There are many events like le Bal held in many places around the world . These events are all aimed at allowing young wealthy girls of childbearing age to officially make their debut into high society. Among all the coming-of-age balls, le Bal is still considered the most prestigious event. This event has been held since 1958.
"Le Bal des Débutantes" or often simply called "le Bal" is an annual gala event held in November in Paris (France) (Photo: BI).
Le Bal brings together 20 to 25 girls aged 16 to 22, coming from many countries. Also appearing at the event will be the girls' parents. In addition, there will be handsome young men attending the event to accompany and escort the girls.
This is a typical event in the upper class life of Western society. However, over time, this event has changed in nature and meaning. What makes the coming-of-age party, which has existed for hundreds of years in the upper class life of Western society, continue to be maintained until today and attract the modern rich?
Who attends the coming of age prom?
Each coming-of-age ball has its own unique style and guest list, but generally, these events favor ladies from wealthy and prominent families. Nowadays, these events often welcome young ladies from Asia.
British girl Teale Burrell participated in the le Bal event in 2022 (Photo: BI).
At the event, the girls all have their own team to help with makeup, hair, dresses, jewelry, etc. The girls appearing at le Bal gala generally have impressive backgrounds. They may come from families with long-standing aristocratic lineages, some are the children of wealthy businessmen, or their parents are famous figures.
British girl Teale Burrell attended the le Bal event in 2022, when Teale was 17 years old. Teale is the granddaughter of the 12th Duke of Argyll (UK) - Mr. Ian Campbell (1937-2001) - who was known as a leading wealthy businessman in England in the 1970s.
Girls like Teale are carefully prepared by their families for the event. They order custom-made dresses. Teale’s dress was made by a famous fashion house in nearly 100 hours and cost $26,500.
In the past, the coming-of-age ball was a place for young ladies who had reached adulthood to be introduced to other upper-class families. Back then, the coming-of-age ball had only one purpose: to create an opportunity for young ladies to quickly find a suitable "match" for themselves when they had just reached marriageable age.
Girls like Teale are carefully prepared by their families to attend the event (Photo: BI).
Nowadays, the nature of adult parties has changed a lot. In recent years, events like le Bal often incorporate charity activities to increase the good meaning of the event.
In addition, the girls who attend the coming of age ball today do not have the purpose of... finding a husband. Now, this is truly an event that marks the girl's maturity.
What does it take to attend the elite coming-of-age party?
Each adult gala event has a different way of organizing and selecting guests. The criteria and conditions for becoming a guest at the event are also different. For the le Bal event held in Paris, the organizers said the list of girls invited to participate is completely unrelated to the level of "willingness to spend" of their parents.
The event organizers said they had been contacted by many wealthy families from all over the world. The families wanted their daughters to attend this prestigious coming of age event, many families thought the event was selling tickets so they contacted them to buy tickets for their daughters.
Teale is the grandson of the 12th Duke of Argyll (UK) - Mr. Ian Campbell (1937-2001) - who was known as a leading wealthy businessman in England in the 1970s (Photo: BI).
Teale has the usual hobbies of the upper class in England, which are horse riding and hunting (Photo: BI).
In fact, this event does not sell tickets. Invitations are proactively issued by the organizers themselves, who proactively select and send invitations to girls who possess the criteria that the organizers consider interesting.
However, the news outlet Business Insider commented that the common point among all the girls invited to the le Bal adult ball is that they all come from rich, famous families, or have noble lineage.
Inside the coming of age party of rich young ladies
At the coming of age party, everyone will be dressed in evening gowns, women in floor-length dresses, men in suits or tuxedos. The space is decorated brilliantly, with live music. At first, guests will drink wine and chat to get acquainted.
At around 10pm, the bell rang to signal the start of the evening party. After the party, the important moment began, everyone focused their attention on the appearance of the young ladies - the main characters of the event.
Teale's dress was made by a famous fashion house in nearly 100 hours, this design costs 26,500 USD (equivalent to nearly 645 million VND) (Photo: BI).
Each young lady's name was called one by one, they entered the room to be introduced to everyone, there would be a gentleman who would act as a companion, escorting the girl into the banquet room to be introduced to all the guests.
This is considered the official "debut" moment of a young lady, marking an important turning point, that from now on the girl has grown up and will have her own steps under everyone's observation.
Every time a young lady appeared, there would be a round of applause. Basic information about the young lady's personal achievements, as well as a brief background of her family, would be introduced to the guests.
As the clock strikes midnight, guests begin to move from the banquet hall to the ballroom. A father-daughter dance opens the event. The girls then dance with the men present.
The father-daughter dance will kick off the dance party (Photo: BI).
In general, the organization style of adult proms is still quite traditional. The prom event ends at dawn the next day.
For the le Bal gala Teale attended in 2022, after the main event ended, the girls and guests moved on to party at bars and nightclubs.
Why do the rich still like adult parties?
In fact, adult events like this still receive a lot of attention and support from wealthy families in many countries around the world. The proof is that events like le Bal are being held more and more and there are always many families willing to invest so that their daughters can participate.
The families who attend aim to give their daughters a unique experience that marks a milestone in their lives. Teale asserts that girls who attend proms are only interested in the unique, fun experience the event provides.
With her own experience, Teale found the event to be really interesting and meaningful for her and her family (Photo: BI).
In response to some public opinion that these types of events have become too outdated, cheesy, and ridiculous, Teale affirmed that if she had the choice again, she would still attend the event. As someone who has attended a grown-up prom, Teale said that she and the other girls really enjoyed it, they enjoyed an interesting, unique, and memorable experience.
Teale is currently attending college in Switzerland, majoring in hotel management. Teale says that if she had never attended a coming-of-age event, she would have easily imagined it, like many others, as a kind of old-fashioned, cheesy, silly event.
But with her own experience, Teale found the event to be truly interesting and meaningful to her and her loved ones. "There are things that only after experiencing them do you know why they are meaningful and worthwhile," Teale commented.
However, the "price" to have the same experience as Teale is not something everyone can "pay". Therefore, the adult evening events of the upper class are generally quite strange and arouse curiosity for the general public.
Inside the coming-of-age ball le Bal of the rich young ladies ( Video : Condé Nast Traveler).
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