Scenes From Dallas’ 50th Annual Crystal Charity Ball Ten Best Dressed Fashion Show

I’m guessing many a hair stylists’ schedules had been booked months in advance for that morning — those early dawn hours before the 50th Crystal Charity Ball Fashion Show and Luncheon.

The annual fundraiser is pretty much the official first day of Dallas’ fabulously frenetic fall social season and the ladies want to be well-coiffed as well as well-heeled and well-read on interesting new topics. Yes, that last item is essential since who knows when you might need to make idle chit-chat and avoid verboten topics like politics and religion. Safe and chic arenas for discussion include celebrity (the royals all fit within this category) gossip, tantalizing new tomes (everyone has been devouring The King of Diamonds it seems), and fashion.

Fashion is always a great topic to be well-versed in for this stylish marathon. And yes, the eagerly anticipated fashion show and luncheon supporting numerous charities throughout Dallas (since 1953 they have gifted over $181 million) is a marathon, not a sprint.

The agenda starts with flutes of champagne handed out as early as 10 am for the early bird arrivals at Neiman Marcus downtown. Guests then mingle and get their photos snapped — this is usually my time in the lounge (generously sponsored by Nancy Rogers) for playing catch up with friends I might not have seen since the start of summer. Then the wrangling by the expert team at Neiman’s begins as they try and navigate these swans to the floor where the runway show is presented. Finally, post ooh’ing and ah’ing over the year’s designer presentation it’s on to another floor for lunch. Many ladies don’t end their day at Neiman Marcus Downtown, quite a few of the pretty posses make their way to watering holes like Park House or Café Pacific for post-event dishing and continued cocktailing.

This year’s marquee stars were the creative design team behind Oscar de la Renta, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim. The darling duo were in Dallas to showcase their most recent collection, Pre-Spring 2025, at Neiman Marcus’ historic downtown flagship store. The hallowed department store and Oscar de la Renta have a longstanding partnership that includes the house founder, Oscar himself, receiving the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion in 1968. The design team enchanted the crowd as they made their way around with some of the Neimans team including Ryan Ross (President of Neiman Marcus and Head of NMG Customer Insights), Jodi Kahn (Vice President, Luxury Fashion, Neiman Marcus), and Stefanie Tsen Ward (Chief Integrated Retail and Customer Officer, Neiman Marcus).

Garcia and Kim’s pieces came swanning down the runway worn by each of the Crystal Charity Ball’s Ten Best Dressed (who were also swathed in beguiling David Webb jewelry): Monica Eastin, Tracey Kozmetsky, Meredith Land, Tracy Lange, Anne McPherson, Wendy Messmann, Lisa Rocchio, Kim Quinn, Katherine Wyker, and Sunie Solomon.

The 2024 Hall of Fame Award was presented to my dear friend who generally makes my personal best dressed list for any event  — Lisa Cooley for the event’s 50th anniversary. During the runway presentation, I saw wide-eyed enthusiasm and could just imagine many of the ladies sighing — “why can’t it be Oscar every year?” Yes, the talented design duo held firm to the classic shapes and overall tradition of the label but had also brought in a youthful perspective via color: rosehip, lapis, and butter yellow with references to Garcia’s own watercolor orchid paintings. This was the sixth year that Neiman Marcus hosted Oscar de la Renta for Crystal Charity and marked the most frequent partnership since the fashion show’s inception in 1974.

For the luncheon I found myself seated at my dear friend Nancy Roger’s table with a lively bunch that included: Cornelia Guest, Tina Craig, Niven Morgan, Shelby Wagner, and Karla McKinley. Some of the standout outfits I saw that day were Melinda Knowles in a vibrant orange Akris, Kristin Hallam in an Oscar dress in varying shades of pink with a bow detail at the waist, and Niven Morgan in a Dior suit (with Dior shoes).

Others spotted that day looking ready for the social season ahead: fashionable mother/daughter duos — Jennie Reeves (the author always wins my award for best eyewear — which if you know me, I take that accessory very seriously) and Lucy Wrubel and Gene Jones and Charlotte Jones; former FLOTUS Laura Bush sitting beside fashion icon Nancy Dedman for the luncheon; Partlow boot designer Kasey Lemkin; titans of real estate Christy Berry and Erin Mathews; Fort Worth fashionista who made the trek over to Dallas — Cami Goff; and back from myriad summer travels that they shared with me — Brooke Hortenstine, Heather Furniss, Bina Patel, Jenny Esping, Sheryl Maas, Leisa Street, Kim Whitman, Kim Hext, and Annika Cail.

To end my day, I made my way to Park House with many of those aforementioned to do a proper recap of what we had seen that day. Of course, in between sips of rosé.