Serious question for those suggesting she keep a pair of shoes in her bag to change into…
What will she do with the boots? Those will be a mess, and probably won’t fit in her bag.
There are a lot of options for very nice dresses, boots etc. that will work for the whole day without the need to change either clothes or shoes.
@eyemamom is she visiting relatives or is this a friends trip?
What did she do last year when she was 21?
Urban 20 something’s definitely do not go to Tiffany’s cafe, unless grandma insists.
My 20 something niece has talked about the brunch at Tiffany’s. It’s apparently really hard to get but she would definitely do it.
About a million years ago, when she was very young my daughter loved American Girl dolls. For her birthday I took her and her same age cousin into NY to go to the store and see the musical that they had and lunch. Back then we had very little money so I could really only afford to bring the cousin and her mom. My other sister, who has 2 sons who are much older, was so upset to not be included on the day, so she started a revenge trip. She takes the two girls every year for a day in the city. She lives in NJ. They’ve done a lot of different things over the years - from the Jingle Ball concert, many different musicals, they eat out, see the tree, ice skating, the windows. They went to Dylan’s candy store when they were young, the Plaza. My sister always finds different kinds of restaurants to try. My sister and daughter went in last spring and hit some margarita bar before seeing the Jimmy Buffet musical - my sister thought it was a hoot to be bought cocktails and shots, without the awareness that it was really because of my daughter. My sister is in her 60’s and this is really her dream day with 2 daughters. No, Tiffany’s is not where my daughter would choose, she’d probably have a hot dog from a street vendor. But they look forward to this trip every year together. She dresses up as much for my sister as herself. To get the reservation we had 6 phones with the app, you have about 1 minute at 9:01am 30 days before to snag a table. They decided in honor of Tiffany’s they’d dress up this year. Her issue is when she’s inside she’s always very hot and indoors in NY can be very stuffy sometimes.
So she wants to dress up, but still be comfortable and be able to walk. She already picked out a cute hat to go with her coat.
The street corners of NYC can get full of this filthy slush that is so deep it will run over the tops of short boots and into them as you step out to cross the street. You can guess how I know this. She should wear a sparkly black dress with black leggings or tights and tall boots, plus removable layers under a long coat. She can take off the layers to show off the dress once she’s . Nothing ruins a good look like freezing, dirty, and wet.
Eyemamon, thanks for the trip explanation. What a lovely tradition. I’d been spinning a story in my head she was getting engaged/picking out the ring and wanted a dress appropriate for photos of the event.
What a sweet story @eyemamom.
My D just spent the weekend in NYC with her cousin. She said she was freezing the whole time.
The thing that is great about NYC is that you can literally wear anything and no one would notice. Or care. She could carry a backpack and put the boots in that while she was dining. I have a great backpack from lululemon that that bottom is separate and is for a pair of shoes.
When my niece was interning in nyc, 2 summers ago my D came to visit. They did all the touristy things they could. Ate at some samurai restaurant and other crazy quirky stuff. They had so much fun and still talk about it. They couldn’t care at all if it was cool or popular.
@eyemamom, as someone who has eaten at The Blue Box Café several times with my Ds, I can say that she is likely to be the best dressed person in the room with that dress. She’ll be there for lunch, not dinner, but even at that, virtually no one dresses up like that for lunch, dinner or a show anymore. And if she’s planning on having to do any amount of walking, she needs to think more practically.
Ok I’m not sure your D wants fashion advice from an old lady like me but what about a dress like these. I’m not linking to anything black and these are not quite as fancy as the first dress but maybe she could wear them with tights and boots.
As others have stated, it is a cute dress for a NYE party. Definitely not appropriate for Tiffany’s, the theater or NYC sightseeing. Here’s some warmer suggestions:
Pair this with tall black or over the knee boots: macys.com/shop/product/tommy-hilfiger-paisley-tie-sleeve-dress?ID=7019212&CategoryID=5449#fn=sp%3D2%26spc%3D6998%26ruleId%3D133|BOOST%20ATTRIBUTE|BOOST%20SAVED%20SET%26searchPass%3DmatchNone%26slotId%3D100
If she’s got the figure, a dark pencil skirt and fabulous matching sweater. Maybe a fancy belt. But look at the weather link. Other than the few 39-40 days, it’s not going to be frigid before Xmas. Check her dates against the weather. A sweater would need to be light because places will have the heat on. Or a nice sweater set.
I’m not into carrying shoes or boots. Go light. No snow is predicted in December. Some rain, yes. But who walks on the street side of the sidewalk?
I’m sure this young woman can find a dress that she likes. The issue here is…the first dress she chose is great for other types of events. For walking around NY, and going to a show, and eating just about anywhere, it’s just not practical.
When exactly is she going? Maybe there is something she could rent from Rent the Runway. I don’t think all of their attire is formal.
She’s going mid-December. Yes, I’m sure she can find something, but I do appreciate the thoughts on what to wear and links. She’ll kinda sorta listen to me.
You can google for The Blue Box Cafe and see images of the cafe. You can see what people are wearing. They are not that dressed up.
Excellent suggest @oldfort . I just looked at the pictures…and the Q and A on trip advisor about dress there. It’s not a fancy schmancy dress up place.
This link has some cute outfits with dresses/skirts and boots (scroll about halfway down).
http://www.lauraperuchi.com/en/2016/11/7-tips-for-your-winter-outfit-in-new-york-city.html
I’m enjoying looking at everyone’s ideas 
i lived in nyc for many years and i wore black, black, black…which is why i think it’s wonderful if your daughter wants to wear that white shimmy dress…she will have a great time and what’s wrong with getting a little cold? 
I happen to love coats and would spend more time finding a great coat :))
Good point about the coats…in NYC, your coat is your car so i had no qualms about investing my money that way!
Like I said my d was visiting her cousin this past weekend. My niece needs a winter coat, apparently the line to get into the Canada Goose store was an hour!