Natasha Lyonne Jokes She Likes to Bring a 'Sexy Vibe' When Dressing for the Holidays (Exclusive)

Lyonne stars in Old Navy's holiday campaign and talks all things festive with PEOPLE

Natasha Lyonne knows nothing says holiday style quite like sequins. And this season the star is embracing her sparkle even more thanks to Old Navy.

“It's important to be sexy during the holidays,” Lyonne, 44, tells PEOPLE exclusively while discussing her holiday campaign with Old Navy, where she stars in a collection of commercials wearing the brand’s cozy collection and party clothes. “We all know that!”

Lyonne may be slightly joking, but she does stress that bringing the sexy during the holidays is highly recommended. Why, you may ask? It’s simple. If you trot out your sexy clothes — including some of the sequin looks she wore from Old Navy in the new ads — that’s how you get Santa to stop at your house on Christmas Eve! 

Her favorite look from filming her latest set of Old Navy commercials is the sequin skirt that was paired with a striped sweater. She calls the final ‘fit “super cute.”

“It’s like you're participating in the holiday party and you're ready for whatever, but in case nothing happens, you didn't try too hard,” she says. That is her ultimate goal when it comes to dressing for pretty much anything. She loves an effortless vibe that still holds some sex appeal.

“It’s that sexy vibe!” she says with a laugh. “No, but really, in these commercials, Old Navy really one-upped themselves with this multiplicity gag. It really made me happy because it’s so high-concept and funny and aesthetically great. It sparks joy in me, as they say.”

The “multiplicity gag” Lyonne speaks of is the fact that there are two of her in all of the holiday commercials. Spinning off Lyonne’s first campaign with Old Navy a few months ago — where she was paid compliments for her snazzy Old Navy gear — now she’s giving those compliments to herself while dressed in different holiday-ready Old Navy outfits. Like she said, high concept!

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In the new ad spots, which were filmed in New York City, she wears festive sweaters, a puffer vest, classic jeans, a velvet suit and that sequin skirt she’s grown so fond of (and all of it is part of Old Navy’s winter offerings).

“The pieces can all be mixed and matched,” she says, adding, “Or you can level up the outfit and do some high-low dressing, which I like. Now I get to play with it all in real life, because it’s all in my closet.”

Though the sparkly skirt may have been Lyonne’s favorite over all, she can’t help but add that the outdoorsy look that includes a hat and sunglasses did feel totally her.

“I really did feel like myself walking around in that,” she says. “I really liked just the way the accessories all came together. It just really felt like a fun day in the city."

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Lyonne, who is a native New Yorker, loved the holiday vibes while working on this project. While she loves New York “all the time,” she especially loves the city during the holidays.

“In my mind, the holiday season in New York is just a beautiful time — the way all celebrations are on display,” she says. “You can see the whole world there just walking around. I don’t even mind the tourists! It’s part of it! I love being a New Yorker in the middle of them and helping them. I actually like giving directions — it makes me happy.”

You might find Lyonne “dodging rats” around the Lower East Side while she searches for the sparkle and glitter in the shop windows during the holiday season. She says she’s always content being around happy people during this time of year because it brings a smile to her face — even “amidst the grime of all these city slickers.”

"I like that people get so into the holidays,” she says. “It’s so much fun.”

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If she’s not out in her favorite city, she’s probably on the couch at home, watching her favorite holiday movie Fanny and Alexander while in matching PJs with her dog Root Beer.

“She enjoys our matching looks around the house,” Lyonne says of her dog, who she also calls a “nepo baby.”

“I don't know that she knows that she enjoys it, but she seems to always be having a good time.”

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