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96 SHE'S NANCY HALBREICH THE BOMB B Y B I L LY F O N G I have known Nancy Halbreich for well over 10 years and have always admired her grace and ethereal personality. The last few months, I've had a glorious time catching up in her well-appointed library. We reconnected through, of all things, Instagram. Halbreich is a big fan of the social-media platform; we both agree that it's like looking at wonderful little postcards of friends' lives. I posted a vintage Bill Blass ad to my account, and she commented, "I used to love spending time with Bill when he would come to visit Dallas." I needed more intel on their relationship and immediately sent her a message. Ever since, we have tried to arrange biweekly catch-ups over coffee. I've even begun to show off, bringing homemade lemon-zest pound cake. Who knew I had become such a baker house-frau. During my early days with the Dallas Museum of Art, I first spied Halbreich across a crowded room. I did a double take; I thought Coco Chanel was in our midst. I am a big fan of a girl who can rock a bucket hat, and Halbreich does it with elegance and wit. (When I wear a bucket hat — generally Stussy, the skater street-style line — I end up looking like Gilligan.) Halbreich always looks perfection in the ensembles she pulls together for all of the events that she and her brilliant husband Jeremy Halbreich must attend, from the DMA's Silver Supper and Art Ball to The Crystal Charity Ball and TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art. The only way to describe the glorious Halbreich is through her innate sense of style. She accessorizes an Armani beaded gown, which many would leave to speak for itself, with multiple wooden layered necklaces. Clothing never wears her — she wears the clothes. She's equal parts Jacqueline de Ribes, Bunny Mellon, and Slim Keith, with a swan-like neck similar to the Comtesse de Ribes and refined taste on par with the great Miz Mellon — plus a dash of Slim's wonderful talent for being a connector. Halbreich's warm and generous spirit is widely known. I take comfort knowing that if anyone said a disparaging word about me, she would be quick on the draw with a cutting response, as she has no time for anyone belittling her friends. That is loyalty. While she and I have been giddy as schoolgirls talking about how privileged we've been to attend so many interesting fashion and cultural events, Halbreich's heart is truly that of a philan- thropist. Her volunteer work in Dallas is without equal. This is likely due to having an icon for a mother — Annette Strauss, the second female mayor and the second Jewish mayor of Dallas, an obvious trailblazer who could beat the old-school men at their own game. Halbreich's current passion is the growth of Parkland Hospital, in particular the construction of a new Comprehensive Breast Center at Parkland Health & Hospital System to provide care for more than 30,000 women every year. It's a tremendous effort to increase the health and survival rate of breast cancer patients, while decreasing current disparities in Dallas County. Back to fashion: This has been the hardest picture selection since I started "She's the Bomb." The pile we went through was ah-mazing. It was a history of fashion for the last 30 years, with Halbreich wearing Caroline Roehm; Galanos; Chanel, of course; and, naturally, she was an early adopter of Armani. Approximate date of this photograph. Remember to not be too specific or — perish the thought! — give away age. It's probably around 1987. The occasion. I was co-hosting a Christmas tea with my best friend — my sister — at my new house. What you were wearing. It was a steel-gray satin and moss- green taffeta Galanos, and I kept it for years! My mother always told me to buy fewer things but nice things and wear them over and over. And I do. In fact, whenever I put on something that I've had since before Jeremy and I were married, he says "Free night!" What price fashion. I have no idea what I spent — my memory isn't that good. But I do keep my things forever (see above), so they amortize themselves. I inherited my love of clothes from my mother. She cared nothing about jewelry or anything else. But she loved clothes, much to my father's constant chagrin. She would have clothes sent to my house so Daddy wouldn't see them, and she'd try them on in our entry hall. Jeremy would come in and say, "Did you know your mother is undressed again in the entry hall?" Why is this a Bomb.com picture of you. I was finally so happily married. I was hosting a holiday party with my sister in my new house. My parents were healthy. And I was holding the hand of one of my beautiful nieces. It was a very happy time — and I'm still very happy. Nancy Halbreich with her niece, Elizabeth McGarr McCue, circa 1987