A debutante (from the French word “debutante” for female beginner) is a young woman from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity and, as a new adult, comes out into society at a formal “debut.”
Originally, the term meant the young woman was now old enough to be married, and part of the purpose of her coming out was to introduce her to eligible bachelors and their families.
Debutante societies exist in nearly every major city in the United States, but they are more common in the South. One of the nation’s oldest, the St. Cecelia Society of Charleston, originally was formed in 1766 for musical concerts, initiating its dancing assemblies in 1820. Social historians, therefore, recognize the Christmas Cotillion of Savannah, Georgia, organized in 1817, as being the oldest debutante ball in the United States.
Since its founding in 1786, Columbians have found suitable occasions to introduce its young ladies to eligible suitors. At an especially distinguished event in 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette was honored with a ball at The State House, where prominent members of the capital’s leading families assembled with their eligible daughters and sons alike.
The Assembly of Columbia was formed in 1889, fashioned after The Assembly of Philadelphia where daughters were presented to suitable young men of their station. The Cotillion, the oldest gentlemen’s dance club in Columbia, began presenting debutantes in 1947. The Columbia Ball and the Camellia Ball are also debutante societies. Others include The Poinsettia Cotillion, the Delta Sigma Theta Columbia Chapter Cotillion, and the South Carolina Debutante Ball.
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