As American author and orator Fran Lebowitz entered the Holiday Cocktail Lounge on St. Marks Place on Oct. 23, she was followed by public speaker Fran Lebowitz, who had arrived minutes before premiere pundit and social commentator – you guessed it – Fran Lebowitz also walked into the bar.
Time and again, a chorus of “Hi Fran!” rings out at FranCon, an annual celebration of the author’s style, essence and outlook on life. The gathering sees over 150 Frans flood the bar to sip on custom cocktails with Fran-themed names like “Writers Blockade” or the “Lebospritz.” They take puffs of candy cigarettes and dress up in variations of the NYC icon’s signature outfit: blue jeans, a button-up shirt and a blazer.
The con began in 2021, on the ripples of a joke that vlogger, content creator and naturalized New Yorker Jane August had between her and her book club.
“Me and my friends read The Fran Lebowitz Reader,” August said. “And I was like, wouldn’t it be funny if there was something like SantaCon, but everyone dressed like Fran?”
Having always been someone who enjoys throwing parties, August decided to commit to the bit, put on the party, and told her friends they were required to attend.
Now in its fifth year and more popular than ever, FranCon has seen its community grow into something meaningful that remains silly at its core.
Since its inception, the convention has meant many things to its attendees, who see Fran not only as a writer to enjoy but also the embodiment of New York culture from a different era.
Comedian, writer and professional NYC tour guide, Micaela Fagan, joined the Con as co-host in year three after attending the first two events at Blinky’s in Williamsburg.
“She’s amazing, she’s given me such a feeling of nostalgia for a time that I didn’t even experience,” Fagan said. “It feels like New York. It’s timeless in that way.”
Lebowitz’s style is quintessential New York and has, in one form or another, influenced every person in attendance at the Con. Filmmaker Chloe Russell Kent has been obsessed with Lebowitz since she was 15 years old.
“I think I slightly based my personality off of Fran Lebowitz for about a year,” Kent said. “She was so badass in a way that no one in my life was.”
FranCon welcomes all, whether you are familiar with the writer or not. The only barriers to entry are your willingness to dress like her and this year’s added cover charge that helped with some bar expenses.
A creative director from Jamaica, Queens, Grace C. McNally knows very little about Lebowitz. Instead, she hoped to surprise her long-distance boyfriend by walking around FranCon until he noticed something familiar about one of the Frans.
“He thought I was coming two days from now, but his friend said he was coming here tonight. I was like, Oh, this is perfect. So I dressed up like Fran,” McNally said.
For many, FranCon Five was a first and will not be a last. The average person would be amazed by the connection that stems from nailing the Fran look.
“To see multi-generational love for her celebrated in one of the silliest ways possible is just really satisfying,” said Mark B., a multidisciplinary producer who has lived in the city for 20 years. “I also think celebrating Fran Lebowitz in a way that she would hate is so iconic.”
As fun as it is to gather in a hip East Village bar to drink cocktails and emulate your favorite New York City curmudgeon, ultimately, FranCon is about talking to the new arrival at the party and making a connection. It’s about talking to the stranger standing next to you at the bar. It’s about fostering a space where you can be plain spoken and honest.
“We realized, really at the heart of it, FranCon is about community,” August said. “How people want to create and establish that community, I think, is kind of up to them.”
Some may wonder if there are ever plans to introduce a certain special guest to future FranCons, but the organizers clearly don’t want the nature of their community to change because of just one Fran.
It’s like known funny man Groucho Marx once said, “I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.”
So, in case you were wondering, yes, Fran Lebowitz is aware that FranCon exists, and no, she is not invited.
