A Snow Ball in the Middle of Dallas: Evening Fit For James Bond Brings Out Tuxedos and Diamonds

Dallas’ best-dressed are well schooled in the art of taking subtle wardrobe cues from an event theme. In a nod to chairman Pam Perella‘s utterly romantic homage to “An Evening in the Alps,” The Crystal Charity Ball’s rare-air crowd slipped into white jacquard silk gowns and snowy mink stoles.

The scene felt plucked from a classic Bond movie (a black-tie shindig in a chic chalet) or a Fred Astaire flick (anything with a fur trim begs for a dance number).

While all the tuxedos and diamonds were instrumental in painting the picture, the setting itself is what transported one to Gstaad. The lobby of the Hilton Anatole glowed with flickering candles, evergreen trees, and wintry vignettes.

Champagne was passed, but many opted for cocktails served in copper mugs from a bar fashioned after a cozy ski lodge. Pre-dinner bites were headlined by a decadent spread of charcuterie, behind which a server melted traditional raclette over an open flame.

For dinner, even designer Tom Addis swathed the Chantilly Ballroom in icy sheets of silver for a frosty feel. At their place settings, guests found mementos from Tiffany & Co. and copies of the newest edition of The Crystal Charity Ball Children’s Book, filled with portraits of contributors’ children and grandchildren as well as children supported by the year’s list of eight beneficiaries.

Before the sound of music drew everyone to the dance floor, waiters served poached-lobster salad, grilled filet in a roasted cipollini red wine demi-glace, and a sweet Swiss sendoff: Toblerone chocolate mousse sprinkled with coconut snow.

Seen: Lisa and Clay Cooley, Gene and Jerry Jones, Caren and Pete Kline, Debbie and Nick Oates, Claire and Dwight Emanuelson, Kelli and Gerald Ford, DeeDee and Jim Lee, Lisa and Kenny Troutt, Peggy and Carl Sewell, Pat and Charles McEvoy, Linda and Steve Ivy, Cara and Jim French, Marjon and Gibbs Henderson, Kimberly Schlegel Whitman and Justin Whitman, Kara and Randall Goss, Sara and David Martineau, Tiffany and Paul Divis, Anita and Truman Arnold, Tucker and Rich Enthoven, Katherine and Key Coker, Mimi and Rich Sterling, Garry Cox, Don McDermett, Jerry Fronterhouse, Amy Simmons, Annette Simmons, Lynn McBee, Lisa Singleton, Michal and Loyd Powell, Paige Locke, Billie Leigh Rippey, Wendy and Boyd Messman, Bela and Chase Cooley.