Debutante balls hark back to a British tradition, in which families of considerable means formally presented their marriage-age daughters to high society in the hope of introducing them to young men of similar social standing. To that, modern debs say “LOL” and “OMG.” These debs, among the 29 from the Newport chapter of National Charity League honored at the 56th debutante ball at Hotel Irvine, are too busy changing the world to worry about convention, having collectively volunteered more than 10,000 hours to various nonprofits. Now it’s on to universities such as Stanford, Harvard, Notre Dame and USC for most – that is, right after they commemorate the moment of sisterhood with a selfie and a Snapchat update.
It’s tradition, after all.
