The debutante (from the French débuter, to begin) is a young woman, usually of age 17 or 18, who is formally introduced to affluent society at a ball or "coming out" party. The original purpose of the "debut" was to announce that young women of prominent social standing were available for courtship by eligible young men. This social ritual was necessitated by the traditional upper-class practice of sending girls away to boarding school where they were virtually hidden from view—prohibited from dating, attending parties of mixed company, or socializing with adults. A formal announcement thus introduced the debutante to her social peers and potential suitors. The custom had been long established among the aristocracy and the upper classes in England, where debutantes were, until the mid-twentieth century, presented at Court. In America, the debutante ball derived from the formal etiquette of the nineteenth century, but the...