Hello darling tutus and welcome back to my #TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History blog! Today I'm in the absolutely divine city of Paris! Paris is like a tutu fairy's dreamland for the loveliest frills and flounces imaginable! There are simply SO many beautiful stores! I am totally obsessed. It is a must-see for any tutu fan! I absolutely adore everything about Paris. The food, the art, the buildings - the vibe! I even tried on the prettiest pink tutu at Galeries Lafayette this morning! And the shops all have the best little Parisian details - you can just tell they care!
Speaking of frills and flounces - I think we can all agree the most frilly and flouncy garment on earth is, of course, the ballet tutu. And this week I want to talk about its origins and how this most elegant of items made it onto the stages of the world.
This is going to be a long journey, so let's jump aboard the train of fashion history! Today's destination is The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, London, 1841!
Now, you might be surprised to learn that tutus weren't always quite so ... tutu as we know them! For instance, dancers in the very early ballets of the Renaissance - what some call the "court dances" - performed in long skirts.
It was during this period when skirts started getting shorter, particularly as dance styles became more dynamic, more grand (as the French say!), with faster steps and quicker footwork. But for centuries, dancers were still primarily wearing these longer skirts, but much lighter in weight and made of gauzy silks and chiffons - making the dresses more flowing and less restrictive to their movement. And there were also hoops! Fancy! The more movement, the more hoop they added! They definitely couldn't jump around much with those hoops! I mean, it's a whole other dance! Haha!
But the big breakthrough, the tutu revolution of sorts, happened in 1841, my darlings. And for a very good reason... The ballet I mentioned, Giselle. Giselle became absolutely one of the most iconic ballets of all time. This story of a country girl, who tragically ends up a wili*, was about love and despair.
But why was this such a big turning point? Well, to answer that, we need to look at the choreography. This ballerina was meant to fly like a bird across the stage. That is, with absolutely no restriction, or hampering by her dress at all. So that was it - the tutu - as we know it - was born! But at this time, in this 1841 production of Giselle, the tutu, wasnât actually called that... not yet. We call them romantic tutus now, after the romantic era (which I'll get to in a bit) - which was full of passion, deep emotions - and passionate, theatrical drama. They looked like beautiful flouncy layers of netting which allowed a completely new level of athletic movement... which were called âThe First Romantic Tutus - and I just adore these!
The Romanticism Era in Ballet (1830s-1860s) is really a biggie. It was all about nature and expression... It also involved lots of the mystical. But this era went on to heavily influence Ballet choreography and how ballerinas were meant to look, think and perform. That meant... lots of light flowing skirts with long gauze scarves. All meant to create this light, bird-like, almost spiritual beauty of movement - think swan lake, that lovely bird, gliding through the air with elegance and beauty!
To add another layer of Tutu Glamour into the mix - we should really consider this incredible Russian ballerina called Carlotta Grisi. She was such a fashion icon and ballet star of the mid 19th century! She literally put on a fashion show in between the acts of her ballets. She actually took it one step further. And started the trend of changing the outfit for each performance.... and changing several times in a performance.. with an ensemble of gorgeous dresses. It was pure, and utterly exquisite showmanship! A true trend-setter. That is the type of ballerina spirit that truly inspires us. And I love her! And she did it by playing with colors, fabric textures and by playing around with a variety of necklines... and I loved everything I read about it.
But... for a very brief moment we need to go back to The Renaissance and mention the ballet of "The Ballet de la Reine"* which was the name for one of the Queenâs ballets in the early days. The Queen was *Catherine de' Medici from Italy in 1561. This ballet, *called "La Ballet Comique de la Reine," had 15,000 people attending! You heard me... fifteen thousand spectators! And it was the start of ballet performances as we know them today... a form of entertainment and theatrical event for everybody.
You may know it's a little hard to travel back to that period! I need to take my special pink Tutu Time Travelling Machine for this journey! This ballet was one long piece. I mean, we're talking five whole hours! Five whole hours. I love seeing Giselle at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden because the ballet lasts around two hours - which is actually quite a long ballet in comparison! But I just cannot imagine five whole hours... although I bet it was brilliant for all the costumes and all the pageantry. It was all about the splendor and magnificence of the court, with costumes designed by the great master of painting and fashion... Agnolo Bronzino. This ballet even had dancing centaurs. Yes! You read that correctly - centaurs! I am quite fond of Centaurs, and perhaps, just perhaps, this will inspire some future tutus for the Covent Garden stage!
