Debutante

The expression "debutante", or "deb" for short, has continued to be used, especially in the press, to refer to young women of marriageable age who participate in a semi-public, upper class social scene.

The expression "deb's delight" is applied to good looking, unmarried young men from similar backgrounds.

Dame Ngaio Marsh's 1938 novel Death in a White Tie is set in a London season. When Detective Inspector Alleyn's mother informs him that she is going to bring out his niece, whose parents are in Suva, Alleyn replies: “Good Lord, mama…you must be demented. Do you know what this means?’”[8] In addition to the murder mystery, the reader is treated to an entertaining view of the effect that the Season has on a variety of characters.

In the 1933 film Our Betters, based on Somerset Maugham's 1917 play by the same name, an American heiress marries an English aristocrat for love. When she discovers on her wedding day that he married her for her money, she sets out to take revenge. Her defiant actions include wearing a daring black gown to her younger sister's presentation at court.

58th International Debutante Ball, 2012, New York City (Waldorf-Astoria Hotel)

The upper classes of the United States developed social traditions related to British practices. Today a cotillion or debutante ball in the United States is a formal presentation of young women, debutantes, to "polite society", typically hosted by a charity or society. Those introduced can vary from the ages of 16 to 18 (younger ages are more typical of Southern regions, while older are more commonplace in the North). In some areas, 15- and 16-year-olds are called "junior debutantes".

One of the most prestigious, most exclusive, and most expensive debutante balls in the world is the invitation-only International Debutante Ball held annually at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where girls from prominent world families are presented to high society. The International Debutante Ball has presented princesses, countesses, baronesses and many European royalty and aristocrats as debutantes to high society, including Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia, Vanessa von Bismarck (great-great-granddaughter of Otto von Bismarck), Princess Natalya Elisabeth Davidovna Obolensky (granddaughter of the Prince Ivan Obolensky, who was the Chairman of the International Debutante Ball and himself the grandson of John Jacob Astor IV – founder of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel), Princess Ines de Bourbon Parme, Countess Magdalena Habsburg-Lothringen (great-great-granddaughter of Empress Elisabeth "Sisi" of Austria) and Lady Henrietta Seymour (daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Somerset).[9]

Daughters and granddaughters of billionaire businessmen, high-ranking politicians, such as United States presidents, senators and congressmen, and ambassadors have also been presented at the International Debutante Ball; for example, Tricia Nixon, Julie Nixon, Jennie Eisenhower, Ashley Walker Bush (granddaughter of President George H. W. Bush and niece of President George W. Bush), Lucinda Robb (granddaughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson), Christine Colby (daughter of CIA director William Colby), Hollister Knowlton, Charlotte and Catherine Forbes (granddaughters of Malcolm Forbes), and Christina Huffington (daughter of Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post).[10][11][9] Ivanka Trump (daughter of Donald Trump) was invited but chose not to attend.[12]

To gain admission to a debutante ball, debutantes must usually be recommended by a distinguished committee or sponsored by an established member of élite society, typically their mothers or other female relatives. Wearing white gowns and satin or kid long gloves,[13] the debutantes stand in a receiving line, and are introduced individually to the audience. After the debutante is announced, she is walked around the stage, guided by her father who presents her. Her younger male escort joins her and escorts her to make way for the next. Each debutante brings at least one escort, sometimes two.

Many debutante balls select escorts and pair them with the debs to promote good social pairings. Cotillions may be elaborate formal affairs and involve not only "debs" but also junior debutantes, escorts and ushers, and flower girls and pages. Every debutante must perform a curtsy, also known as the St. James Bow or a full court bow to the attendees. The exception are Texas debutantes who are presented at the International Debutante Ball at New York City's Waldorf Astoria Hotel, who perform the "Texas Dip". This gesture is made as the young woman is formally presented. Débutante balls exist in nearly every major city in the United States. They occur more frequently and are larger affairs in the American South.

The Christmas Cotillion in Savannah, Georgia, first held in 1817, is the oldest debutante ball in the United States. Many cities such as Dallas and Atlanta have several balls in a season. Dallas, for example, has a ball sponsored by the traditional Idlewild organization. Some balls sponsored by modern organizations, such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Presentation Ball and La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas, raise money to benefit charities.

The National Cotillion and Thanksgiving Ball of Washington, DC., hosted by Mary-Stuart Montague Price, has met every November for over 60 years with proceeds going to Children's Hospital. Debutantes can formally participate in the ball for up to three years, wearing different colors each time to express their increasing sophistication: debutantes wear white, post-debutantes wear black, and the post-post debutantes wear red.[14]

Another "Old South" debutante ball is the St. Cecilia Society Ball held annually in Charleston, South Carolina. This ball is described in Alexandra Ripley's novel, Scarlett, the sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind. The Society was formed in 1766 as a private subscription concert organization. Over the next fifty-four years, its annual concert series formed the most sophisticated musical phenomenon in North America. Its musical patronage ended in 1820. Today the St. Cecilia Society flourishes is one of South Carolina's oldest and most exclusive social institutions.[15] Today the St. Cecilia Society hosts the annual debutante ball. The society admits only those men whose fathers or brothers are members. The women must be from these families. In New Orleans, Louisiana, a debutante is usually presented at a ball during the Carnival season. Other southern debutante balls include the North Carolina Debutante Ball in North Carolina and the Bal du Bois and Richmond German Christmas Dance in Virginia.

