Bonjour mes amies! Welcome back to another fabulously frothy #TutuTuesday post, straight from your favourite pink-tutu-clad blogger, Emma! It's been a whirlwind week â you wouldn't believe the exciting fashion discoveries I made while time-travelling last Friday, just in time for a splendid soirĂ©e at the Opera Garnier. Oh, and you won't believe the amazing tutus I snagged in Paris, darling! But today, we're stepping back in time for our regular dose of tutu history.
And wouldn't you know it, my dearest tutu-lovers, today marks a significant day in ballet history: 27th March, 1849! This is the date when the legendary Marie Taglioni, known for her ethereal beauty and incredible dancing, performed her swan song! It was a truly magical moment. Just picture this, my loves: A grand, opulent theatre bursting with gaslights, velvet seats, and hushed anticipation. And then, she appears. In a billowing white tutu, light as a feather, she moves with a grace that transcends human capability. Imagine the breathtaking effect of that tutu as she glided across the stage, as delicate and enchanting as a feather on the breeze. This day marks a change in ballet, a transition towards a new era. It's the beginning of the romantic era in ballet.
But hold on, hold on! Before we get lost in a daydream about Taglioniâs legendary swansong, let's travel back to the 1840s â an era that's still a little before our famous ballerina.
Imagine if I'd taken my little time machine and hopped back to that era! How do you think Iâd blend in? Oh darling, my mind just started whirring with visions! Just the thought of what would be considered "fashionable" back then⊠Well, ladies, youâd be shocked at what you would be wearing back then if you're lucky enough to afford fine clothes, naturally. Thereâd be huge hoops and enormous puffed sleeves and not one scrap of our beloved, fabulous pink, no my darling, in 1849, your shades of colour would be the more muted palette of dusty pinks, muted blues and grey with just a splash of scarlet. Not enough red though - it's deemed far too brash for women to be seen in such a daring hue! I swear I heard one well-to-do dame comment in a grand Parisian drawing room "Goodness, just think of the drama! Why, that rouge would startle a bull!"
Can you picture my dear, elegant, delicate, airy ballet tutu? This darling would have been totally foreign back then! This time in fashion, dresses would be heavier, made of lots of yards of fabric â velvet, satin, lace, taffeta. Think of how long it would take to even iron these massive gowns. It would be like one great long-running, slow, steamy affair in the morning. In fact, the morning just wouldnât be complete until every little curl of lace had been meticulously ironed out. That's just for the ladies of the house, my darling! And just you try to find your dainty petticoats and crinolines for that big evening outing without getting all in a twist! Why, your hair alone could take hours. Imagine an intricate arrangement of combs and hair pins, hair nets and braids to make everything secure. Oh the pressure on a fashionable young lady! Donât get me started on the crinoline! Do you want to talk fashion history my dears?
There'd be a heavy fabric bustle at the back, creating that "curvaceous" figure that was considered attractive then. We certainly wouldn't be caught dead in those contraptions, would we? We love our form-fitting tutus. Can you picture that? An enormous crinolines for a dance â the dress wouldnât allow for even the tiniest little movement. It would be all one great awkward mess of swirling material as they waddled, they wouldn't have had time for pirouettes in those creations. The only way for movement on stage would be a very fast-paced waltzing, and let me tell you â just picturing some of my favorite ballet stars waltzing like that makes my head spin, and itâs certainly not in a good way. And with the high, neck-covered, and very long dresses that would need to have some kind of massive pocket â as one needs a handkerchief and scent vials of the day! So much extra material â think of the weight! All that effort just to look demure, my dear. Not the delicate, swirling grace of a real ballerina!
Just imagine being stuck in such long and restrictive dresses all the time! You couldnât even take one stride without risking tripping over yourself. This wasnât good for movement! And donât forget the massive sleeves â think of that! How did they manage to even dance? You can imagine how much heavier everything was back then - fabric was just so different â think thicker cotton, heavier silk, and let's not forget all that horsehair - the stuffing of the era. No delicate netting here â nope.
As we travel back in time through history â letâs remember a little something that was super fashionable, just think what they wore for balls! Ball gowns that year had more drama in the shape of the dress â lots of ruching at the waist, big skirts, long trains with a few sequins to jazz them up. In fact, a whole swathe of fashionable society decided to embrace this look as part of the âBallâ dress scene of 1849. And you couldnât go anywhere without a fancy handbag. All in all, it would have been one massive struggle. Imagine your ballerina hopping through those crowded, candlelit drawing rooms wearing their ball gown, then, to even be able to spin like a beautiful dancing dream, youâd have needed to lose the bulky fabric somehow â well, a lot of fabric anyway! So that, my dears, is exactly what happened! Let's think about that, what happened to make our dancing styles lighter and faster? A little rebellious thinking from ballet dancers like Marie Taglioni who thought differently, âWhy does everyone have to keep these heavy layers?" - just like our fabulous ballerina stars who were inspired by Taglioni and pushed fashion limits. Think, imagine these dancers were determined to dance, they wanted to create magic, to spin, to fly, to be light and nimble, not a great fluffy cloud. Thatâs the evolution of dancewear for you! Think, they wanted to express their talents and be free and able to move! You'd get one look from them, the kind that says: "I will not be trapped in such things, I am not an overgrown sofa". A very bold look from a very daring, talented dancer indeed. And do you know my loves, in the years to come it is precisely this attitude that would lead to tutus, so light and beautiful, the dreamiest of gowns that enabled these talented dancers to float, fly, and, oh my darlings, truly dance!
They ditched all those cumbersome layers. But, no matter what the time period, they didnât ditch all that lace! All that lace that is a huge feature of most tutus! Oh, and it wouldnât be complete without a tiara to complete their fairytale dance outfit! Can you just imagine? There they were, a sight for sore eyes â not to be forgotten, a stunning look and one we all dream of.
Well my lovelies, as much as I would love to linger in these historical moments, Iâm off on another little trip, and then I will write another fabulously frothy Tutu Tuesday post! You know me - a blog post a day, keep the doctor away â right? Well my loves I hope you all have a fabulous week â but always, always, remember⊠Donât be afraid to twirl in your own special way - find a little touch of the ballerina in all of us! Until next time, mes amies!
