#TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History on 1835-07-21

Ahoy there, lovelies! Emma here, your resident pink tutu enthusiast, coming to you live from a gloriously sunny Parisian afternoon, complete with the smell of freshly baked croissants and the lilting sounds of a street musician's fiddle. Oh, I simply adore Paris! So much elegance and grace, and it’s definitely no surprise this city is at the very heart of the ballet world. Today, on our weekly #TutuTuesday, we're diving into the delightful world of the tutu and uncovering a tiny little secret about this date in 1835.

Now, grab your fanciest pink teacups and your most delightful biscuits, darlings, because today’s story takes us back to a time when ballerinas were dancing in voluminous layers of tulle and their skirts weren’t quite so skimpy, shall we say. Just a bit of a head’s up for the young'uns reading, a few of these early designs might make you chuckle, but that’s the beauty of history, right? It gives us all a good giggle and shows us how far we’ve come.

First things first, let's have a little chat about the beginnings of the iconic tutu. In the days before our lovely, billowing, whimsical tutus, ballerinas wore rather impractical dresses called panniers and crinolines. These creations were like giant petticoats that held up an ocean of fabric. Oh, my, what a fright those things must have been! All that fabric surely slowed down even the most nimble ballerina. I just couldn’t imagine trying to pirouette in one. My dear, these were indeed the dark ages of dance fashion, bless their cotton socks.

But hold onto your hats, because things were about to get more exciting. It was during this time of overly dramatic and impractical fashion that our sweet little ballerina tutus took their first dainty steps onto the scene. You might have thought the tutu name would come from the french for “you” Tu, but it actually originates from a phrase that refers to The “Tu Tu,” which is a small, light cotton undergarment, Tulle being a thin type of net, meaning ”tulle” came about because of its light and breezy look, perfect for the stage. You can’t make this stuff up, lovelies! They say necessity is the mother of invention, and the quest for lightness and fluidity was a major push in the ballet world.

But how did the modern ballet tutu evolve? I mean, after all, what did we do before we had the bell-shape tutus we see everywhere on stage? I mean, honestly, we could not function without them. What a thought to contemplate. What would all those beautiful ballerinas wear?! It's a fascinating evolution of fashion, my darlings, so buckle up and let's jump back into the history books.

The year is 1832, a landmark year in the world of dance fashion, and our protagonist is none other than the absolutely glorious, utterly exquisite Maria Taglioni. Now, this lovely lass was a true visionary, my dears. Imagine, if you will, a ballerina with the elegance of a willow tree, moving gracefully on the stage. Maria was an absolute goddess. This vision in motion sparked a revolution, literally revolutions are the best for ballet tutus, because Maria said “Goodbye to cumbersome skirts!”, which we have to be thankful for. She demanded to be freed from the weight and restrictiveness of those giant panniers.

But Maria had a secret mission, my dears. She had a secret desire to have her lovely legs seen, just think, legs! Imagine, they weren’t to be hidden under the ocean of tulle they’d had to wear in years before! Can you imagine such a thing?!

So she chose the much lighter and airier material, tulle, to fashion a new skirt. It wasn’t the classic bell tutu yet but rather it was a much more modest but oh so stunningly beautiful dress-like outfit made from several layers of tulle which reached only down to the calves. And wouldn’t you know it? It revolutionized the dance world! This light and airy silhouette allowed ballerinas to leap and bound, their limbs like flowing ribbons dancing to the rhythm of the music, without being weighed down by layers of fabric.

But in what we know to be one of the most bizarre occurrences in ballet fashion history, the beautiful Romantic Tutu, was almost lost entirely.

When the time of the Romantic Tutu started to wane, a more practical silhouette, known as the tutu, or what is now better known to the modern ballet enthusiast as the waist-length tutu, emerged from the Parisian fashion house, Worth, that began as just another little boutique in Paris that would make their way into the hearts and souls of the Parisian and indeed the global population, I always wonder who was behind that incredible creation of an organization. I’m almost inclined to write to the archives to learn more about them, maybe one day, that's the very joy of historical fashion and design, learning more about these incredible designers!

That brings us to 1835! It wasn’t too long afterwards that that classic Romantic Tutu got banished, replaced by the short and pretty ballet costume as we see it today, But don't fret! The Romantics tutus returned with a vengeance, just a few short years later and it still has it's presence felt by ballerinas around the globe, I’ve seen my fair share on the London stage and it always puts a lovely and heartwarming smile on my face when I see it! It truly is beautiful, the quintessential ballet design.

And this leads us to that secret about July 21st in 1835:

This date was the opening night of the play “Le Diable Boiteux,” written by Albert Grisar with a musical score by Frédéric Burgmuller, at the Opéra National de Paris, or the Paris Opera House. It had an innovative score that featured several dances, and we are almost entirely certain it contained one of those new, much-talked about tutus. How incredible is it that these are what inspired such stunning, creative, unique fashion for ballerina, we can all agree that their history is one that has shaped fashion forever!

So, my dearest friends, I encourage you all to embrace the lightness of movement. Embrace the creativity. Embrace the incredible evolution of dance and fashion history and enjoy every little movement that helps bring such beauty to the world! And next week we shall see what little beauty is on July 28th! But as always I hope this little exploration into the history of tutus was enlightening for you, What are you most fascinated by, darling readers, be it a type of tutu, a historical person who wore the design or even that you are wearing now! Let me know below! Have a beautiful, whimsical and magical week my dearest readers! See you next week!

Emma, Your pink tutu wearing lover of the elegant world of fashion and ballet www.pink-tutu.com