Dictionary Definition
debutante n : a young woman making her debut into
society [syn: deb]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
Noun
- a young woman who makes her first formal appearance in society
Alternative spellings
Extensive Definition
A debutante (or deb) (from the French
débutante, "female beginner") is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class
family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is
introduced to society at a formal presentation known as her "debut"
or "coming out". Originally, it meant the young woman was eligible
for marriage, and part of the purpose was to display her to
eligible bachelors and their families with a view to marriage
within a select upper class
circle. This traditional event varies by region, but is typically
referred to as a debutante ball if it is for a group of debutantes.
A lone debutante might have her own "coming-out party", or she
might have a party with a sister or other close relative.
United Kingdom
In the United
Kingdom, until 1958 debutantes were presented at court
at the start of the social
season. Only ladies who had already been presented were
entitled to present another lady, which ensured the social
exclusivity of the privilege. Most women were presented by their
own mothers, but this would not be possible if their own mother had
not been presented, or was dead or absent from Court for any other
reason. Hence, it was possible to be presented, instead, by another
eligible woman, provided she personally knew and could vouch for
the lady being presented. As well as debutantes properly so called,
older women and married women who had not previously been presented
could be presented at Court. A mother-in-law might, for example,
present her new daughter-in-law.
The presentation, to the reigning monarch,
followed an elaborate ritual, and the debutante was required to
wear distinctive formal
court dress. In particular, they were required either to carry
feathers (usually in the form of an ostrich feather fan), or to wear
feathers as part of their headdress.http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archive/exhibits/1920s/pages/moreObjResult.asp?id=79383&tid=4
Queen
Elizabeth II abolished the ceremony of presentation at Court of
any woman, including debutantes, in 1958. Attempts were
made to keep the tradition going by organising a series of parties
for young girls who might otherwise have been presented at Court in
their first season (to which suitable young men were also invited).
However, the withdrawal of royal sanction made these occasions
increasingly insignificant, and scarcely distinguishable from any
other part of the social season.
However, the expression "debutante" or "deb" for
short continues to be used, especially in the press, to
refer to young girls 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.
Australia
In Australia, some
debutante balls (or colloquially "deb balls") are held in year 11
or 12 of the Australian government-funded school system through the
school, although some are held outside the school system by
organisations such as the local chapter of Lions Club.
Girls do not have to 'make their deb' and today many girls elect
not to or see deb balls as irrelevant. Equally, the ongoing
tradition indicates that the debutante ball as rite of passage is
alive and well in Australia.
It is customary for the female to ask a male to
the debutante ball, with males not being able to "do the deb"
unless they are asked. Debutante ball students who are partaking in
the official proceedings must learn how to ballroom
dance. Debutante balls are almost always held in a reception
centre or ballroom.
Usually they are held late in the year and consist of dinner,
dancing and speeches by the school captains. Schools often restrict
invitations to the debutante ball to students within the grade
level at one school, but single-sex schools tend to allow a partner
with no association to the school to attend. The debutante ball
traditionally is a rite of passage for some Australian school
students, both male and female, and represents their coming of age.
They are often, but not always, similar to American proms. http://www.dsansw.org.au/events/DebutanteBall2000.html.
The girl wears a white wedding dress-like ball
gown, called a Debutante
Dress, while the boy wears a tuxedo.
When a girl attends a non-Government school, the
girl is invited to take part and her family pay for the ball. They
are presented to the Governor of the State or other dignitaries
such as parish priests or local Councillors.
Republic of Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland, Debutante balls have most in common with the high school prom of the United States. This type of ball is referred to as a "debs" or a "debs ball", or occasionally as a "formal", the word relating possibly to the attire worn, or to the type of function. Each secondary school will host their own ball; usually in September/October. Most schools have the debs in the autumn after the final year, but some chose to begin the final year with the debs. In some schools, before the debs, a smaller ball, known as a pre-debs, mini-debs or grads is held; usually January/February but sometimes as late as May. Often a Debs committee is established to organise a Debs. These are usually organised by someone other than the school itself. Debs balls occur at the end of the final year of second-level students, but there are many variations on when this can occur, some are as early as mid July, whilst others can be as late as Christmas. Traditionally a committee is created in the school to organise the event. Normally, the person asking someone else to the debs will pay for both tickets.Many students worry about being invited or
finding a date, though it is rare for students not to attend for
this reason. Often, students try to find a date they have
affections for. This is not always the case, and many attend with
friends or in a group, not worrying about the dating aspect. Occasionally,
depending on the school, students from the year below that studied
the optional transition
year, and so are a year behind, are entitled to go. Whether the
female asks the male, or vice versa, is irrelevant. Boys are
usually attired in dinner jackets
with bow ties, occasionally with brightly colored cummerbunds or waistcoats. Girls usually wear
formal gowns or dresses adorned with
a corsage
given to them by their date. It is customary for boys to purchase
an orchid or bouquet of
flowers and/or a box of chocolates to give to their date's mother.
