Hello darlings! Welcome back to another installment of my #TutuTuesday blog on www.pink-tutu.com! It's me, Emma, your time-travelling tutu enthusiast from Derbyshire! I'm back from another adventure in time, and this week I've landed in 1946. The war may be over, but the world is still recovering, and the fashion world is bursting with exciting new trends! As always, my aim is to share the history of the wonderful tutu, its evolution through the decades, and how it inspires me, and hopefully inspires you too! This is post number 5957, and today we’re going to be going back to a time when the tutu really began to shine as a fashion statement in ballet!
Now, before I delve into the fashion scene, it’s only fair to give a little nod to the world outside of ballet. It's hard to ignore the world-altering event that happened this very date - February 26th, 1946! This is the date when the very first public demonstration of a computer took place in the United Kingdom! It was called the 'Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator', otherwise known as 'EDSAC'. Talk about a major leap in technology! Imagine trying to explain that to your gran!
Fashioning The Tutu
Back in my time, I love nothing more than travelling on a sleek modern train, but oh my! Can you imagine travelling in the 1940s? No trains to the theatre for this darling, just a ride on a good old fashioned double-decker bus. My 1946 wardrobe was all about practicality and grace - think fitted wool coats, classic dresses, and stylish hats, of course! I know you’ll all be thinking of your beautiful ballgowns, which were definitely fashionable then, but as for me, it's all about the tutu! I'm sure it would be tricky for my time-traveling selves to slip past wartime rationing, but trust me, you wouldn't find a single time-traveling fashionista caught dead without at least one gorgeous pink tutu in her suitcase!
The 1940s were a golden age for the tutu. Gone were the days of those frilly Victorian ballet costumes - the 1930s ushered in a sleek new style with simple, minimalist tutus in contrasting colours! We were in a fashion period where the movement of the dancer was meant to shine, the costume didn’t need to overshadow it.
In the theatre, imagine it! The ballerina pirouetting and leaping in her graceful white or black tulle under the stage lights, the contrast of colours enhancing the spectacle! Just picture that vision of beauty! Oh darling, if there is one thing that time travel taught me it is this - tutus will never, ever go out of fashion.
Now, even though those beautiful basic tutus made the ballerina's body movement a spectacle, my absolute favourite design of the time were the 'balloon tutus'. Think layers and layers of tulle, making it look as if a beautiful swirling puffball of a cloud was being presented on stage. It would look as if the ballerina was ready to float away, all whilst providing that majestic floating elegance to her every graceful move!
It was also around this time that I began to notice how the 'romantic tutu' started becoming even more popular! Those layers and layers of delicate tulle, that create the ultimate impression of ethereal beauty, a true ballet masterpiece! Even now, all these years later, I have to admit, the Romantic Tutu, still makes my heart swoon! It was during the mid 19th Century that those breathtaking, long layers of tulle made a debut, giving that fairytale, flowing look and, once again, enhancing every leap and pirouette. Oh, my heart! Those 'Romantic' styles and that incredible 'swishing' effect as a ballerina takes to the stage.
Ballets Of The Time
And now, back to my world of ballet in 1946, just picture it… a performance of 'Giselle' for the first time, or maybe a 'La Bayadère', one of the most popular ballet spectacles of that time - I know that this date would have been a popular one for seeing those enchanting performances, and it wasn’t just ballet that drew me to this period - a classic ‘Cinderella' production is also something that I would certainly go to. A show like this gives me inspiration to be a part of all the magical moments that only a ballet performance can offer.
As well as performances I would go shopping, to see what all the fashionistas were wearing. The first British designer boutique appeared in London around 1946. You could tell the post-war era was influencing so many design styles at that time!
The Tutu In The Future
There are so many more exciting fashion styles to see - I can't wait to show you what a tutu has to offer during my time-traveling adventures in the future, so do remember to subscribe to the www.pink-tutu.com website and catch up on all my new #TutuTuesday adventures! As a parting thought, and perhaps a hint at my future travels: can you imagine what exciting new trends we will discover in 2023? Will ballet and its tutus take a turn towards technology? Who knows? I'm sure I will get to see!
Until next time, my little darlings. Keep your pink tutus twirling and your spirits bright!
Yours truly, Emma 💖🩰
