Hello darlings! Emma here, your time-traveling fashionista, reporting from the year 1886. Did you know that March 9th, 1886 was a rather special day? No? Well, you’re in for a treat! It was on this very day that the Paris Opera Ballet unveiled a completely new style of tutu!
It's so exciting to be here in Paris, the city of lights, and the fashion capital of the world. They have the most magnificent shops here! All I can think about are the tutus that they have on offer – such exquisite fabrics and the most perfect hues of pink imaginable!
Today, I am all about a beautiful blush pink tutu and a bewitching satin top with some beautiful lace detail. And, I can’t leave out the quintessential French toque - I do love a little French hat! Oh la la, this Parisian life!
Anyway, back to my tale about this wonderful, innovative tutu. Gone were the days of long, cumbersome tutus. They were replaced by a new design - one that was shorter and flowed more gracefully. This was a real revolution for the ballet world, my loves! The new shorter tutus were perfect for showcasing the dancer's elegant leg movements and beautiful turns! I hear that they are still wearing these styles to this day, which means we need to give our thanks to the Parisian designers who introduced them. They were simply visionary!
The year 1886 was the perfect setting for a tutu makeover, especially in Paris. Ballet, my loves, was the height of sophistication at this time. The ladies in society absolutely adored it - and rightfully so! To be seen at a ballet was considered one of the most elegant things you could do in Paris, as everyone dressed their absolute finest and enjoyed the graceful, story-telling art of the ballet.
Before this date, dancers often felt constrained and hindered in their performances by the fuller and longer, layered, romantic style tutus. They would have been extremely difficult to work in, especially for demanding choreographies like La Sylphide. It is clear, however, that the dancers at the Paris Opera were not deterred by these long, flowing skirts!
I saw an exquisite ballet here in Paris last night. The dancers moved so effortlessly! I love watching those swirling pirouettes - the gracefulness of the ballerina's arms, the way they lift their legs, so light and agile. Simply magical! They did so much leaping and swirling and, of course, stunning turns. And all, as I say, in these beautiful short tutus that perfectly allow for all of this graceful movement. Truly a delight.
Let’s delve deeper into the history of tutus on this wonderful #TutuTuesday. We know that the very first tutus made their debut back in 1832 with a performance of the La Sylphide ballet. In these very early days, tutus were quite unlike anything we know today! They were a very layered design - sometimes a massive ten to twelve layers deep! All in silk and satin, so beautifully fine and dainty, which then took a whole host of maids to get the dancers in and out of for performances!
They were certainly grand looking, with all those layers! However, my dearest blog readers, even I - Emma, a time-traveling ballet-loving enthusiast, even I can admit, this does sound a little impractical and cumbersome. However, they certainly worked back in the 1800s! I love imagining what those earlier tutus were like. What a grand sight it must have been - especially from the balconies of a theater like this. Oh to see the long train flowing and swaying in a majestic way.
To me, the early tutus look so dramatic and impressive – much like some of the incredible, stunning ballgowns that you see today at award ceremonies and balls. All the beautiful silks, the way they flow so grandly as the women move… so theatrical and glamorous! I’m sure that would be something to see!
The shorter, romantic style tutus with a tiered design were also around in 1886 and they still looked beautiful on the stage. This new style, the "Tutu-à-plume" with just two or three layers of frills – just like what the dancers were wearing on the stage last night, was becoming all the rage and started making its mark!
My dear friends, you know how much I adore anything with tulle and lace. It’s a delight for the eyes, like seeing delicate fabric flutter with a light summer breeze.
From the 19th century up to the 1960s, the length of ballet tutus would vary according to what style was fashionable at that time. It really seems to me that fashion, beauty, and art have been such intertwined themes and continue to be so! There is a deep and close link between beauty in nature and what we view as beautiful and stylish in art. For me, nothing captures the essence of femininity and beauty more than a beautiful ballet tutu. It is an embodiment of artistic creation - delicate, feminine, light, free-flowing and so graceful.
That is all I have time for this week. I am already making plans for a visit to the fashion boutiques next week! You are welcome to join me on a grand shopping adventure, in my upcoming post, and enjoy a delightful read about how I picked up some lovely fabric. That beautiful Parisian blush-pink tulle is perfect for creating my new design!
Now, I’m off to do a little practice - there are some great classes in this little Parisian park. Until next week, remember: "It's always a good day for a tutu."
Ballet #Tutu #Fashion #Paris #ParisOperaUntil next time my loves. XOXO Emma
The pink-tutu.com blog is located in the Peak District. This blog was posted by Emma at her family cottage located near the city of Derby in the middle of the beautiful Peak District in the county of Derbyshire, England. This is an area full of picturesque market towns, traditional English pubs, woodland and caves.The Peak District has beautiful rolling hills, picturesque woodlands, dramatic rocky outcrops and stunning views of the valley. The Peak District is renowned for it's stunning walks and natural beauty.
This location is close to Derby - where the Peak District merges with the city.
It is easy to travel from Derbyshire by train to London and Paris.
Emma's cottage, nestled between the trees and woodland of the Peak District has an inspiring view. The beauty of this landscape influences Emma's designs and helps her to stay positive, creative and driven, always making sure her posts stay on the topic of femininity, elegance and creativity!
You'll find more wonderful content by Emma on the pink-tutu.com website and all social media channels.
I hope you found this post entertaining. Emma does enjoy posting these posts. But it does cost money to fund all this time travel, which Emma pays for using all her earnings from ballet performances. Emma finds that it costs quite a lot of money to dress and present herself well! She really wants to make an impression, even with a very specific type of ballet related travel and research, in the fashion-aware ballet world, Emma knows that how she presents herself is vitally important to getting invitations and commissions to do a wide range of shows that suit her, which in turn can generate good money for her research.