Where the ball is held at a venue outside the locality, couples
will sometimes travel to the venue by limousine, a tradition which
has become more widespread as prosperity has increased. The Ball
usually, though not always, is a formal Dinner, follwed by music
and dancing. It is also common for debutante balls to be follwed by
an "after-party" where another venue is booked for a less formal,
more "Party" type experience. N.B. The formal attire is seldom
changed between venues, most choosing to remain sartorially elegant.
Social class
has no effect on the debs, each school has a debs, regardless of
social status, although where those of social standing do debut,
tends to be more up market and elite than those of regular Debs.
People in informal dress can still be present, though this is a
rare occurrence and discouraged. Dancing is optional and never as
formal as ballroom
style, though it is polite for the male to ask his date to
dance at least once, and to buy her drinks throughout the night.
Photographs from the event are often featured in local newspapers. Traditionally
there is a photographer present, who will take individual shots of
each couple, and several through out the night, of the dancing
etc.. It is common for the event to last all night, hence attendees
do not to return home until the following morning, often going for
breakfast together.
United States
A cotillion or debutante ball in the United States is a formal presentation of young ladies, debutantes, to polite society. Debutantes are usually recommended by a distinguished committee or sponsored by an established member of elite society.Wearing white gowns and satin or kid gloves, the
debutantes stand in a receiving line, and then are introduced
individually to the audience. The debutante is announced and then
is walked around the stage, guided by her father who then presents
her. Her younger male escort then joins her and escorts her away.
Each debutante brings at least one escort, sometimes two. Many
debutante balls select escorts and then pair them with the debs to
promote good social pairings. Cotillions may be elaborate formal
affairs and involve not only "debs" but junior debutantes, escorts
and ushers, flower girls and pages as well. Every debutante must
perform a curtsy also known
as the Saint Johns Bow or a full court bow. This gesture is made as
the young woman is formally presented.
Debutante balls exist in nearly every major city
in the United States but are more common and a larger affair in the
South. Many cities such as Dallas and Atlanta have multiple balls
in a season. Dallas, for example, is home of the ultra-prestigious
Idlewild debutante season. It also has less-prestigious debutante
seasons such as The Dallas Symphony Orchestra Presentation Ball and
La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas. They are often charity occasions,
in which the parents of the young ladies, as well as all attending,
must contribute a certain sum of money to the cause at hand. In
New
Orleans, Louisiana, a debutante is usually presented during the
Carnival season.
As an alternative to a ball, and more commonly in
the North, a young woman might have her own "coming-out party",
given by her parents. Unlike a collective ball, which would be only
held at a certain time of the year, such a party could be at any
time of the year, but might well be scheduled around the
debutante's birthday. In theory, the only women who could be
invited would be those who had already made their debuts, thus
affording a sort of rank-order to the debutante season.
Debutante Balls on US Television
Metropolitan, Whit Stillman's debut feature film, is a comedy of manners, set during the deb season in Manhattan.In She's the
Man, a 2006 film, Amanda Bynes
plays a tom
boy soccer-loving girl, who initially dismisses the idea of
being a debutante as "totally archaic", but in the end succumbs to
it.
"The
Debut", an episode of the The O.C. (a
drama about upper class Californians), featured a representation of
an American debutante ball.
"Presenting
Lorelai Gilmore", an episode of Gilmore
Girls shows Rory Gilmore
as a debutante. She makes her debut at a DAR debutante ball that
her grandmother helped put together.
"Waiting
Tables", an episode of CSI: NY, featured
the CSI team investigating the murder of a debutante. Medical
examiner Evan Zao comments that he 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.
Something
New, a romantic comedy has a cottilion scene of upper class
African Americans on the west coast.
The Debut, a
film considered to be an accurate snapshot of contemporary Filipino
American life, touches upon a wide variety of cultural themes
within the plot of a debutante event.
"Hi, Society", episode 10 of the first season of
Gossip
Girl, features around the drama during a debutante ball in New
York City.
In an episode of Law
and Order: SVU, entitled Streetwise, detectives investigated
the "rape" and murder of a debutante.
Latin America
In some Hispanic
communities along the U.S. and Latin
America, a similar event occurs on a girl's fifteenth birthday.
It is called a Quinceañera
ceremony.
In Brazil, such events
are called Baile de Debutante (debutante ball) or Festa de 15 anos
(15 year party).
In Argentina,
Perú,
Uruguay and
other Latin American countries, unless an activity is specified,
the word "debutar" refers by common usage to having sex for the
first time. Therefore, it is not advisable to ask a woman if she
had already made her debut, because it would be understood as a
sexual and not a social introduction. The introduction party itself
usually happens at the 15th birthday and it is called "Fiesta de
quince" or "Cumpleaños de quince" (fifteenth party or fifteenth
birthday).
See also
External links
debutante in German: Debütantin
debutante in Portuguese: Debutante
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Beau Brummel, arbiter of fashion, clotheshorse, clubman, clubwoman, dandy, deb, fashion plate, fashionable, fop, man-about-town, mondain, mondaine, socialite, subdeb, subdebutante, swinger, taste-maker,
tone-setter, trend-setter