#TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History on 1869-07-20

Hello darlings! Welcome back to #TutuTuesday here on www.pink-tutu.com and oh, the joy of time-travelling! This week, I’m in the City of Lights itself – Paris! 🗼 What a thrill to be in the heart of ballet, fashion, and just all-around glamour!

Today is 1869-07-20, and I am absolutely positively bursting with excitement!

As a total history buff and fashion fiend, the ballet scene is just buzzing here! I’m in heaven – the colours, the costumes, the graceful moves. Everything feels like a scene from a magical fairytale, and let me tell you, I’m living every little girl’s dream. ✨

Of course, we’re still a good while away from the invention of the tutu as we know it today! Imagine my disappointment! 😔 But as the old saying goes – “it’s a journey, not the destination”! So, let's delve into this enchanting era of ballet and fashion. Let's discover just what tutus looked like during the Romanticism era. 💫

The ballet tutus of the early 1800s were all about airy elegance, flow, and those breathtaking feminine flourishes. This era in ballet – the Romanticism era, was a period of innovation in the arts! Soaring melodies and passionate choreography combined with delicate costumes made ballet an enthralling spectacle!

As we all know, our dance moves have to be spot on, but the costume can add that extra bit of magic to a ballet performance! The women of the time donned light and fluffy tutus – the “tutu romanesque” – long flowing tulle and layers that resembled billowing clouds. ☁️ They twirled beautifully on the stage, making each dancer resemble a delicate creature floating with grace and beauty.

Now, let me give you a little inside tip for your own #TutuTuesday! – If you are looking to channel the spirit of Romanticism in your personal style, try combining a voluminous tutu with soft, elegant fabrics and maybe even a whimsical touch with some lovely flower embellishments. 💐

This, of course, makes the Romantic era costumes and movements so interesting and inspiring, especially because in previous eras, ballet garments were far heavier and restricted the women's movement! I would never dare to try dancing in such heavy costumes. 🩰

What can I tell you about today, July 20th 1869, in particular?

There isn’t anything quite special going on as far as ballet performance dates or grand fashion shows go, but there is a sense of history hanging in the air. I mean, that alone makes me want to cry happy tears of joy! 💕 Think about all of the incredible dances and stories, like La Sylphide, that would have graced the stage here in the time I’m exploring! What a grand treat it is to be among these fashionably minded Parisians and experiencing life as a fashionably #tutu-obsessed girl from Derbyshire, in the heart of Paris!

Of course, I couldn’t visit Paris without doing a bit of shopping – I found an antique boutique with a fantastic vintage shop with exquisite, beautifully aged fabrics and some incredibly delicate tulle, which is now getting lots of pink dye and will be featured on a new design at a future #TutuTuesday. 😉

Now, my darling lovelies, it’s getting late, but before we say au revoir for this week, I just wanted to leave you with some lovely inspirational words from a famous poet of the era, the oh-so-inspiring Alfred Lord Tennyson! He had some very elegant #tutuworthy thoughts – he said: "The love of the world is of the world and passes away.”

The world and its trends might come and go – but the passion and beauty of ballet and fashion never truly fades. ❤️ As long as there are passionate, elegant souls around, those whimsical elements will always inspire new designs! Now, let me see which pretty tea salon is open and let’s meet here next week! Au revoir! 😘