(Photo by A.J. Cabrera)
Dîner en Blanc is back. The oh-so-self-indulgent flashmob outdoor dinner party for 3,500 is coming to D.C. again on August 27th, complete with all-white decor and clothing, plenty of crisp bubbly sponsored by Lanson Champagne, and an after-party complete with sparklers and pulsating dance music.
Thankfully, you’ve got several weeks to prepare for Le Grand Jour — if you’re lucky enough to get an invitation to the exclusive event, which can only come from someone who has attended a previous dîner. While you work on securing your spot (tickets are $37, plus an $8 membership fee), here are a few tips to help you get your blanc on:
• Stock up on white furniture and/or bleach and white spray paint. DEB participants are expected to dress entirely in white clothing and also bring a white folding table and chairs (a white tablecloth is acceptable for the table as well). Start checking out local yard sales now before the rush.
• Choose your gender. No, really. We may think that we are an increasingly nonconformist society, but DEB participants must register as either male or female, because centuries-old French court customs dictate that men sit on one side of the table and women on the other. The rules state that you don’t have to abide by this gender division, but they clearly like the idea, saying on the DEB website: “Color, style, and symmetry are important components of this aesthetic. Furthermore, there is always one perspective that is more beautiful than the other at any event; consider giving this view to your guest, as per courtesy and tradition.”
• You don’t have to eat only white food. Yes, people do think that the DEB concept extends to the menu. Besides, it’s not healthy — my brother’s best friend did that in high school and it was seriously not a good idea.
• Bring your own food if you’re a vegetarian. DEB does offer prepared picnics that can be ordered in advance and picked up at the event, packaged in a DEB-logoed insulated and reusable bag, but, if last year’s offerings are any indication, vegetarians need not apply.
• Start googling “white golf umbrella”. DEB happens rain or shine, so be prepared to eat in the rain if necessary, and that umbrella will look really nice in your Instagram pics.
• Suspend your disbelief. DEB is silly, it is self-indulgent, it is overly exclusive. It’s also strikingly pretty and like becoming part of a living work of art for an hour or two, a brief respite from reality, which, these days, is sorely needed. If you get a spot, go enjoy the spectacle.
Here’s what you would be preparing for:
