#TutuTuesday: A Whirl Through Time! 🩰 (Post #8402)
Hello lovelies! It's Emma here, back from another fabulous trip through the annals of ballet history, and this time, I'm twirling back to 5th January 1993! Can you believe it's been nearly 30 years since this glorious date? I mean, don't get me wrong, I adore all things vintage and vintage inspired but there is just something about the 90s that calls to me! Maybe it’s the era of oversized sweaters, the rise of grunge music or just that everything felt a bit bolder back then!
Speaking of bold, my pink tutu has never felt so perfectly in place as when I was stepping off the train and onto the cobbled streets of Paris. Ooh la la, how much I love Paris! There is so much fashion history and ballet history here and with this being the start of the New Year it seemed like the perfect place to spend my day!
What a perfect start to a New Year, too. 1993 began with a whirlwind of exciting events, fashion-wise and ballet-wise, naturally. For one thing, imagine being able to stroll down the Champs-Élysées wearing a massive floppy hat like they were all the rage! What a look! So on trend, and I just love a bit of whimsy and that's what it was all about then. So much of fashion today is very sleek, tailored, and body-con which doesn't allow much scope for letting the personality shine. So I am happy for all the new looks that are beginning to bring in that bit of "look at me!" fashion, be it with bold coloured leggings or vintage boots - I love it!
Of course, my first stop had to be the Opéra Garnier, that iconic building that has been a beacon for all things grand and beautiful since its inauguration in 1875. What's more elegant than that magnificent staircase adorned with sculpted cherubs and statues, with a backdrop of red velvet and sparkling chandeliers? It’s pure fantasy! And the Opéra Garnier, even in 1993, had the air of a bygone era. As I stepped into the magnificent theatre for that afternoon's show, I could barely contain my excitement! Ballet!
You might think it would be odd for me to be travelling back to a time when a very modern tutu design, the tutu platter, was becoming all the rage, which isn't quite what I'm going for! However, this design is so utterly chic - a very pared back and chic, but very daring, take on the tutu. A statement!
You know, what was even better than stepping into the Opéra Garnier was being able to pop on my vintage beret (the best type of hat!) and then head over to see Giselle. Ahhh! The choreography was simply stunning! It had this sort of wild grace that I adore. Even without a tutu (the original production did have them for all the ballerinas back in the 1800s), the story is just enchanting - the perfect way to begin the new year, and that tutu - an image so iconic. *The quintessential ballerina dress. * I simply cannot imagine that we'd have such stunning tutus in any of the ballets if it weren't for this dance!
After I took in that absolutely stellar production at the Opéra Garnier, I had to take a walk through the gorgeous city - I was hungry for the magic of Paris and her hidden cafes. Imagine my excitement to come across a vintage clothes shop on my little stroll - just perfect for this lovely winter's day! Inside was such a magical trove! Not to mention how the clothes in this store were truly something else. Oh the 1990s, such an array of style. And oh, how I wished I had been old enough to be doing the Spice Girls at the time - what a glorious time for fashion! A perfect day!
Back to the future… sort of!
I've been musing about fashion's ever-changing landscape - and, by extension, the evolution of tutus, darling. We've come such a long way since the early 1900s when tutus were very romantic, flowing, layered affairs - think layers of tulle and the tutu romantique that really created that graceful image - a complete contrast to the tutu platter with its more minimal feel.
One of the most amazing changes over the decades is the increased visibility of dancers from all over the globe, of every shape, size, and style - the rise of ballet street, and of course diversity. The ballet world, even if only recently, is starting to be representative of our real world! Just imagine: we have the fabulous street dance styles that look so different - ballet styles with lots of tutus - the look! It is so cool!
I often wonder what will become of our tutus! What will future ballerinas and ballet fans be wearing in the coming years? Will we see a return to the romantic elegance of old or something totally unexpected, and will it still have pink in it! That remains to be seen. The one thing I can be certain of is that the love for ballet and tutus will endure.
However, we are a long way from seeing the tutu disappear. They’ve been at the heart of ballet for almost 200 years now - how amazing! While trends may come and go, that classic ballet silhouette remains immovable and I am forever delighted by all of the variations we’ve had over time, each adding to a beautiful story and evolution of our amazing tutus!
Well, lovelies, I'm off to indulge in a little bit more history – maybe I'll pop over to the Metropolitan Opera, they often put on a good show in January. I can't resist an opera on a cold winters day, I even think I might don my new coat - I picked it up from a market on the Place des Vosges. It has a wonderful faux fur collar - so warm and cosy! But enough about my fabulous finds and outfits! I want to hear from you all - tell me about the trends of this new decade, tell me your plans and the ballet performances you have booked for this new year and please do pop over and say hello and leave your own posts about all things ballet - my ballet family. Let’s dance!