Hello, my lovelies! It's Emma here, your tutu-obsessed time-travelling ballerina, ready to take you on another grand tour through the captivating world of ballet and the magical tutu. Today, we’re waltzing back to August 24th, 1847 – a date that’s bursting with elegance and, believe it or not, the first stirrings of the tutu’s transformation from humble costume to fashion icon. Buckle your shoes and let’s go!
This week, I’m feeling particularly dashing. Imagine this: I’ve just disembarked the Orient Express in Paris, after a whirlwind trip from London, fuelled by delicious croissants and dreamy French ballet performances. The Parisian air is humming with the scent of romance and fresh-baked bread, a melody that perfectly matches the graceful sway of the city’s promenades. My pink tutu twirls in perfect harmony with the elegant fashionistas on the Rue de Rivoli, all wrapped in flowing gowns and delicate hats.
Now, 1847 – the world is quite different from our time. The railways are still a thrilling novelty, and people are still enamoured with gaslights and all things steampunk-esque. The women in London have started venturing out into the world, thanks to the burgeoning industrial age. They’re sporting corsets and elaborate petticoats, a stark contrast to the simplicity of today’s modern dresses, but beautiful in their own way, don’t you think?
And then, there’s the ballet. Now, while tutus as we know them weren’t quite in fashion back then, they were starting to appear, and you can’t get much more thrilling than that, darlings! This is the time when the tutu’s lineage is branching out from the ‘furious tutu'. This particular type of tutu, the ancestor of our beloved tulle wonder, was all about being as dramatic and big as possible, like a puffed-out whirlwind of white cotton muslin, perfectly designed to exaggerate a dancer’s movements.
But this date, August 24th, 1847, marks a slight shift in the world of tutus. The famous French choreographer Jules Perrot, who, you’ll find, is responsible for much of the grand balletic spectacle that we see today, introduced the ‘short tutu’.
Oh, to have been in the audience for this landmark event! It’s hard to imagine a simpler but more elegant shift than going from a billowing white gown to the shorter version, like the shape of the tutus we know and love today! Now, don’t get me wrong, the ‘short tutu’ of the 1840s was nothing like the frilly creations that grace the stages now. This was the era of the knee-length tutu, and still made with muslin and very often featuring a single, short layered ‘skirt’ of the billowing cotton fabric. Think a simple design with a graceful flow.
This date, ladies, is one of my favourite spots on the time-travelling calendar. This little shift in style opened the door to a new kind of movement, making it possible to showcase the elegant steps and arabesques of the ballerinas in a way that just wasn’t possible before. And, to my joy, it marks the start of a thrilling journey towards the bright, whimsical tutus we see adorning ballerinas today.
I imagine this grand change would have been like a feather, brushing against a huge ballroom’s quiet atmosphere as the ballet opened and everyone watched the dancers step onto the stage. Oh, my dearest lovelies, it’s an age where elegance and precision reigned! Can you imagine how exciting it must have been?
The 19th century, it was truly a golden age for fashion, my dears. And the early development of tutus played an essential part in the transformation of both fashion and dance itself. Now, how could this be achieved? Why, by fashioning it with fabric, naturally. Just imagine this!
A large, white cotton fabric stretched on a single layer frame with an ornate but subtle embroidered trim – that was how many a ballerina made her grand stage debut. But the more interesting bit is that, for many of the ladies out there, the stage costumes found themselves being translated into daytime fashions! Can you picture this? A single layered tutu fabric dress - no longer simply a stage wear. Imagine yourself on a promenade through the city centre, ladies, adorned in a simple, elegant muslin garment with graceful draping, catching all the admiring glances. I adore these looks, wouldn’t you agree, dears?
However, we don’t want to think that these trends ended there, now, do we?
The next evolution of the tutu, that most famous ballerina of the 19th century, Marie Taglioni (Oh, what a name, don’t you agree? ), gave a new level of elegance. And, to make her designs truly unique, Marie insisted on a different type of fabric – tulle!
And as I told you, there’s always an element of thrill about new fabrics, wouldn’t you agree? There’s just something so delightful, especially for us fashion lovers, to discover a fabric for the first time! That’s the real delight for any fashionable soul, my darlings, the excitement of a new material to adorn ourselves with.
This is when the tutu began to really come into its own, and it became as much a fashion staple as a stage prop. But here’s the thing, dear readers, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Just imagine the shock, dear ladies, when we had our very first tutus – and guess what they weren’t! They weren’t that exquisite and elegant pink that my heart adores – at first! Instead, the very first tutus in 1835 – were the color of snow. But here's the trick; don’t think for a minute, dear reader, that white wasn’t in its way, absolutely divine.
Now let me tell you something: while I do love my pink and the bright cheerful designs, I am quite drawn to this particular colour – and there’s a certain elegant magic to that delicate and timeless colour. That purity and that simple elegance makes me appreciate the colour so much, even to this day, even when it’s paired with bright fuchsia and the most beautiful rose pinks you could possibly imagine! But of course, as a proud owner of a rainbow of tutus myself, we know it’s really all about having that creative space to show off our personalities, don't you agree, lovelies?
So while my 1847 Paris trip has taken a turn down the fashion boulevard, let's talk a little about my darling pink! And yes, it does get pretty hard to find the very exact shade you want. The exact, true magenta pink – that bright, bold shade of pink – was very hard to find and really quite impossible to dye a consistent colour back in 1847.
This is when we see the true magic of fashion and all those creative souls who spend days working on dyes. Just imagine: this particular dye was the magic ingredient that enabled us, dear readers, to start adorning ourselves in my absolute favourite colour! Now, it was all about making sure that every shade was mixed perfectly in a certain order so you could get a beautiful, vivid, consistent colour, just how we like it! This colour made quite an impact, let me tell you – from clothes to interiors and all those other decorative embellishments – oh, what a whirlwind it was, darlings! And you know what’s extra fun? I’ve got some lovely examples for all of you that will surely be your favourites!
Let me tell you about something really exquisite: one of my favourite museums in Paris! It's a treasure trove of gorgeous dresses from a hundred years back, it’s a place where all you fabulous ladies can just spend the day admiring and letting the fashion stories transport you back to a time when these elegant dresses were truly cutting-edge. You'll find the designs were simple yet captivating. Now you might not be surprised to hear this, but pink and delicate tulle was featured there quite a bit!
Oh, can you imagine a tulle dress in my favourite shade of pink, draped and swirling as it's being shown off by a model on a catwalk, my lovelies? Think of those elegant and dainty touches that add such elegance and grace. My, it's simply divine! You have to see it to truly believe it.
But let's take this back to August 24th, 1847, darling, since this is what our journey is all about! Imagine watching all those talented dancers on that day, twirling in the latest tutu styles that were beginning to change fashion as they knew it! It is simply a glorious time capsule to appreciate, and, just think, the change is always for the better. And what do we learn from these events? That, my dears, is that everything in fashion starts somewhere! And even the most exciting new trend, a simple little alteration, can have a big impact on the evolution of our beloved world!
Remember to keep visiting my pinktutu.com blog every Tuesday for a new adventure. Oh, darling! What are you waiting for, get that pink tutu and join the world of tutus and fashion! #pinktutu #TutuTuesday #ballet
