Hello, darlings! Emma here, your pink tutu-wearing time travelling fashionista! Welcome back to my blog, www.pink-tutu.com, for another installment of my beloved #TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History! Today marks post number 773 – isn’t that simply divine? This week, we're hopping aboard the train (first class, naturally!) and jetting back to the glorious year 1846, the year where the fashion scene really started to shimmer with a new kind of sparkle.
Now, you all know I love my tutus, and wouldn’t be caught dead without one (well, maybe on a rainy day, but even then, I’d likely have a raincoat over it!), but imagine if we lived in a time when tutus were brand new?! That, my dears, was the exciting world of 1846!
Back in these days, ballets weren’t quite the dazzling extravaganzas we see today, all with their elaborate costumes, dramatic makeup, and those divine swirling tutus. The focus was mainly on elegant movements, intricate steps, and classical music, and while these ballets were a treat to see, the costumes were, let's say, slightly less impressive. Think full-length skirts and long, flowing robes, and while those are undeniably chic, they didn't offer the same dramatic effect of the tutus we adore.
However, something amazing happened in this very year. Marie Taglioni, a darling of the stage (a veritable starlet in her time!), wore a groundbreaking new design by the brilliant Charles-Frederick Worth in the ballet La Sylphide. This was a game changer, darlings! It was a ballet costume unlike any other, and it set the stage for what we know as a tutu. Imagine: a skirt cut short and airy, with layers of delicate tulle, so light and delicate it looked like she was simply floating on air. Talk about a dream come true!
Imagine the excitement in the Parisian salons! Ladies, desperate to copy this captivating style, whispered about the revolutionary dance costume, its whispers echoing around the grand houses and fashionable squares of the city. While they might not have been pirouetting around in their drawing rooms in the same fashion as La Taglioni herself, their love for the silhouette was just as potent!
While it was Marie who first introduced us to this amazing new look, the beauty of a tutu wasn't its shortness alone. It was the tulle. That's right, darlings! That wonderful, lightweight material, all delicate layers and dreamy transparency, took the stage by storm, and it changed the entire landscape of ballet, introducing a new level of beauty, and fluidity.
And now, with the power of my incredible time-travelling tutu (which, believe me, is practically a wardrobe in itself!), I get to witness this magic firsthand. Oh, how I dream of the day I can take my pink tutu and pirouette alongside Marie herself, but alas, those lovely tutus are still a few decades away, which brings us back to our glorious 20th of October 1846, a day not solely noted in history for the brilliant new tutu-wearing La Sylphide. Oh no! We must celebrate other great events as well, shall we?
Here's a little historical tidbit: Did you know that on this very day in 1846, the very first successful transmission of Morse code across the Atlantic was made? Imagine! The world connected in an instant with little dashes and dots! What a marvel, especially when compared to the long train journeys I often take, where the most communication you get are the rhythmic click-clack of the wheels on the tracks. Now, I'm not complaining, for even that monotonous melody helps me visualize my new tutu purchases and imagine what styles might be next! The train itself becomes my very own fashion catwalk, don't you think?
I always end my blogs with something fashionable, something pink and twirly. What are my picks for today? Well, dear readers, we must commemorate that amazing new tutu on stage, don't you think? So let’s add a touch of that lightness to our own wardrobes with an elegant, ethereal pink tutu dress with ruffles! Don’t worry if it’s a bit big – just think of it like an airy tulle cloud – you'll feel like a princess dancing amongst the stars! (and be sure to wear your matching pink ballet slippers).
And, until next Tuesday, darling readers, keep twirling, keep sparkling, and always, always remember... #PinkTutuLife is the best kind of life!
Love,
Emma.
