Texas Dip (food dip and debutante bow)
Bapopik at AOL.COM
Bapopik at AOL.COM
Tue Nov 21 20:07:35 UTC 2006
Does DARE or OED have anything for "Texas Dip"? I'm interested in anything,
such as the food item (like "California Dip").
...
The debutante "Texas Dip" is especially interesting, but the earliest date I
have is 1991. DARE?...I don't feel like driving 20 miles again today to
check the Dallas Morning News database.
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...
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_1991»_
(http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q="texas+dip"+and+debutante&scoring=t&sa=N&sugg=d&as_ldate=1991&as_hdate=1991&lnav=dt) _Debs'
distinction rises with dip_
(http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/ST/lib00155,0EAF8DD4320038F2.html)
$2.95 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram - NewsBank - Jan 10, 1991 They were the
center of much discussion, due primarily to the distinctive "Texas dip" - the
floor-scraping bow that sets Lone Star debutantes apart from ...
(GOOGLE NEWS
...
...
_http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/texas_dip_debutante_curtsy/_
(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/texas_dip_debutante_curtsy/)
...
Texas Dip (debutante curtsy)
The “Texas dip” is a bow or curtsy that Texas debutantes perform, usually to
great dramatic effect. It’s a difficult meaneuver that requires descending
to the floor in style.
_Answers.com_ (http://www.answers.com/topic/debutante)
Every debutante must perform a curtsy. This gesture is made as the young
woman is formally presented. But debutantes from Texas perform the curtsy in a
more dramatic fashion. By tradition, they do not merely bend the knees and bow
the head but perform an extravagant maneuver known as the Texas Dip. Her
arms are held out at her sides, she descends slowly into her curtsy, then leans
forward over her extended leg, and lowers her head until her brow is close to
the floor.
_New York City Noticed_ (http://members.aol.com/nonstopny/nynotice.htm)
But debutantes from Texas have the most to worry about: By tradition they do
not merely bend the knees and bow the
head but perform an extravagant Swan Lake maneuver known as the Texas Dip.
_Texas Presents: Presentation Gowns_
(http://utopia.utexas.edu/video/features/dresses_story.html)
And walking isn’t the sole challenge they face-the debutantes are expected
to do a Texas Dip, which is a low-court bow where their head goes all the way
to the floor. The girls practice the move for months with weights on their
backs to simulate the weight of their train.
_Houston Chronicle_
(http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ultimate/people04/2770581.html)
Sept. 7, 2004, 5:39PM
The New York society scene may brag about the Chantal sisters, but Houston
has the Cohn siblings. Morton and Bobby Sue Cohn’s daughters - Kirby McKool,
Lindsay Holstead and Courtney Hopson - have been at the center of Houston’s
society scene for much of their lives. As debutantes in 1990, they mastered the
Texas dip, a curtsy that is unique to Lone Star society debs. Five years
later, they chaired the ultra-successful Museum of Fine Arts Grand Gala Ball
with their mother. They continue to be fixtures on the social circuit, drawing
money and attention to their favorite causes.
_Google Books_
(http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0312263287&id=uh49F-VUSJQC&pg=RA1-PA61&lpg=RA1-PA61&ots=AQO2344JyE&dq="texas+dip"&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=-
BzsQ6OrH90w9PgsIq0dBEpU6Ag#PRA1-PA61,M1)
Girls on the Verge:
Debutante Dips, Drive-bys, and Other Invitations
by Vendela Vida
New York: St. Martin’s Press
1999
Pg. 61:
No one know the exact origins of the Texas dip, bit it’s most likely a
regionalized version of the St. James Bow—the bow debutantes did in England when
they were presented to the Queen at the St. James’ Court. As its name implies,
in America, the Texas dip is unique to Texas debutantes. More than anything
else, tradition and a propensity for doing things in a grand manner probably
inspire Texans to continue the custom while debs in the rest of the country
do a simple curtsey. A Texas dip is quite literally a to-the-floor curtsey in
which the debutante gets so far down on her high heels that her dress flares
out around her like a marshmallow. As the coup de grace, she lays her left
ear on her lap for a moment. The reason she turns her head is to prevent
getting a lipstick mark on her virginal white dress.
3 January 1993, New York Times, “High Dudgeon In a Hampton,” pg. V8:
Texans Dip to Conquer
The Texas Dip is an over-the-top, forehead-to-the-floor bow perfected by
debutantes from the Lone Star State. An amusing tonic for people suffering from
debutantitis, it could be seen last Tuesday, for one night only, at the 39th
annual International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria. While other
debutantes merely curtsied and received applause when formally introduced, all
eight Texas debutantes elicited whoops and cheers with those dips.
You don’t need to be a debutante to do the Texas Dip. You do, however, need
a white ball gown or a floor-length bathrobe to create the illusion of
sinking into yourself on your way down. You also need a bouquet (any flowers will
do), which you should hold with both hands below the waist.
Now, find the inner serenity that elicits your most confident smile, take a
breath and raise the bouquet with both hands. When it’s at should level, let
go of it with your left hand and slowly, as if you’re blossoming, open your
arms.
Then you begin the descent. Cross your ankles without looking at them.
Fluidly, effortlessly, bend the knees and sink down. (Think, “I’m melting” from “
The Wizard of Oz.")
Now comes the hard part.
While holding onto your escort’s gloved hand (you can practice with a desk
or table edge), collapse onto your behind while smiling. Then, keeping your
bouquet extended while looking forward, lean down with utter humility, bringing
your face all the way into the skirt of your gown. Close your eyes as you go
(think “dying swan"), and tuck in your lips so you don’t get any lipstick
on your dress while you’re down there.
As you arise with the help of your escort, lift your head out of your dress,
opening your eyes as if awakening after a hundred years. (Think “Sleeping
Beauty.")
Then, fluidly and effortlessly unseat yourself and unbend your knees, taking
care not to move too quickly or too slowly. If you do, you’re likely to fall
down.
7 January 1996, New York Times, “Where Texans Go For a Dip” by Bob Morris,
pg. 33:
BECAUSE of the Texas Dip—a flamboyant nose-to-the-floor curtsy—the Lone
Star State’s contingent at the International Debutante Ball always makes a big
impression.
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