Frog Chic Fashion Turns Neiman Marcus Into a TCU Wonderland

It’s that time of year. When summer is coming to an end and we look to the autumn that lies ahead. Two things are often high on the list of priorities — getting a plan together for TCU football season and getting your fall wardrobe together. The two can sometimes overlap in the quandary of what-to-wear for some swellegant tailgating. How to incorporate our favorite shade of TCU purple.

Having done personal styling myself in Fort Worth, I know how serious a topic this can be and how looking “effortlessly cool-girl” is the dream of many.

The solution to that dilemma was solved more than 10 years ago with the birth of the annual Neiman Marcus Frog Chic Fashion Event. Creator Marjon Zabihi wanted to make it easy for Fort Worth girls to have a fun night of drinks and nibbles with friends. Throw in some great runway fashion and shopping afterward and you have a dream night.

Who doesn’t like that type of cardio after a few glasses of something intoxicating? In this case, a purple concoction that seemed to have a champagne foundation. How it was purple kinda stumped our panel, though. The event supports TCU’s alumni association so it’s yet another win-win for Fort Worth hometown favorites the Horned Frogs and Neimans.

DJ Blake kept the crowd’s hips moving as he pumped out tune after tune for party cocktails and then for rocking the runway. The trends on deck for the evening were animal prints, camel and white, a feminine spin on menswear, 1980s cocktails and, of course, purple — rah rah TCU!

BTW: When will Gucci finally come out with a big foam finger? Come on, they’ve been churning out some other sportswear-inspired accessories of late.

Neiman’s PR guru Allie Turney invited the PaperCity editorial team to join her in a fashion chat/commentary for this year’s runway show. Since we have been busy working on the inaugural issue of PaperCity Fort Worth — with the new print magazine launching in September — we jumped right in.

My colleagues or rather partners-in-fashion-crimes, Christina Geyer and Lisa Shaddock, were ready for some purple cocktails (we collectively decided the darker ones were likely more potent) and commenting on the exciting trends. Personally, I couldn’t wait to see all of the ’80s moments Allie had assembled which would make my mind wander to the IT girls of that era like Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald’s character from The Breakfast Club) or Blair Kennedy (Jamie Gertz’s character from Less Than Zero).

Some of my favorite looks included the Alexis printed top worn underneath a Zadig and Voltaire red and purple leopard suit and paired with Gucci zebra loafers. Also, the lunch date girl of my dreams this fall must be wearing the Lafayette ivory silk blouse, paired with the Ralph Lauren buttery soft suede skirt and blazer with emblem. All thrown together with a wink wink pair of Gucci logo boots. My fall mantra: More is more. Less is a bore.

The sole male model of the show was the darling and dashing Dylan Maxwell. We later found out that he is the younger brother of designer Brandon Maxwell, the Texas-born superstar who many were introduced to as Lady Gaga’s stylist and now as a judge on the reboot of Bravo’s Project Runway. Dylan knew his audience and decided to go sans shirt when wearing his final look — which was all about TCU purple.

I was tickled purple when Susan Nix came up to introduce herself to me and officially welcome PaperCity to Fort Worth. So, Susan, be on the lookout for me in the months ahead. You seem like the girl-on-the-go who can introduce me to the fun crowd I want to be surrounded by in your town.

The Fort Worth Front Row clique included Shelda Dean, Teresa Yeargins, Elaine Cole, Nicole Bettinger, Christen Scott, Julie Hardy, Lisa Albert, Babette Gann, Karen Youngblood and Kristy Howington.

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