Hello my lovelies! It's Emma here, your pink tutu-loving, ballet-obsessed blogger, back with another #TutuTuesday post for you. Buckle up your pointe shoes, we're going on a journey through time, darlings! Today, we're taking a little trip back to 23rd June 1874. That's right, I've popped my travelling tutu on and travelled back to the glorious Victorian era to explore the fabulous world of tutus in all its swirling, romantic glory.
This post is number 2217, which means I've been writing my ballet history blog for over 40 years now. It’s an absolute blast exploring the changing fashions of ballet. Sometimes it's a little dizzying, especially when my favourite period is the Victorian era. Think beautiful, elegant lines, and an abundance of romantic tutus, my absolute weakness!
Today, it feels particularly poignant to be in Victorian London. You see, on 23rd June 1874, something spectacular happened. A most memorable ballet was premiered at Her Majesty's Theatre – the glorious La Esmeralda. Can you imagine being a ballerinas swirling about the stage with all those flouncy tutus, the exquisite costume and the most enchanting music? Just delightful!
It's not easy travelling through time, you know. I’m an absolute whirlwind, and you need quite a lot of pennies to keep your time travel funded. And it's worth every penny, I tell you! I always start my trip to a bygone era with a ballet performance. There's nothing quite like watching beautiful dancers in graceful tutus, twirling and leaping across the stage! For this journey, I made quite a splash performing in the beautiful Giselle at The Royal Opera House, so a little travelling back to London felt like a lovely treat!
Talking about tutus! Do you know, even in the 19th century, the idea of a ballerina swirling about in a little skirt, was shocking? It seems such a ridiculous concept now, doesn’t it? We’ve become accustomed to these gloriously billowing lengths of tulle that move with every pirouette. But imagine back then, a long-skirted dress and petticoats was all a lady could ever wear, so a tutu was shockingly revealing.
Well, this week in my #TutuTuesday we're all about romantic tutus - we’ll dive into a deep, history-filled dive about the fascinating development of ballet costume, where they have taken their inspiration from.
Let’s delve into the Victorian era and a closer look at the beauty of the time!
A Glimpse of Romantic Elegance in 1874
The year 1874 saw tutus become the epitome of femininity and grace, representing a shift in aesthetics that we can still admire today. Remember how it was just so revolutionary! Think frills and froufrou. Tutus back then became synonymous with romanticism, echoing the popular sensibility of the Victorian era.
Imagine: The romantic period, oh dear how it makes my heart flutter just to think of it!
- La Esmeralda*, that masterpiece by Pugni, truly captured that romantic sensibility. With its lush settings and soaring melodies, this ballet really painted the canvas with elegance and romance. It's fascinating to think of the ballet, a mere 147 years ago! Think of what they thought! The tutus!
You could almost smell the fresh, slightly damp air of a summer’s day, feel the energy of the bustling city, with carriages rushing past! And imagine the excitement on a stage adorned with elegant tulle - those graceful tulle tutus that flowed and swirled around their dainty feet. The dancers, graceful as swans and captivating like angels. Just simply mesmerizing, wouldn’t you say?
Tutus played a major part in creating that air of romance. These ballerinas weren't just women dancing. They were spirits. You can feel the feeling of freedom as they swirled across the stage.
What Exactly Makes a "Romantic Tutu" Romantic?
You know, you can't exactly go and buy a romantic tutu at your local costume shop. They're all about a specific shape. It was very much about a look, darlings, with soft tulle, airy movement. This specific style of the tutu came about from the time when ballerinas started to be less interested in showing off incredible steps, but more focused on creating that elegant image of ‘feminine beauty’.
This, by the way, is why, during that era, La Esmeralda became so iconic! This period was really about lightness and romanticism - the Romantic Ballet Movement, which I have talked about before in my blog. You have to look up at this iconic moment in ballet! This era changed how people danced and dressed and it all stemmed from those incredible tutu-wearing dancers!
Imagine that ethereal float across the stage – you could almost see the spirit in them – and the look of romanticism? Oh my, my heart flutters every time I picture that scene! You can see how it became an instant hit! You couldn't get enough of those ethereal, floating ballerinas in the ethereal soft tutus. A dreamy image that lasted many, many years!
