Hello darlings, and welcome back to Pink Tutu, your one-stop shop for all things tutus! Today's #TutuTuesday takes us back in time, to the 2nd of June, 1925. Buckle up, lovelies, because we're about to step back into the glorious Roaring Twenties and uncover the story of the tutu back then!
(Remember, you can find more #TutuTuesday blogs every week right here on www.pink-tutu.com!)
This week's journey is particularly exciting. Why, you ask? Because in 1925, the world was just starting to see the emergence of ballet as we know it.
And you know what that means? Tutus! Oh, the glorious tutus! The first tutu, you see, wasn't designed as the flamboyant, swishy, perfectly pink thing of dreams we adore today. No, no, dearies. It was more practical, just a short, frilly skirt designed for more fluid movement, worn with flat slippers, just to keep the ankles from tangling with the long skirts of the day. Think more "en pointe" than "twirling".
Of course, back then, ballerinas would have needed to be pretty brave to even think about wearing something like that. Long skirts were the only socially acceptable choice. Imagine having the nerve to show your ankles?! The scandal!
So how did we get to the flamboyant, majestic tutu? I’m so glad you asked!
Well, 1925 saw a huge cultural shift in fashion and, with it, the start of the evolution of the tutu! Imagine this: Imagine being a young, elegant ballerina, gracefully gliding across the stage, wearing a flowing, romantic white skirt (it was so wonderfully impractical!). As the era went on, ballerinas started wanting to show off their dazzling skills, their swift, controlled movements. It was time for something new, something elegant and inspiring!
In fact, one of my all-time favourite ballerinas, Anna Pavlova, started experimenting with shorter skirts in the early 1900s, so she could show off her incredibly elegant legwork. What a style icon! And imagine – a whole room full of ladies wearing these short skirts? Now that's fashion!
However, remember the practical side of these earlier tutus. Imagine all those long, elegant tutus, catching on your legs! That’s a no-no! And so, we saw the first hint of a tutu change! Cue the first “real” tutu, ladies and gentlemen! The invention of the tutu romantique. Shorter than its predecessor, it offered that new era of ballerina freedom. Freedom to move! Freedom to twirl! Think about how liberating that must have felt, all that extra air to fly!
We’ve already discussed the 1920s as a game changer for ballerinas. Think flappers, jazz music, the vibrant life of Paris... all about breaking free! And of course, the invention of tulle, in the late 1800s, made everything much easier. Suddenly, a tutu was no longer a bulky nightmare!
And guess what happened next? The “tutu” got shorter and shorter! With the arrival of the mid-century era of ballerinas like Margot Fonteyn and Alicia Markova, the tutu we all know and love finally came into being! These iconic, powerful, awe-inspiring women showed off incredible skill in this dramatic new silhouette. We’re talking huge, billowing, magnificent skirts made of tulle – pink of course – for all those extra-long, sweeping moves!
Back then, there were actually only 13 ballerinas ever performing in the Ballet Russes, and, imagine this! You’re on a train going to a show in one city, just as one performance finishes, to get to another city, where the ballet's happening. Think London, to New York! It’s incredible to think they traveled by train to those destinations to perform every week!
I adore that story. It feels like they really knew how to put on a show, and even the clothes made sure the ballerinas shone! That's a great reminder to us all: even in an age of short-lived fashions, those ballerinas proved their tutus could last for decades.
Today, when we see tutus onstage, the ballet dancers look completely effortless – like they were born wearing them! That’s what it should look like – right?
But imagine all the rehearsals, all the training, and of course, all the work on the tutus – what a privilege it must be, as a ballerina, to be part of that journey!
I find that every week, as I hop into my little time machine, I just feel so lucky to be living in a world where tutus are celebrated, but it’s always wonderful to remember the origins.
I’ll be here again next Tuesday, with a brand new story. If you can’t wait till next week, head over to www.pink-tutu.com. We’re all about that pink tutu life – the dancing, the shopping, the endless love for everything pink! Until next week!
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