Hello, darlings! It's your favourite pink tutu-wearing blogger Emma, here with another magnificent installment of my TutuTuesday blog, where we dive into the glorious history of the ballet tutu!
Today, we're whisking ourselves back to the fabulous year of 1939! I know what you're thinking... isn't that a bit, well, sombre, considering all the craziness happening in the world? Oh, my dears, never forget: a sprinkle of ballet can brighten even the darkest of days! Besides, today is a date for celebration: the 31st January, the day the very first film, "Gone with the Wind", was shown in New York! Can you imagine, darlings? All that Southern romance, those dreamy costumes, those exquisite gowns, all brought to life in the dazzling new medium of cinema!
Now, back to our beloved tutus, of course. 1939 was a glorious time for dance. I recently found myself at the Paris Opera Ballet during my last time travel trip and let me tell you, it was simply divine! Imagine the je ne sais quoi of Paris, with a dash of elegance, all topped off with the magic of a ballet performance - pure perfection, darling! In 1939, Serge Diaghilev had already taken the world by storm with his Ballets Russes, a vibrant display of ballet like you've never seen before! Diaghilev had the vision to use colour and light like no one else, creating stunning new looks with lavish costumes.
Don't let this make you think that our lovely tutus were the same as they are today. Back in the 1930s, you see, tutus were actually quite long - think of them as more of a fluffy ballerina skirt. The tulle, the fabric our beautiful tutus are made of, had only been around since the early 1800s. Back then, they were mostly for romantic, flowing dances.
It's around this period that the tutu became more structured, taking the form of the classical, fitted tutu you know and love. Those famous "ballerina" looks you see in so many vintage photographs, where the dancer is barely covering her body in a short skirt, started around the 1920s and became popular throughout the 1930s and 40s. The short, fitted tutus began to replace the romantic "ballerinette" of yesteryear and paved the way for the more agile movement required by new and exciting dance styles like "neoclassic" and "ballet moderne."
Now, 1939 wasn't just a great year for the Paris Opera (though, I tell you, those sets, those dancers, they were just fabulous!) There was a whole lot of wonderful happenings in the world of ballet all across Europe!
This was the year that the legendary Dame Margot Fonteyn, who became an icon of the ballet world and was hailed as Britain's Greatest Ballerina, debuted at the Sadler's Wells Ballet, later becoming the Royal Ballet. Think ballet beauty and grace personified, darlings! Dame Margot and the Royal Ballet became famous around the world and had such a significant influence on the ballet world that they practically revolutionized ballet in Britain.
And let's not forget the Russian Ballet, the most incredible ballet company around, known for its stunning choreography and opulent sets. Maria Tallchief, another incredibly talented dancer from Oklahoma, was making a splash with the company, showing just how brilliant ballerinas could be from beyond Europe. This woman was a real force to be reckoned with, definitely an icon of her time!
And, darlings, did I mention I just love how fashion and ballet intertwined so beautifully in this time? The elegance of the dancing and the breathtaking costumes, they just fit together perfectly! Imagine, my dears, dancing like a whirlwind in a long, romantic dress, floating like a dream in tulle and lace. A tutu can transform you, it truly can. It’s a piece of fabric, yes, but it's so much more than that - a symbol of grace, of freedom, of expressing yourself through dance, through movement, and with style, of course!
In my last trip to London, I discovered that in 1939, a fabulous fashion icon, Diana Vreeland, was writing for Vogue. She was, quite frankly, the most stunning and sophisticated writer of that era, and, I must say, she certainly knew her style! I spent ages reading her articles, admiring how she mixed fashion and ballet into beautiful prose and perfectly matched styles and dance - and she always kept it fun! You see, in 1939, women really knew how to have fun!
My lovely darlings, we love our tutus, don't we? I do hope my little adventure through time has reminded you just how important tutus are, how much they have inspired so much fashion and culture. If you’ve ever dreamed of dancing, then think of yourself twirling and leaping in a tutu! Now, let’s go out and show the world how we celebrate ballet history!
As always, dear friends, do keep an eye out for our next fabulous installment of TutuTuesday!
Emma XO
P.S. Don't forget to pop on over to our online shop at www.pink-tutu.com, darlings, for all the very latest pink tutu styles!
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