At the recent LuckyFABB conference in New York, I sat down for a conversation with Eva Mendez about her fabulous sense of style and her new collaboration with New York & Company. Well, to be fair, when I say ‘I’ there was me and Eva Chen, Lucky Magazine’s new Editor-in-chief; who incidentally was working some serious High-Low styling action pairing her Marc Jacobs cocktail dress with her mum’s old polo neck and her husband’s socks – if you’re wondering, it really worked!
You know when you get one of those connections with celebs, and you don’t want to appear all ‘let’s be BFF’s and I’ll come and hang with you and your sisters, and we can talk shopping and style icons and how fab Gina Lollobrigida was inTrapeze’ Well that’s what happened to me and Eva last week. The only problem was, I think there were around 200 other people in the room who got exactly the same vibe.
Brilliantly interviewed by the other Eva (Chen), Eva Mendez was warm, witty and utterly charming, which had all us hardened bloggers gushing and going all fashion fan girl on her, and to be honest, even a little stalkerish…
During the chat Mendez confessed that her favourite accessory was a scarf which she loves to work wrapped around her head like the 50’s icons she admires. Worried that we weren’t getting her idea, she called for a scarf from the audience and expertly knotted it around her hair whilst carrying on the the convo with Chen – now that’s a skill I’d like to learn.
So here are a few nuggets from the flash questions part of the conversation ,which Chen wheedled out of Mendez.
Q. Who would you trade wardrobes with?
A. Vanessa Paradis no question
Q. Heels or flats?
A. Heels every time, What can I say, it’s a cultural thing. I’m Cuban. Heels give you instant femininty. Besides I’ve got large feet for my height, wearing flats is a no-no. People used to shout at me ‘Hey – you could sleep standing up’ Heels are the perfect distraction.
Q. Straight or wavy hair?
A. Whatever your natural hair type is works the best for you. When I was in 7th & 8th grade I walked around covering half my face with my hair because I thought it was cool.
Q.Flowy or fitted?
A. Flowy but fitted at the waist. Look at the pieces in my collection and you will see what I like.
Q. Lipstick or gloss?
A. Lipstick always, no gloss EVER!
Q. Natural or smokey eye?
A. I like a smokey eye. I love the day after with a smokey eye. I know you’re supposed to wash your face every night but sometimes I don’t get round to it.
Q. Laptop or desktop?
A. I love the thing where you pinch the picture. I tried it on my desktop the other day and it didn’t work.
Q. Worst fashion faux pas?
A. It takes trial & error to get your personal style right. I do have a lot of fashion regrets! Worst one? Probably the Ghost Rider red carpet look.
Q. How has being a Latina affected your fashion sense?
A. I was raised to accept myself.
That gal certainly seems to have her sense of style nailed, and to prove it just take a peek at some of the fabulously feminine pieces in her New York & Company collection.