I agree with juniorgrrl and justamom have said. I made my debut with an old exclusive Krewe. The group had a membership cap of 150 and most of the members were pretty up there in age. The only way that a new person could join was if a member died or resigned. While it may sound intriguing and glamorous, which it is, Krewes like this have to be careful because they could exclude themselves right out of existence. That season ran us about $8,000-10,000 and that was 18 years ago. This Krewe highly encouraged each deb to host a party to get to know each other but it wasn't necessary. The parents were all too happy to host a party and darn the expense. Just with this organization, I had to attend 12 deb parties (including my own), the King, Queen and President each had a party, plus the announcement party and the ball itself. Sometimes an aunt or grandmother would host a luncheon as well. My friends were also making their debuts at the same time so of course I had to go their parties too.
The biggest expenses were the party gowns. You couldn't wear the same dress twice because you never knew if your picture was going to be in the paper. It is a big deal to have the society columnist come to your party and write an article. Many of the girls swapped dresses. This helped with expenses but I wasn't as lucky. At a size 1, yes they make clothes that small but the selection is limited, I was the tiniest and my clothes were either made or special ordered.
As far as the Krewe costumes go, it really depends on the Krewe. None of the organizations that I belong to reuses its costumes. The cost of new ones is covered in our dues. Krewe Costume - Krewe of Orpheus
www.kreweoforpheus.net
The court costumes are a different matter. Some Krewes have a traditional crown & scepter, collar and mantle/cape that are used every year and belong to the Krewe. The king and queen may get smaller crowns and scepters as keepsakes. This is the approach that Rex uses.
www.rexorganization.com
Other Krewes have their king and queen in a new ensemble every year and the royalty gets to keep it. These can really get up there and $20,000 for a costume is not unheard of. These are from the Krewe of Aquila (
www.welcome.to/kreweofaquila) - King, Queen, Pages and Maid & Duke.
King & Queen - For some reason, this image won't show up here.
Pages
Maid & Duke
Officers may also have distinctive costumes. Corps de Napoleon -
www.napoleonparade.com/aboutofficers.htm
