New York and Company usually has some sort of sale going on, which makes these party pieces really affordable.  
This red dress is sleeveless, and even though I live in sunny San Diego I’d still need a jacket.  So, black moto jacket it was!  The dress is fairly thick and sturdy, holding its shape well to flatter your body as it hides lumps and bumps and kind of holds things in for you a bit.  It’s also fully lined.  I was surprised by how flattering this cut was!
For colder climates I’d pair this with black fleece lined tights (like THESE) and black booties.  If it were super duper cold and I knew I wouldn’t take off my jacket, underneath I’d layer a UNIQLO HEATTECH (HERE).  You could also do this look with a black cardigan.

View without the jacket and from the side.  (The top of the back is sticking out in the side profile because I didn’t zip it up all the way.)

I’m normally 6/8 in dresses, but I got this in size 4.  If you have a smaller chest I’d definitely recommending sizing down.  Thanks to a sale as well as using some NY&C City Cash (rewards cash), the dress ended up costing only 32% of its original price.  YEAH.  Like, it was 68% off!  Um, what?  You got it, dude.  (Find the dress HERE.)

For kicks, I tried this fancy lace dress.  I was certain the figure hugging silhouette would NOT work for the junk in my trunk, so I don’t know what compelled me to try it.  
I couldn’t believe it fit, let alone looked somewhat flattering!  I just wish I had somewhere to wear this to!  I think it’d be far too fancy for the weddings I’m attending.  
This was originally $79.95 which already surprised me because I thought it could easily be around $120.  The same sale as above could have been applied to this dress, had I gotten this one instead of that one.  Sooooo, this dress could cost anywhere between $25 to $80 depending on the sales.  That is so crazy to me!  (Find it HERE.)
This also comes lined in the body until the knees, though not the sleeves.  I’m wearing this one in size 6.  Beware, given the fabric is lace, it is delicate and can snag easily.  You’ll have to be careful of jewelry.
Below are a few other pieces from Eva Mendes’ collection that you could dress up the holidays with.  Many are currently in the $40 to $55 range with one sale, while others fall under a “buy one get one 50% off” sale.  
Links to Shop:
one  |  two  |  three  |  four
five  |  six  |  seven  |  eight
nine  |  ten  |  eleven  |  twelve

Huge thanks to New York and Company and Shopstyle for sponsoring this post.
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