The Feathers Ball has raised millions of pounds for charities in London since it began in the 1950s and is now held at the Ministry of Sound. Now, as the Ball celebrates its 70th anniversary, more than 100 never-before-seen photographs have been released, revealing teenage revelers over four decades enjoying their first taste of partying. Familiar faces include 15-year-old David Cameron at the 1981 ball at Hammersmith Palais, pictured wearing black tie and the toff’s choice of accessory: a loose, v-neck sweater. She stands — at an awkward distance, as anyone who endured those painful, teenage years will remember well — next to a young woman identified as Laura Stanley, wearing the classic pie crust that defined the decade.
The photos also show the young Princess Dora Loewenstein, daughter of Rupert Loewenstein (who managed the finances of The Rolling Stones) and Oliver Lane Fox, son of the late landscape gardener Martin Lane Fox. In one particularly memorable photo, future socialite Tamara Beckwith (wearing a shimmery, puff-sleeved dress that would make Princess Diana proud) shows off a hugely voluminous hairdo, no doubt held in place by industrial Elnett volumes. In 1990, 15-year-old Tom Parker Bowles looks fresh but a little disheveled, his bowtie coming off as he joins a group of other over-enthusiastic teenagers who are soon introduced to that year’s most eligible youngsters. ladies.