In New York City, there are still several deb balls, including the international one described above. Charity and social balls include the Infirmary (benefits the local hospital), the Society of Mayflower Descendants Ball, and the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York Ball (founded 1835). As an alternative to a ball, and more frequent in the North, a young woman's family might hold a "coming-out party" for her.[16]

Chicago's Palmer House hotel, traditional Ukrainian American debutante ball

Unlike the formal balls, which are held only at a traditional time of the year, the individual "coming-out party" may be held at any time of the year. Some are scheduled around such occasions as the debutante's birthday, or graduation from high school or university. In theory, the only women who could be invited would be those who had already made their débuts, thus affording a sort of rank-order to the debutante season. "Old-money" families often send their preteen sons and daughters to dancing classes, called cotillion, and etiquette lessons in preparation for these parties, which launch their children into society and act as major networking events. Even less grand debutante balls typically require debs to attend a few lessons in social dance, comportment, and in executing their curtsy.

Since the early 20th century, the African-American community organized its own tradition of social organizations, some of which sponsor similar charitable events and activities. They hold their own cotillions and debutante balls for their upper classes. Successful African Americans could meet and make connections with others of their status at such events, and make social, political and economic connections for the young women and men in their families. These formal cotillion and debutante balls still thrive as among the most traditional events of the African-American upper class.[17][18][19]

Various Ukrainian émigré organizations in the United States, such as the Ukrainian American Medical Association of North America, the Ukrainian Engineers' Society of America, Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, and the Ukrainian American Youth Association have hosted annual black-tie debutante balls since after the Second World War. They are used to raise funds for charities and to introduce young Ukrainian ladies between the ages of 16 and 18 to their local ethnic Ukrainian communities. Ukrainian American debutante balls take place in American cities with substantial populations of Ukrainians, such as Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Newark, and Washington D.C. Beside the traditional waltz of the debutantes, one of the highlights of these balls is the Kolomyjka, which usually takes place past midnight. Every guest may spontaneously demonstrate their skills in Ukrainian dances, such as the Hopak or Arkan. Kolomyjka dances tend to last upwards of a half-hour of nonstop folk dancing. Afterward traditional black-tie ball dances are revived.[20][21]

Author Ann Anderson suggests that the high school prom of public schools is the democratic version of the debutante ball. It requires no membership in the upper class nor family restrictions to girls or boys participation.[22]

Several television series focused on young people from wealthy families include episodes with debutante events. "The Debut," an episode of The O.C. (a drama about wealthy Californians), featured a representation of an American debutante ball. "Hi, Society," (season 1, episode 10), "They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?," (season 3, episode 9), "Riding in Town Cars with Boys (season 5, episode 10), and "Monstrous Ball" (season 6, episode 5) of Gossip Girl, also from The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz, features a debutante ball in New York City. "Presenting Lorelai Gilmore", an episode of Gilmore Girls shows Rory Gilmore as a debutante. She makes her debut at a Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) debutante ball that her grandmother helped put together. In The Critic, Jay Sherman's younger sister Margo is persuaded to attend her debutante ball. In BoJack Horseman, the titular character's mother, Beatrice, is shown attending her debutante ball as a young adult through flashbacks in the season 4 episode "Time's Arrow".

In the premiere of The City, Whitney Port's reality show, her co-worker Olivia Palermo describes her first pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes, which she wore to her "Deb" at the age of 18. The first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty (TV series) revolves around the town's annual debutante ball, a plot that was not present in the book series it was based on.

Crime dramas have investigated début-related crimes. "Zoo York," an episode of CSI: NY, featured the CSI team investigating the murder of a debutante. Medical examiner Evan Zao says that he had attended a debutante ball. "Debut", an episode of Cold Case, tells the story of a young girl who is murdered the night of her debutante ball. In an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, entitled "Streetwise", detectives investigated the rape and murder of a debutante.

Films with debutante themes include Metropolitan (1990), Whit Stillman's feature film, a comedy of manners set during the deb season in Manhattan, and What a Girl Wants (2003), in which Amanda Bynes plays an American teen whose estranged father is a British lord, and who is presented at a coming-out party. Bynes is also featured in She's The Man, in which the main character attends a debutantes preparation program and finally a ball. Something New, a romantic comedy, has a scene of upper-class African Americans at a cotillion on the West Coast. The Debut (2001), a film on contemporary Filipino-American life, explores a wide variety of cultural themes through an informal debutante event.

The 1991 film The Addams Family is centered on the reconciliation of Gomez and Fester Addams. They had a falling out as teenagers at a debutante ball. In the film Little Women (1994), a "coming-out" party is given. Aunt March talks to Marmee about when Meg will be introduced into society.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) includes a scene at a debutante ball at Johnston–Felton–Hay House in Macon, Georgia.[23]