Austin Fashion Week is over, but if you check your social calendar you’ll see another major annual fashion extravaganza is just about to launch and this one extends well into winter.

I’m talking about the Longhorn football season and the extreme care thousands of female University of Texas fans take to look their best in Burnt Orange.

A preview to this annual style show was staged during the recent “Mack Brown Football Clinic for Women”. 800 Longhorn female faithful gathered in the Red McCombs Red Zone (on the north side of DKR) to hear Coach Mack Brown and some Longhorn players talk football.

The sold-out, all girl crowd ranged in age from their twenties to seventies and all but a few were wearing what else — Burnt Orange!

T-shirts, tops, dresses, shirts, vests, jackets, and skirts of multiple lengths were featured, plus plenty of Burnt Orange footwear — sandals, spiky heels, platform shoes, flip-flops and boots — lots of cowboy boots.

Of course, no outfit is complete without Longhorn jewelry. The more elaborate and intricate the better! The women were flashing turquoise, silver, Longhorn pendants and earrings, hair clips, headbands, and while not so easy to spot, I’m betting there were tattoos, too!

Head out to the field

While “Mack Brown’s Clinic for Women” is a great fashion preview — the real reveal is at every home game.

That’s where you’ll find my dear friend, Sandy Alcala hosting an over-the-top tailgate party.

Sandy is a walking Longhorn fashion plate. Her favorite accessory is a sterling silver Longhorn that hangs around her neck. “It’s large enough to gore someone in the neck if I hug them too tight. Everything is bigger in Texas — both jewelry and hugs!” exclaims Sandy.

Born and raised in Austin and a proud Texas Ex, Sandy’s been a Longhorn fan for as long as she can remember. And as much as she enjoys the team inspired bling, it’s her jeans sporting the silhouette of a Longhorn along one pant leg that draws the most compliments. She bedazzled the jeans herself and plans to continue wearing them to games — as long as she can fit into them!

Like Sandy, I love my Longhorn outfits. Of course, in Austin, one of my favorite places to shop for the latest football fashions is the University Coop, along the Drag. An entire floor is dedicated to Women and Children’s wear with the store pulling in an estimated $8 million dollars a year on those items alone.

Brian Jewell, the Vice President of Marketing for the University Co-Op says the most popular selling women’s items are t-shirts. But not just plain, boxy boys-style T’s. For fashion conscious women, Longhorn t-shirts have to be flattering, form-fitting, preferably with a v-neck, and some Longhorn logo or snappy saying.

Jewell says about ten years ago, Co-Op merchandise buyers had to scour markets looking for items in shades close to Burnt Orange, but not anymore. Thanks to the buying power of fashion savvy Longhorns, venders nationwide are now designing items with UT fans in mind and they are going through the process of securing trademark approval from the University of Texas.

The Co-Op also sells jackets, dresses, scarves, footwear and accessories. My favorite outfit purchased at the Co-Op was a matching suede jacket and pants my husband bought me for Christmas a few years ago. The more unique the outfit, the more likely you are to stand out in a crowd of 100-thousand!

The University Co-Op isn’t the only place to shop for football fashions. Customers are also drawn into Sue Patrick, a locally-owned boutique. Also, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Stein-Mart and JCPenny all carry Longhorn clothing for women. You can also find cute tops, halter dresses and casual footwear at Academy Sports and Outdoor and even at HEB grocery stores!

Prepare for the weather

Besides cute and trendy, football fashion also has to be practical. During the first home games in September, temperatures aren’t likely to budge much from the current triple digits, so dressing in halters, camisoles, even UT-inspired bikini tops would not be out of the question.

Toward the end of the season temperatures will finally drop. The Thanksgiving Day traditional match-up against A&M or the Big 12 Championship are among the few times when women can flaunt their jackets, sweaters, hoodies, even UT snuggies and blankets.

You’ll also see scarves, cute caps, earmuffs and an occasional fur coat. In a bold fashion move, I paired my full length mink coat with cowboy boots and jeans for the Big 12 Championship Game against Nebraska in December 2010. It was a 20-degree, chilled- to-the-bone tailgate day outside Dallas Cowboy Stadium. The outfit and the last .01 second field goal win were memorable!

A fur coat may be a little over the top, but football fashions have always been a BFD. Thinking back to her early Texas games, Sandy Alcala recalls, “In the 1980’s I remember seeing students pretty dressed up at football games. You would see the latest fashions at the first game of the season and most of the women were overdressed in apparel more fitting for cooler weather. Today it is a good balance between comfort and showing your colors in style. The one thing that has not changed is having a great pair of cowboy boots.”

No doubt the team’s performance on the field directly influences the sale of items off the field. Retail records were broken after the Longhorns snagged the National Championship in 2005. But after last year’s disappointing 5-7 record, sales during last season paled in comparison. But never fear, Brian Jewel of the University Co-Op says, “Through good times, bad times and in between, Texas fans are loyal and love to show their spirit.” And I couldn’t agree more as he rang up my new Longhorn t-shirt, Burnt Orange nail polish and temporary tattoos to wear for the first home game.

I am ready for the first fashion show — I mean football game of the season, along with thousands of other female Longhorn fans of all ages! Look for me there – I’ll be the one wearing Burnt Orange! Hook Em!