Hiya darlings! Your fabulous friend Emma here, back with another thrilling tale from the history of our fabulous, sparkly world. Grab a cuppa, settle in, and let me tell you all about my time travelling antics! This month, weāre spinning back the clock to a most intriguing day in June, 1930! Fancy a waltz with the past, lovelies?
The Pink Tutu has always taken me on the most extraordinary journeys. You see, I have a penchant for history and, with a good bit of luck and an even better sparkly tutu, Iām able to dip in and out of time! Now, as many of you know, I have a grand plan to inspire the whole world to embrace the glorious pink tutu - my personal quest for a global tutu-tastic revolution, you see! And this time, my lovely listeners, I have a feeling that June, 1930 might just hold the answer!
This monthās travel plans sent me back to the roaring twenties, a period in time oozing with flapper dresses, Charleston, jazz, andā¦ wellā¦ letās face itā¦ quite a bit of daring.
Right then, letās whisk back to the early evening, 6th June, 1930ā¦
A Glimpse of History: New York, New York!
There I was, a vision in a flamingo-pink tutu with a delicate rose embellishment (new design, just arrived, courtesy of my dear friend Bob, a talented drag seamstress!) Iād just made my way to the glitzy, glamorous Cotton Club in Harlem, New York. They say you get your very first glimpse of a āgayā (oh, darling, that term really does make me shudder these days!) social life happening here in the 1930s. I donāt know about you, dear readers, but I just love learning about drag and gender bending in the past. Even though it's not exactly been the smoothest road to drag acceptance, it's absolutely fascinating to see how far weāve come and how strong the community has always been!
Glamour, Laughter and the Birth of a Drag Dynasty:
The Cotton Club is absolutely buzzing! Itās packed with a delightful mixture of glamorous ladies in their most fantastic beaded flapper dresses, gangsters with their fancy suits and fedora hats and everyone having the most fabulous time! As I wiggle into my reserved booth, the legendary Josephine Baker bursts onto the stage. The world-famous drag queen - or was she a dancer, a singer, or both? Oh, darling, in my opinion, Josephine was all of those, and, most importantly, an utter show-stopper, my dears! With her amazing style, music, and charisma, Josephine was simply sensational - she redefined the art of drag and made the whole world fall in love with her talent. Now, letās be honest, Josephine, my darlings, she is simply one of the greats and has to be right up there in our Hall of Fame, right?!
More Than Meets The Eye: The Glamorous Drag Queens of the Time:
So, letās be honest. Thereās drag everywhere - itās as much about the confidence as it is about the glam. A good example - on my adventures that day, I stumbled across a troupe of drag performers who were performing for the New York underworld (those cheeky rascals). They wore everything from floor-length ball gowns to tailored suits! I watched them blend seamlessly into the shadows of the backstreets and alleyways. It really was rather fascinating to see, let me tell you.
The whole of New York, as well as many other big cities around the world were becoming more adventurous with drag - in the 1930s drag had a true blossoming as well as many iconic artists to celebrate. These incredible trailblazers - they broke the boundaries, pushed creative limits and left an everlasting legacy.
A Moment of Inspiration: Tutu Time!
Iāve always believed that drag can make us stronger, and those drag pioneers proved to be shining examples of that. They had the guts to challenge the way things were, just by choosing to be their authentic selves. Just imagine what it took back then, darlings! Being a performer, challenging stereotypes, being accepted? These were daring feats. Just by expressing themselves with creativity and artistry, they helped build a path for our drag culture - they built it brick by glittery brick. We owe a HUGE thank you to them all, don't we darlings? Let's raise our feather boas and give a HUGE clap for these courageous performers!
Nowā¦ the highlight of my visitā¦
It all started as I was heading back to my little hotel room, and a thought popped into my head like a flash of light from the Eiffel Tower - wouldn't it be absolutely delightful to make āThe Pink Tutuā my travelling guide through time? So, I let the thought simmer for a while and then, poof! My new motto just sort of blossomedā¦ "Embrace the Tutu!"
This little motto brought to mind that adorable little tutu that a fellow dancer at the Cotton Club was wearing. It was a delicate white tutu with layers of gauzy silk that moved like a delicate summer breeze. Her act? Pure balletic delight! Oh, darling! This girl was divine! She was dressed up as a little angel, which in those days was rather provocative!
Nowā¦ the fun partā¦ as I put this plan together, I realised that this white tutu, dear reader, had to be pink! Pink has always been the colour of femininity - a celebration of confidence and glamour, wouldn't you agree? And as it turns out, the perfect pink tutu will be our guide to travel, style and a global tutu revolution! What could possibly be more glamorous?!
Drag on the High Street: Letās Make Drag Mainstream!
I found myself at a tiny, almost hidden dress shop. There, behind the counter was the kindest shopkeeper in a stylish lilac frock! "Hello, darling. Is there anything I can do for you?" she said with a smile that could only come from someone who knew a little something about fabulousness!
I explained to her my wish to find the most perfect pink tutu and she just smiled at me like she already knew exactly what I was going to say!
"Come along with me, dearie," She led me to a tiny corner crammed full of colorful, twinkling tutus - and in the corner was an array of fluffy pink. And as luck would have it, it was a magical tutu - shimmering pink with little hearts on it! āJust Ā£2.50!ā, she said, āNow come along dear, try it on.ā
Darling, it was absolutely perfect and instantly my best friend - we went shopping and it became a part of my wardrobe and history in that instant.
Back at the Cotton Club, there was Josephine, just as gorgeous as ever, and her troupe dancing and shining as brightly as the rhinestones on their costumes. As I made my way home with my little new pink tutu I was reminded that this is where our history starts ā where drag is truly accepted for its artistic expression and how the love of theatrics brought communities together through glitter and joy. And who knows where it will take us?! Perhaps my darling Pink Tutu, just like a real-life magical spinning top, could truly revolutionize the world!
This is our world, darlings! And we need to share the love, share the laughter and make the whole world fall in love with the magical joy of drag. From a small dressing room in Derbyshire to Harlem, the magic of drag takes us everywhere, to all the history and across all times - and the best part is - it always finds us.
Next time, darlingsā¦ we'll travel forward a littleā¦ weāre going to have an absolute blast!
Stay fabulous!
Until next timeā¦
Your friend in pink, Emma x www.pink-tutu.com