The perfect Romantic tutu was: * Longer, with more layers: It was about the shape, rather than revealing the dancer's legs completely. This look meant that it floated across the stage, and as we know, movement, is one of the most important features of ballet.
- Delicate and wispy, made from soft tulle: Tulle wasn’t always easy to work with, you know, they say. But for those incredible ballet performances they created a look that truly captured a more sensuous and light feel!
Inspired by Fashion of the Day!
It's fascinating how ballet and fashion seem to weave in and out of each other, darlings. This beautiful, Romantic era was a fabulous era for tutus.
During the late 1800s, fashion had been going through this huge romantic era of beautiful gowns, corseted bodices and full skirts. Think crinoline, and all those frills. Ballet became a celebration of feminine beauty in the shape of those gloriously flouncy tutus. They would use tulle to mimic the ruched gowns that became fashionable in the 1860s - in effect it became an adaption, even of that Victorian period. It is quite simply beautiful, wouldn't you agree? I love the Romantic Period, the dance, and of course, the tutus!
This fascination with all those gorgeous fabrics continued. A famous Parisian shop even boasted the phrase "Tutu: For everything fashionable." I swear! A tutu-obsessed society, just like us! Isn't it so sweet? It seems as if that romantic feel that was everywhere in Victorian era became embodied in the Romantic tutu!
You might also be interested to know, in the 1860s and 70s a more rounded shape of tutu began to appear on stage – just another small evolution, but it completely changes the feel of a dancer! But it's this fascination that still carries on today, so this was truly the start of our tutu craze. I just know that all the incredible designers today would love a trip to the Romantic era, with their fashion designs, it was an exciting time!
* The Story of a Ballet's Tutu*
Here is something fun that we can discuss together this #TutuTuesday - It's not as if the Romantic Tutu had one style only. Every tutu had it’s own feel! You had to adapt your design to every ballerina’s individual skill, and most importantly their body shape. That makes sense when you consider the individuality of ballerinas even in 1874 - what a glamorous look to behold. They could look truly dramatic with dramatic tutus that would swish and sway, or, equally, graceful. All of them a true triumph of the designer’s skill.
Of course, all of those glorious Giselle performances from the 1840s were an incredible inspiration! With its Romantic storyline, Giselle became the symbol of the romantic period in fashion. Imagine a flowing ballet costume – those lovely flowing skirts – what a beautiful inspiration, just from seeing them! I've heard people say that the tutu itself helped shape this movement, from those soft tulle tutus to those amazing tutus used in La Esmeralda, they simply define Romantic beauty, if you will. It is quite exquisite. It is my dream to be in a performance where the music plays beautifully, where I would twirl and swish in one of those Romantic, long tutus - and dream.
My Favourite Ballet Costumes from 1874
There’s so much that I absolutely love in this era, don't you agree, but I really want to share two of my most treasured ballet costumes:
- The iconic La Esmeralda – Oh, to have had my toes pointed on stage during that premiere performance! La Esmeralda, the opera that we spoke about before, featured one of the most beautifully iconic costumes for Esmeralda, this magnificent ballerina! Imagine that wonderful ballerina – that famous Spanish character– who, by all accounts, loved her role – that is pure theatre gold. I’m already on my next time-traveling trip!
- The Romantic "Giselle" costume – It’s still amazing, and such a beautiful design! There is an iconic Romantic ballet – and it remains a ballet for its beauty – with such beautiful long tutus. I was able to see Giselle in Vienna at The Royal Opera House this year. What a spectacular costume!
That is something that you simply must research! These beautiful creations - Romantic in spirit, and utterly glorious!
Onward to Our Future Tutus
It’s such an amazing period. This was truly when those Romantic costumes really captured that ethereal, angelic look, didn’t it? So romantic. So feminine! I love that era.
But enough about history, let's look ahead to the future of the tutu, darlings! In our journey of Tutu Tuesdays, let’s find those designers who have used history in their designs – and share the future of ballet on our website at www.pink-tutu.com! I absolutely want to see that tutu continue to evolve and embrace change. It is beautiful in every shape. My absolute favourite tutu style. Oh darling, don't you want a pink tutu? Let's create an incredible wave of tutu mania across the world - you can contact me at
See you next week for another #TutuTuesday and another exciting glimpse of the glorious past!
Love and sparkles,
Emma
