Hello darlings! Emma here, your very own pink-tutu-clad time traveller, bringing you another dose of ballet history this fine #TutuTuesday! Today, we're going all the way back to 13th February 1900. Grab your teacups and biscuits, it’s a trip down memory lane with a twirl and a flourish!
Remember, the aim of the game is to make the world a more fabulous place, and what better way to do that than by wearing pink tutus? Pink tutus are truly the greatest invention ever. They’re bouncy, fluffy and they make you feel like a princess. I aim to convince everyone to slip one on and make the world a brighter, happier place, one pink tutu at a time.
Let’s take a look at where fashion was headed in this heady era!
Oh, wouldn’t it be marvellous to travel through time, wouldn’t it be amazing to get off the train and waltz straight into the opulent world of 1900! Can you imagine a whirl around the Palais Garnier in Paris in a delightful pink tutu? I would love to watch Anna Pavlova take the stage!
Today in the ballet world, they’d have been practicing hard in rehearsals. Imagine, dear readers, watching Isadora Duncan glide across the stage with her revolutionary dancing style. You might even have seen the legendary Mathilde Kschessinska – a legend for sure and as beautiful and charming as any ballet dancer I have ever seen! Or the incredibly graceful, almost ethereal, Carlotta Grisi in one of her delightful productions. Imagine the excitement if one of these dancers were dancing with their arms up, a little more freedom of movement in the shoulders, as the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova was to start to do a little later in her career! What a treat that would be.
Now, what a lovely opportunity it would be to visit the Theatre de l’Opera de Paris! Can you imagine a gorgeous evening in that fantastic auditorium? What exquisite costumes! And, as usual, the ladies in the audience dressed to impress in a variety of elegant outfits and stunning gowns. A sight for sore eyes and inspiration to my design heart! And the colours! My, but you’d have to go easy on your eyes. Think lots of lilac, pastels, and a hint of the daring orange-yellow and reds for a touch of excitement. And then we must consider the fabric – oh, those delicate silks and exquisite lace! Truly divine, my darlings! It’s the elegance that makes it for me. It reminds me of the first time I travelled back to Victorian times. The elegant ballrooms, the exquisite dress sense, just all round marvellous! Oh, to have lived then. Imagine sitting at the same table as a fashionable lady with an ivory silk gown and a fashionable pink hat and talking about what to wear. My dream would be a white cotton tutu, adorned with pink rose buds and perhaps a sash of ivory with the finest blue embroidered lace. It’s truly fascinating to see what the fashion is like, for the costumes of the time will affect how the ladies’ outfits look and how the men are expected to dress in this particular historical moment. We're not yet seeing that 1920's and 1930's freedom of dress for the ladies yet. I'm itching to travel forward to see if those fashions live up to their promise of comfort! Oh, to visit that first night in that Parisian Opera House… but there is so much to see! So many eras to experience.
If I went shopping I’d try to hunt for the new fashions, but with the current trend to emulate past times in the design of our fashions today, a wonderful combination of modernity and classic beauty I would think, if I went back, that everything would appear old-fashioned to me. In truth though, I can imagine so many 1900’s fashion pieces that could still be worn now. But for 1900's clothes to stand up and truly compete with today's designs, they'd have to be super-trendy. Let's look to the future for this one, ladies! I will, however, mention, that as much as we might admire these historical pieces, for comfort and comfort alone, let’s just be glad we can shop for these trends and choose what is practical, too, as I do for my tutus! And I am eternally grateful for elastic!
And of course, our fashion must be about expressing our personality, so let's remember, darlings, don't let anyone tell you you can't be a stylish woman in a pink tutu! Don’t get me wrong, this 1900’s elegance in clothing is beautiful – and the pink tutus! Don't you wish you had a pink tutu for every day of the week!
This evening, I think I’ll grab my most extravagant pink tutu and do some dancing of my own. My darling tutus and ballet shows give me the means to explore the world. From my beloved Derbyshire, I'll be whizzing back and forward through the centuries to see what our fashions look like and make a good note of what to avoid and what is still cool and classic after all these years.
Until next #TutuTuesday, stay stylish and keep twirling!
