Bronwyn Vance ’24 and Ruby Kemper ’24 were presented to society at Le Bal des débutantes in Paris on Nov. 29. Vance’s dress was made by Stéphane Rolland, a French fashion designer. Kemper’s dress was made by Chrome Hearts. Vance and Kemper were among 20 girls invited by Le Bal to be a part of this event.
Kemper said she dreamed of going to Le Bal for years and was thrilled to be able to go.
“The first time I went to the ball, I was ten years old,” Kemper said. “ Every year, I would see the ball and the girls who would do it in their beautiful gowns. I would just think to myself, I can’t wait to do this. I would always dream of what my night would look like. They invited me at the beginning of the year and I was so excited.”
Vance said her mom and the founder of Le Bal helped pick her designer, but she helped him design the dress.
“First, we had to choose the designer, which was mainly my mom’s choice and the woman who started Le Bal’s choice,” Vance said. “We picked Stéphane Rolland. Then, I went to Paris and met with the designer who was going to make my dress. I asked him for a flowy dress, and he said it had to be big. He started drawing a dress right in front of me. He took maybe five minutes to draw. Then he came back and I saw the dress and I said, ‘This looks perfect.’ It was a white, fluffy dress with gold flowers on it.”
Kemper said she chose to wear Chrome Hearts because of a personal tie to the owners.
“I grew up wearing Chrome Hearts, my family and I have been close with the owners forever,” Kemper said. “Even though this was an edgier approach, I never hesitated in choosing Chrome Hearts. When I decided to wear Chrome Hearts, [the designers] were so excited. Not only was it an honor for me, but they were so excited to do it because no one had ever done it before.”
Vance said she got ready with the other debutantes for press day.
“We were in the Shangri-La Paris Hotel, which is right near the Eiffel Tower,” Vance said. “We had to be there by Friday because it was our press day. We just needed to get dressed and get our makeup and hair done for press and pictures. We went to a dressing room where they had robes with our names written on them. We got all of our hair and makeup done together. Then we got to get our jewelry, which was provided by the V Muse. They collect jewelry from a very long time ago, so it requires security. We had to go into the room one by one and get our jewelry put on us and they had security guards to make sure nobody’s pulling an Ocean’s 11 heist.”
Vance said she was most nervous about being introduced to the other girls.
“I was a little scared to go because I was scared to meet 19 new girls and a bunch of cavaliers,” Vance said. “Honestly, all the girls were so kind and so amazing to be around. I’ve never met so many princesses in my life, so it was very cool to be around literal royalty.”
Vance said she loved how Le Bal allowed her to expand who she was friends with for a good cause.
“This was a good chance to meet people and become friends with people that you normally would not become friends with,” Vance said. “It’s a way for people to hold onto traditions, not in the sense of girls coming out into society, but a way girls feel special and princess-like for a night. This ball was to raise money for charities so it’s not really like coming out into society but it’s giving back to a good cause as well as meeting very successful girls who will probably be very successful in their lives.”
Vance said she chose her twin brother Slatter Vance ’24 as her cavalier.
“For my cavalier, I chose my brother,” Vance said. “I had a say of who I wanted my cavalier to be, but they recommended I bring my brother because they said it would be very fun if you are with somebody that you are great friends with and that you trust and love.”
Kemper said her favorite moment of the event was dancing with the other debutantes.
“Dancing around and enjoying the night with my family was so special,” Kemper said. “We took so many pictures and I was so happy dancing with the girls after we did the waltz. It was the end of the night when we took off our shoes, jumped around and had the best time.”
Vance said her favorite moments were with her dad and brother.
“When my brother and I walked out, we had to go between tables and just present ourselves to everybody who came to the ball,” Vance said. “When we were doing that, we were supposed to hit a pose and we did a Stanky Legg and then we did a handshake. I feel like the parents didn’t really get that, but we got it and that was all that mattered. Then I also danced with my dad. I got to Waltz with my dad, which was very special because it was just him and me on the dance floor and we were laughing and giggling, which was so fun.”
Kemper said she found solace in Vance also being at Le Bal.
“Bronwyn was there which was so amazing,” Kemper said. “I had a familiar face and when we found out we were doing it together, we got so excited and it was fun to dance around and spend part of my experience with her. It’s so comforting to have known someone for so long and that they went to your high school there.”
