Thigh-high boots and a $50 Zara dress: How this 'sneaker head' dresses up for a holiday date night

Ever since Kylie Mar was a child, she’s been confident and self-assured. This sensibility has translated to her personal style as well.

Today, Mar is a host for Yahoo Entertainment’s Last Night Now and Made in Hollywood. She is in front of the camera daily. For this reason, she tends to dress more conservatively at work. “You’ll never see me in a super-tight, really [short] dress,” Mar tells Yahoo Lifestyle, adding that she especially loves to wear black leather and tends to gravitate toward “classic, black and white colors [and] very straight cut lines with a little bit of edge.” Mar doesn’t like dressing feminine or girly — unless, she says, it’s in “a very tough way. And I think it’s because of my personality.”

For Yahoo Lifestyle’s #MyStyle video series (above), we asked Mar to show us her best holiday date-night outfit. She chose a $50 black faux leather dress by Zara, a cream turtleneck, a classic Burberry check scarf, and her go-to fancy footwear: Stuart Weitzman thigh-high boots.

But, she admits, “I’m totally a sneaker head, so I aways wear sneakers. But because it is colder and it is date night, I want to wear something dressier,” she says. Luckily, the boots are just like sneakers to Mar, because they’re extremely comfortable, she says, noting, “I can run down the street if I needed to in them.” Mar finished off the look with a dash of bright red lipstick by Mac.

Mar’s toughness and self-confidence are qualities she’s had since she was young, and they played a crucial part in how her career all started. At 3, Mar knew she was destined for Hollywood, announcing to her mother that she wanted to become an actress. Although her mom was hesitant at first, she saw how determined, passionate and unwavering her daughter was, and quickly hired a manager and multiple agents for her soon-to-be star.

Mar went on to spend more time on auditions than in school. Fortunately, this paid off. She guest-starred in several classic ’90s TV shows, such as 7th Heaven and ER, as well as national commercials and print ads. But at the age of 12, Mar entered high school early. This wasn’t the easiest time for the budding actress.

“[The students] actually picked on me and bullied me all the time. That’s why I changed high schools,” Mar tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Generally, I was always a tough kid … I was 3 going on 30.” Still, she admits, “I don’t have any friends from high school. I don’t keep in touch with anyone. … I think I was always [so much a] lone wolf and independent that it didn’t necessarily bother me as much.”

Mar ended up transferring to a magnet school where the course load was rigorous and the bullying subsided. It was there that Mar decided to shift gears a bit and focus on her education, thinking for a while that she wanted to become a lawyer. But after just one year in college, her heart was telling her something different. “I love being in front of the camera, and so I wanted to kind of go back in that direction,” she says. “I wanted to go back into acting.”

She landed her first major gig at just 17 as the host of Made in Hollywood, a role she held for the next 12 years. As the host, she screened movies in advance, visited Hollywood sets and interviewed actors. “I definitely feel like hosting and what I’m doing right now is my calling,” says Mar, who loves the day-to-day unexpectedness of the role. “It’s always challenging. I love that it’s kind of like a puzzle. You always have to figure something out.”

Looking back on her past interviews, she recalls, there’s one celebrity who stood out the most. “Tommy Lee Jones is known to be the one actor that no one likes to interview … he’s the hardest interview. Everyone is terrified,” says Mar. She had her chance to interview the actor for Men in Black III when she was 23 years old. “I kind of went in there with the mindset … just be yourself, don’t take it to heart. If he gives you attitude, just give it right back to him. And so I remember I went through all five questions I had in one minute because he gave me one-word answers.”

That was when Mar decided to take matters into her own hands. She asked the actor, “‘What do you want to talk about?’ … I literally just gave it right back to him.” After that, Jones’s mood changed. “He was shocked. Maybe he was hoping I would be like the other girls, kind of crumble and either cry or end it early. He said, ‘No, I’m willing to answer anything you want to know, honey.’ Since then, she’s been in Jones’s good graces. “I’m one of the only people who have always had a good interview with Tommy Lee Jones.”

Although you might be intimidated by Mar’s tough-girl persona, her holiday date-night outfit is one you can easily pull off yourself. Shop it below.

Zara Leather-Look Dress

Don’t worry, animal lovers, this dress is made of faux leather. The cuffed sleeves and leatherlike material add an edge to the collared dress. It’s not skintight, either, making it a dress you can easily layer a turtleneck under as per Mar’s style tip. It’s the perfect day-to-night look.

Shop it: $50, zara.com

Uniqlo Women Heattech Turtleneck Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Uniqlo is the best place to stock up on basic layering pieces like this turtleneck. Change any summer dress into a winter one with this simple layering trick.

Shop it: $15, uniqlo.com

Stuart Weitzman the Tipland Boot

There’s a reason why women love to wear Stuart Weitzman boots. Not only is Meghan Markle a fan, but you can score them right now for 30 percent off!

Shop it: $553 (was $790, with code CYBER20), stuartweitzman.com

Burberry Classic Check Cashmere Scarf

If you invest in a Burberry scarf, you’ll never have to buy another scarf again. It’s a timeless cold-weather accessory that you’ll continue to wear year after year.

Shop it: $430, burberry.com

Mac Matte Lipstick Lady Danger

A pop of bright red lipstick is the best way to finish off any winter outfit. Keep it in your purse for the days when you have a last-minute date.

Shop it: $22, amazon.com

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• How to get the ‘perfect holiday outfit’ for less than $100

• Under $50: 16 affordable gifts that will impress anyone on your list

• Kate Middleton’s favorite hair accessory is perfect for the holidays — and you can get it for $10

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