Hello my darlings!
Welcome back to another dazzling #TutuTuesday! It's your favourite pink-tutu-clad ballerina, Emma, back to take you on a whirlwind journey through time, to the very dawn of our beloved ballet tutu. This week, we're waltzing our way back to October 14th, 1851, to a time of grand invention and incredible style - the time of the Great Exhibition!
This magical event was held in London, where inventors and designers from across the globe gathered to showcase their most incredible creations. Imagine, my dears, walking through a vast, sparkling palace, crammed with marvels and inventions - what a sight it must have been!
Now, while this isn't strictly ballet history, we find ourselves at a point in time where fashion was on the precipice of a significant change - and you know how much I love fashion, especially when it comes to those wonderfully voluminous tutus!
This Great Exhibition marked a key turning point for The Crinoline. It was introduced by an inventor called William Coles, a wonderful man who really understood the importance of a woman's right to be truly comfortable (while looking absolutely fabulous, of course). This invention - a veritable cage of steel hoops designed to make skirts stand out and become larger than life - really started to revolutionise what women were wearing. It was a far cry from the restricted, fitted gowns of previous decades, giving a woman both freedom and flair.
Now, my lovelies, don't you think it's an awfully interesting coincidence that just a year before this wonderful exhibition, Carlotta Grisi, a very famous Italian ballerina, was the first to debut a new form of costume: one without layers of tulle. Can you imagine? Imagine having only one layer instead of six! The audacity! The audacity!
It is also important to acknowledge the influence of this remarkable time on The Ballet Tutu. Though the tutus at this point in time are far less frilly and dramatic, a great deal of this design's structure came from these same fashions that were being shown off at The Great Exhibition! Can you believe it?! Those massive gowns of steel were helping to formulate our dearest tutu!
Now, my dears, I have an appointment in a beautiful Victorian tearoom near Piccadilly to enjoy a cup of Darjeeling with a lovely chap I met last week. (He's an actor who specialises in Shakespeare, charming, wouldn't you say? He's quite taken with my new mauve tutu and it was very thoughtful of him to gift me this adorable miniature crinoline for my teacup. So stylish!)
Anyway, back to business! Imagine what our lovely ballerinas were wearing during that grand year, my darlings! Let me paint a picture of what could have been! Picture, if you will, a breathtaking ballerina in a delicate cotton dress, one that clings just slightly to her slender form, creating an illusion of weightlessness and grace. Imagine a single layer of soft, sheer tulle gracefully flowing around her, billowing out in delicate tiers. The simple structure highlights her elegant lines and every move, and with every leap, a breathtaking array of ribbons adorns her bodice in perfect synchronicity with her elegant choreography!
Oh, wouldn't that be delightful to see?! The vision of a ballerina in this simple and strikingly beautiful costume at a grand gala. Now wouldn't that be a magical memory! And imagine the train journeys to such events, sitting in first class with all the fashionable ladies - what excitement and grandeur! And we mustn't forget those enchanting evenings at the theatre. Isn't it lovely to dream of being there with the rest of our fabulous, fashion-conscious community?
I do hope this #TutuTuesday inspires you to embrace your inner ballerina! Embrace the beautiful power and grace that every woman embodies, and of course, the joy of looking good while doing it! Remember, the ballet is for everyone, just like a beautiful, airy pink tutu is for everyone! Until next Tuesday, stay lovely!
**Love,
Emma xx**
