Trading Places
Estival elegance rose forth with the curtsying cotillion when Le Début des Jeunes Filles de la Nouvelle Orléans presented 17 young women as the “opening act” of the debutante season. Other formal presentations will occur during the next months before the season’s conclusion on the evening of Mardi Gras.
A new format and location, The New Orleans Board of Trade on Magazine Street, set Le Debut’s stage for 2026. The building was founded in 1880 and recently enjoyed an impressive renovation. Among the features are the grand ballroom and its 35-foot ceilings, as well as two courtyards: the serene inner one and the larger outer one with a lovely fountain.
Adding the human embellishment was the debuting assembly. The first presentee, Miss Rebecca Claire Baxter, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Patrick Baxter, appeared at 8:30 pm. Prior to that, guests milled about, some sitting at family tables while others occupied the arranged chairs or stood. The music, which began with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was by the Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra, led by Robert Maxwell, and Mark Romig was the master of ceremonies.
Four young men, Messrs. David Cartan Loker Gibbons III, Clayton Spencer Murphy, John Blackmore Schwing Jr. and St. Denis Julien Villere IV, strode forward to open the programming. Called Jeunes Messieurs, they are the respective sons of Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons Jr., Mr. and Mrs. William Spencer Murphy, Mr. and Mrs. Schwing, and Mr. and Mrs. Villere III. Right after each father-escorted deb turned to curtsy to the audience — and there were some lovely, graceful curtsies! — a Jeune Monsieur stepped forward to replace the father and lead the debutante to her spot on the stage. The beaming Miss Baxter processed to “She’s a Rainbow.”
“Tennessee Waltz,” “Edelweiss” and “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” was played for the subsequent threesome of Misses Jane Adele Boughton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Sherman Boughton Jr.; Isabella Marie Zavatkay Dennis, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Patrick Michael Dennis; and Leila Whitney Gamard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Thomas Gamard III. As these debs, and the others, processed, they stopped to pay homage to their mothers, who had reserved seating on the ballroom floor. As a lot, and divided in half, the mothers flanked the central aisle used for the presentation. Later, as the debutantes stepped forward with their fathers, they effected a demi-curtsy in front of their mothers as a loving tribute.
Misses Theodosia Caroline Grant, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Gordon Grant III; Charlotte Hamberlin Head, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Thomas Head; Katherine Phelps Hooper, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Christian Biggs Hooper; and Adelaide Louise Jackson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jason Konrad Jackson, chose, as their tunes, “Sweet Caroline,” “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes),” “ Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and “Brown Eyed Girl.”
Then came Miss Susan Caffery McCay, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Penn McCay, whose song applied to the entire cotillion lot. It was “Isn’t She Lovely.”
White summer formal gowns were de rigueur for the debutantes, who wore short gloves and closed-toe shoes, both white. Their bouquets were composed of white roses.
“Here Comes the Sun” introduced Miss Colleen Colton McCloud, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Evans Martin McLeod. A threesome, whose last names start with a “P” followed. Smiling were Misses Katherine Donelson Ellis Patin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Clifton Patin III, to “Dancing Queen”; Elizabeth Jansen Payne, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John William Randolph Payne, to “My Girl”; and Dorothy Frances Phillips, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Pope Phillips III, to “Moondance.” That song’s lyric, “With the stars up above in your eyes” worked for both Dottie’s entrance and the sidereal play outside in the larger courtyard.
Miss Elizabeth Brooks Russell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William McGehee Russell, chose “Best of My Love.” The final trio, Misses Elizabeth Baldwin Talbot, Lucy Leeds Vaicius and Katherine Farrell Williams, daughters, in turn, of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Douglas Talbot, Mr. and Mrs. Christian Anthony Vaicius, and Dr. and Mrs. Claude Somers Williams IV, swanned to “Viva la Vida,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Vienna.”
Last year, the 21 Le Debut luminaries were Misses Cameron Sinclair Andrews, Patricia Randle Aucoin, Emma Rose Baumer, Kate Faulkner Bensel, Ashley Conner Ellis, Eliza Brandon Favrot, Kelsey Grace French, Sarah Crusel Henry, Caroline LeBon Henry, Lillian Lair Hooper, Caroline Grace LeBourgeois, Catherine Carlisle Martin, Lucile McGlinchey Monsted, Lucy Claire Perschall, Caroline Staples Picou, Brooke Coleman Reiss, Elizabeth Kathleen Robert, Elizabeth McLundie Bolton Schmidt, Helen Claire Thompson, Charlotte Sydney Wirth, and Lucie Ellann Williamson. Well over half of them wore Carnival crowns during the 2025-2026 debutante season, including that of Rex and Comus.
When all current Le Début honorees were assembled on the stage, emcee Mark Romig announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, les Jeunes Filles!” Earlier, he had asked for no individual applause, but with the 17 all in position, applause was called for as they curtsied collectively. Then, they left the stage to pair with their fathers for the Maxwell Orchestra’s “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.” Shortly afterward, the debutantes and their parents received rather informally at their reserved tables. Fewer guests were noticed this year because of the smaller, more intimate venue. In the past, the presentations have been in downtown hotels. Then, and now, cell cameras and personal cameras were not permitted: No photos at all.
Along with the white-gowned coterie, summertime decorations caught the collective eye. Designed by Paul Lacour, there was lush greenery as the black-covered stage backdrop, a series of black pots with ferns and lilies, and white pedestals on which same-color urns were placed. They contained a mixture of white flowers, while the table centerpieces added pink posies to the white ones that sat atop crisscrossed green ribbons. Concerning the culinary pleasures, Asian selections (such as sushi), sliders, and breakfast filled the bill.
Dancing awaited!
As the evening moved along, so did the musical momentum within the three-generational gathering. The always-popular “September” broke the ice and a pack of young guests, Le Début presentees, and parents gloried in the bounty of the beloved beat.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
