Hello, my lovely Tutu-ites! It's Tuesday again, so that means it's time to delve into the enchanting history of our favourite fluffy friends - tutus! As usual, I'm your dedicated time-travelling ballerina, Emma, and today we're waltzing back to the 29th of December, 1840. Imagine, darling, no iPhones, no Netflix, no even decent tea, and yet, oh, the ballet! The ballet was blooming, a glorious flower of grace and artistry.
Now, today is a particularly interesting date because the whole world of ballet was abuzz! Can you imagine, dear readers, just a mere 83 years before my pink tutu was invented?! Oh, how times have changed, and for the better, of course, because a life without pink tutus would be a life unlived. But let's not forget how far we've come.
Now, before I launch into my sartorial storytelling, allow me to remind you, dear readers, why you need to check out my delightful blog, www.pink-tutu.com, every Tuesday. I dedicate these blog posts to celebrating our beloved tutus - the history, the design, the stories, the fun, the frolic, the whole shebang! But, as you may have gathered, this time-traveling blogger has more than just tutus on her mind, I am also a keen performer, and of course a big fan of fashion! This all helps to fund my travels, for when I'm not busy writing, you'll find me doing a few shows and perhaps popping into a fabulously chic shop in a town far, far away... just think, this Tuesday I happened to find myself in Paris! Imagine the bonnets, the hats! The lovely people, the food...
Well, right, before I go too off-track - today's date is a significant one in the grand ballet history of 1840. Let's picture it - we're right in the middle of the Romantic Ballet period - where ballerina's were defying gravity, and becoming, shall we say, rather... slim. This was the period, dear readers, when ballerinas started to make ballet really... romantic! No, don't think swooning love story, although, cough, there may have been a few of those - no, this was the romantic era in that it highlighted the delicate grace of women's movements, using light, flowing garments, rather than the restrictive heavy, thick and elaborate clothing of their ancestors. And guess what was in fashion in the middle of all this delicate artistry? That's right, tutus! Well, at least their forerunners!
But, of course, they weren't pink - those were still yet to come, oh those happy days... imagine, tutus and all, me in Paris on the 29th December of 1840 - a girl can dream. Anyway, back to our date, let's take a trip down history lane, to the year 1840, and see what the very beginnings of our beloved tutu was all about.
It's funny how fashion works, isn't it? How an era can shift and a new trend, almost in a blink, becomes a sensation! Now, our focus this Tuesday is on 1840s France, the heart of the romantic ballet era, and this is the period that saw the rise of the tutus we now know, and indeed love! Yes, they were born out of the sheer genius, the imagination and sheer artistry of this time, which is, to be honest, just what our tutus need - a pinch of Parisian flair, if you ask me.
Of course, as my grandmother used to say "you can't teach a cat to sing!" (which we can - thanks to the wonderful invention of YouTube, of course.) Similarly, with these early tutus - all was not as it seems.
Think of your stereotypical image of a ballet dancer: wispy, elegant, moving gracefully and easily, with a perfect pose, as light as a feather... in their, yes you guessed it... Tutus. Now picture it - a tutu at that time was an extreme evolution for the ballerinas, so many generations had worn such restrictive gowns. Imagine being constricted, wearing layers upon layers of heavy fabrics. The clothes were actually heavy and rather stiff. Can you picture, dear readers, performing in a show under these circumstances - I dread to think!
These earlier forms of tutus (not tutus in the modern sense of the word - remember this was pre pink tutu! Oh, the horror!) - were in essence short dresses! Oh la la they weren't even on the same level as a 1960's minidress, let alone the glorious frills and folds of our pink tutu of the future. And this early "tutu" did actually resemble the ballet dress more closely. It had longer and fuller sleeves than our traditional tutu - with perhaps an ever so slight hint of poof in the skirt. That slight hint would, thankfully, grow with the ages... but I am ahead of myself! Back to our grand historical event!
In December of 1840, at the Opéra Garnier, there were some really interesting and influential ballets being performed! We're talking about famous pieces, iconic dance moments... The "Giselle" in particular was incredibly successful. Well, we don't see this so much any longer... do we?! Now, that, my dears, was ballet in its glory! Now imagine, this was when audiences would flock to these shows for some real culture - they wouldn't go out to watch Netflix at home, but out for an evening's entertainment at the ballet! Imagine.
In this beautiful production, starring Marie Taglioni, you would've seen the early forerunner to what was about to become the classic ballerina tutus. Marie's ballet costume was rather revolutionary, oh, my lovely Tutu-ites, very revolutionary. The ballet was based around the story of Giselle who was actually a peasant - very realistic cough. So this production really helped propel that delicate "soft" era, where femininity and delicate, effortless movements became essential to what we recognise today as Ballet, so when Marie, who was no stranger to defying gravity on stage! came out to perform, well, naturally she shocked audiences. In all honesty, she was only shocking for how simple her costume was. This ballet caused a real stir! Now you see, that is a tutu story worthy of its place on this #TutuTuesday! Her skirt, whilst longer than today's ballet tutus, it did have volume, in the shape of a 'bell' (but much fuller, cough don't forget all that volume in our 21st Century pink tutus!) with an emphasis on its shape, flow, and the delicate beauty it showed of the ballerina's graceful movements... and for the time... quite revolutionary. It is all in that graceful, light, fluid movements and the ability of these truly gifted ballerina's who could move so gracefully, with their exquisite skill in such seemingly easy, effortless motion. I love it - don't you?!
If it's time travel you want, or a glimpse of fashion, beauty and an inside look into a world that has so much inspiration for the history of our favourite fashion garment - the Tutu, then this time-travelling ballerina has got you covered! I know the future will look even better for the pink tutu! Now, my little darlings, we must leave for our next dance adventure... I am very much looking forward to visiting you all next Tuesday. Let's keep dancing to a world filled with tutus! As always - stay fluffy. And wear a pink tutu!
