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Debutantes step out in NY society
A bevy of debutantes wearing elegant gowns and brilliant gems held sway at the International Debutante Ball this week, continuing a 50 year tradition under the chandeliers of a posh hotel.
A bevy of debutantes wearing elegant gowns and brilliant gems held sway at the International Debutante Ball this week, continuing a 50 year tradition under the chandeliers of the posh Waldorf Astoria hotel.
Fifty young "debs" stepped out into Manhattan society late on Wednesday amid 700 guests invited to the well-bred event. They were following in the steps of a tradition initially conceived as a grand charitable occasion by a former dame of New York society, Beatrice Joyce.
The debutantes, mostly from the United States but including some from Europe and Asia, formed an elegant line attended to by ladies in waiting or by well-groomed young beaus in tails.
Some of the young ladies' pursuits however might have raised Joyce's eyebrows if she had been present at the event.
Jennifer Telling, 18, loves rollerblading, is passionate about helicopters and is an aspiring astronaut.
"I like the idea of tradition. It's also the idea that you enter the society and act as an adult, like a passage," Telling said.
"My friends who are used to seeing me wearing jeans were more than a little curious about it. It's a chance to get dressed up, you also meet new friends and have great memories," she remarked.
Telling's mother, Barbara, an environmental engineer, rolled her eyes proudly nearby.
"It's unbelievable to see her so grown up, so beautiful and so elegant," Barbara Telling said.
"Normally I see her in jeans ... and she's gained so much in self-assuredness."
It's not easy to gain an entree to the annual ball: aspiring "debs" spend thousands of dollars preparing for the night, partly on shopping trips and fine gems as well as appearing before a selection committee which judges their pedigrees.
