Debutante Dress Etiquette
The debutante dress is a formal gown, white in color suited to wear in a formal evening setting. . They are as formal as the Debutante will ever dress except for her wedding dress. In their Debutante dresses, these select young women display their grace, charm and physical beauty to their society families.
My debutante dress was made of light weight taffeta. As one can see from the front of the book, it had a ruffled off the shoulder neckline. That same treatment of tiny ruffles was repeated around the dress about six inches below my waist and held the flounces of the lower part of the dress which swirled when I moved. There was a small bow at the front of the dress at my waist which emphasized my then quite tiny waist…20 inches. After the Holly Ball was over, I never wore the dress again but it continued to have a life. The granddaughter of our gardener was presented at a ball of her peers and she wore my debutante dress although some accommodation had to be made for the tiny waistline but the alterations were made with no one knowing the difference. Debutante dresses are also worn when being presented to royalty I was relieved that I did not have to execute a deep bow to anyone where my head basically touched the hem of my dress as is required in England. All I had to do was to march the length of the hall, alone, after my name was called. You can see a picture of that in the Photo Gallery on my website.
Debutante dresses are the height of formal wear and carry very special memories for those who wear them.
Interested in learning more about the Debutante dresses and the significance of a Debutante dress? Get your copy of Surviving High Society today!