Hello, darlings! Emma here, your resident pink-tutu-clad time-travelling ballerina, and today's #TutuTuesday is going to whisk us back in time to the most fascinating era for ballet tutus – the 19th century! Fancy a trip on the Orient Express to witness the tutu’s evolution firsthand? Let’s go!
Now, this Tuesday, February 1st, 2022, is not a day for dancing – it’s Super Bowl Sunday in the States, so imagine a massive American football game taking place right now! (Can’t help but imagine how gorgeous all those players would look in tutus – just a thought for future sporting events! 😜). But for us, today’s about our beloved ballet, so let's jump aboard the train and whizz through the past.
My love affair with ballet tutus started long before my time-travelling adventures – probably when I first saw The Nutcracker as a little girl. Watching those sugarplum fairies twirl in their beautiful, fluffy skirts was pure magic. Now, thanks to a little help from some magic ballet dust (that I collect from backstage, shhh…don’t tell!), I’m able to visit different eras and explore the history of the tutu up close!
This week, I found myself in the vibrant heart of the Parisian ballet world in the 1800s. What a scene, darlings! It felt like stepping into one of my favourite classic ballets, but with added bonnets and bustling carriages!
You know, before the tutus we know and love, the dancers wore, well, everything but tutus. There were skirts, long flowing dresses – it looked rather like a period drama – but it wasn’t that comfortable to leap and twirl in, now, was it?
But then... bam... in waltzed the Romantic ballet, and it changed everything. Our dancing divas loved the new ballet – and the new costume. A revolutionary garment for its time – imagine it – the short skirt that exposed the dancers' legs, it must have been absolutely shocking to some. I can almost hear the whispers as the ladies rustled their silk dresses in outrage…but hey, shocking isn’t bad, right? The romantic era brought us freedom, drama, and lots of fluttering movement in these first tutu iterations, imagine how exciting!
This Romantic era tutu had it all: billowing layers, floaty chiffons, and just enough flounce to allow for dramatic movement. Oh, how I would’ve loved to grace the Parisian stage in that era! (I still might just accidentally bring a 19th-century inspired tutu back with me from my trip!).
Then the late 19th century rolled in with a slightly more serious style. Our tutus got more streamlined, almost strict. The waist was pinched in extra tight for that "ballerina hourglass figure". These tutus became the ultimate symbol of grace and strength and, if I may add, elegance!
And remember how I said those early tutus looked shocking? Well, even though they became more popular in those stricter later decades of the 19th century, they still caused a bit of a fuss. The traditional tutus with their long layers and extravagant, cascading skirts - these made dancing on pointe almost impossible, almost. But the dancers, being the legends that they are, persevered. The tutus became progressively shorter and tighter for better performance on pointe – which is, if you ask me, quite brilliant, even if it made some critics very, very worried!
Just as our tutus evolved through those decades, they became a canvas for brilliant designers, bringing new trends with each style, adding delicate ribbons, embroideries, and even feathers to create breathtaking visual delights – what a fabulous, fashion-filled world! Each dancer and choreographer became an individual artist, making the tutu a beautiful, unique and sometimes radical expression of their art!
And you know, darlings...the beautiful history of the tutu never stops here. We will revisit the past more than once as it’s packed with exciting tutus for #TutuTuesday, and we’ll be celebrating the tutu of today. What will those tutus of the future look like? What new exciting ways will these wonderful skirts become even more fantastic, and, more importantly, even more popular? We’ll discuss those possibilities in another post - you know I can't keep these exciting thoughts bottled up.
Remember, you don’t need to be a dancer or a fashion icon to wear a tutu! It's a way of expressing your individuality, joy, and maybe a dash of your inner ballerina! And what better way to show that than with a glorious pink tutu?
Until next Tuesday, I'll be adding more tutu goodness to the www.pink-tutu.com site.
Remember, keep an eye out for exciting #TutuTuesday news coming to your Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds and keep on twirling,
Much Love and Lots of Tutu Kisses! 💋
Emma xx
