This book demonstrates how a material culture analysis of the coronation costumes worn by the Euro-American debutantes provides a significant contribution to the study of social elites in Western society. Set against the backdrop of a city undergoing many demographic, socioeconomic, and political changes, the pageant represents a mythologized ethnic and class history which reinforces the hierarchical positioning of its participants. "Royal robes" worn by the queen and her court serve as the canvas upon which this theme is carried out. The coronation, held in a city with a Hispanic majority, has come under attack for its elitism, but participation in it is still important for the old Euro-American aristocracy and for a very few extremely wealthy Hispanic families. Integral to the continuation of this increasingly contested tradition is the appeal that wearing these intricately embellished gowns holds for participants.