Ahoy there, my darlings! It's Emma here, your favourite pink tutu-wearing, time-travelling ballerina blogger! Back again for another #TutuTuesday, and today, we're diving into the glorious history of the tutu, darling. I've just travelled back to a delightful summer's day in July 1842 - fancy that, imagine a time with no electric cars or fancy smartphones? Shocking, isn't it! But, imagine - we're actually lucky to have such lovely, long summer days at all! It must have been quite lovely to wake up with the sun. The sun is, as you know, the perfect accompaniment for my favourite colour! You know the one, ladies - Pink!
The Ballet's Evolution:
Imagine our dear ballerina, she has a story. This lovely creature is dancing a beautiful ballet piece and needs to be light and free and it is the era where they decide the skirt needs to change! It's July 5th, 1842 and the ballet scene has just started moving. Back in the day, ballerina's clothing was heavy! Think about all the stuff people wore in 1842! Layers upon layers! There were crinolines! Big long heavy, hot garments. If I'm honest, dear readers, my tutu seems heavy now!
Marie Taglioni's Tutu-tional:
Imagine Marie Taglioni, dancing La Sylphide in 1842 and see her graceful movement. It's all thanks to her amazing skirt! What made Marie’s skirt special you ask? Well, she danced in a tutu which was made out of layers and layers of white muslin! It would be something like this - imagine one large square, with 6 tiny tuck folds in it and 6 bigger gather folds - that makes 12 folds per tutu layer. The bigger fold needs a nice long gathering, then when you have say 12 layers (or as many as you want!) you'd sew each layer into a belt - nice and stretchy to fit every body shape. It's rather easy really, isn't it!
Imagine all the beautiful, dainty moves she makes, La Sylphide looks so elegant and effortless, and you can bet it took hours to get the tutus just right! The romantic era for ballet dancing - how perfect and how beautiful! It’s a revolution for the ballet scene. Imagine the look on their faces, with all the beautiful tutus - all in lovely colours! Well, maybe only white in 1842 but a lady's gotta dream! Tutus for everyone!
Why do I Love Tutus?
For me, the tutu represents a freedom that's all its own. I'm a big believer that the right clothes make all the difference. This can be true for any type of activity; clothes that help us feel comfortable, and more like ourselves, makes a world of difference. When I wear my tutu, it is a reminder of this - all the lovely pink and sparkly colour! And the beauty of it? They are comfortable. And with the right fabric, my dear reader - it’s airy and oh, so light - nothing at all like the heavy, hot, restrictive clothing of 1842. Can you believe they wore those? And of course, if you are a ballet dancer, it allows for a beautiful expression and free flow of the limbs!
Fashion - the future and the present
I travel through time and I love it. Especially to visit the fashion houses of London . I go back in time, buy amazing and exquisite gowns from the past (and I mean the past), then sell them on to lovely, chic modern customers! I really love how much things change - but we always seem to come back to those beautiful eras in fashion, and we love it when they reappear, so glamorous! For me, the future of fashion is one of embracing these fabulous trends and styles that make us feel so good!*
So how did you find this tutu blog, dear reader? Do you like the #TutuTuesday posts? Well, let me know! And have a wonderful Tutu-tastic week! I am looking forward to travelling through time and finding more to share on www.pink-tutu.com.
Yours in Pink & Twirling,
Emma