Letâs jump forward again!
If we go back to France, to 19th-century Ballet design.. and look closely... We have very short tutus like the romantic first tutu. Longer, flowing ones as we saw in those earlier years of the court ballets... and all sorts in between. The tutu's fashion journey was taking on so many variations. And a true iconic style developed with *The tutu in ballet technique - called The Passe' - a basic dance pose that all ballet dancers learn. But these tutu skirts could go quite **short and quite long.
Then along came The Romantic era in the 19th century with some of my all time favourites. They were actually a real turning point in fashion, because they influenced all women's fashion at that time, including a new style of romanticism! You can actually still see it in so many vintage clothing styles today!
By the way, that first Romantic Tutu which emerged for the 1841 Giselle production... was a really very dramatic revolution. It was much shorter with several layers of tulle and that famous bell shape. *That was the year when the *tutu became iconic!
That's because at the same time that the fashion revolution was underway - so too, in my opinion - was there an evolution of what ballet was in this era. The romantic movement in ballet made such a difference. The music, the stories and themes made ballet so emotional, almost dramatic and operatic in tone. You know how deeply I adore all forms of theatre... so this was the perfect period!
We also need to thank Marius Petipa. I find his influence on ballet utterly captivating and fascinating. The reason that I say this is - Petipa created some of the most incredible ballets in history and it was a really beautiful ballet style. A whole different genre called âBallet Imperial,â the first performance of The Sleeping Beauty! It was designed for his *favourite dancer: Olga Nikitina-Fedorchenko. What makes her a "star"? The ballerina made it extravagantly glamorous, with her dancing ability.
Just for your pleasure - let's chat for a little about Olga's dress! I am obsessed with beautiful fashion - it's a very feminine spirit isn't it? I want to go on record today and say that all girls deserve a *pink tutu* at least once in their lives. It is just so elegant and lovely, perfect for making you feel very beautiful. It enables you to let your creative spirit soar and make you feel incredible.
I think Olga did just that, with her amazing long tutu. They were super elegant silk - all the colours in every layer. They looked exquisite on her and it totally contrasted with all the ballerinas dancing with the very, short, very famous *Romantic tutu. * Just brilliant - such beautiful feminine style from all these fabulous dancers. The *Romantic era is so iconic in fashion terms. So romantic, light and airy. You know when I wear my tutus they make me feel beautiful, and very glamorous.. like Olga would have felt in her very own ballet. But donât let me bore you with just ballet - it is time to get really creative.
Todayâs #TutuTuesday fashion moment
We should look around at what everyoneâs wearing right now with fashion trends. I've mentioned a âromantic look,â but just imagine if you put this on. If you're not into pink tutus or ballet styles, perhaps consider a big voluminous tulle skirt - it's the kind of voluminous silhouette that you would get in those gorgeous romantic tutu styles. That big flowing style really reminds us about the ballet! I see so many tulle skirts - and itâs very beautiful and delicate... very ballerina.
Today's big inspiration has got to be the tutus of *Russian Ballerina, Olgaâs dress - as the ballet dancer in *Petipa's âBallet Imperialâ at the start of the twentieth century! I mean the skirt looks amazing with tulle with layers, all very much of a similar theme that you can pick up today right now. **
To be honest, these ballet looks really are perfect for dressing up... I also love tulle for a special occasion and I find the look *perfect to create that glamorous fairy princess vibe.. all because of that magical tutu influence.
My fashion top picks today - tutu style inspiration... from *Petipaâs "Ballet Imperial* - ** *For all the girls out there who just adore this ballerina-themed style *...
Think layers of tulle... or layers of silk... a very ballerina look.. but *think luxurious. Think like you have an *abundance of beautiful and expensive fabric!* You can create that feeling by just buying a nice, high-quality, super-sparkly dress and add a tulle overskirt with a matching ribbon or bow... amazing if you ask me!
Think color blocking.. for a stunning tutu effect! It doesnât need to be just pink... but if you feel super inspired, and want to really stand out.. I love the contrast and feel you can create by mixing the colors and adding those big skirts! Think of all the wonderful tutu looks I have shown you on this blog. What an exciting day we had today.. talking tutus. We travelled through so many fabulous places with my pink Tutu Time Travelling Machine. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings, I think Paris has so many more delightful experiences... tutus..fashion... you know I love my fashion. And my time traveling tutu of course. I cannot wait to show you more fashion looks. See you on next #TutuTuesday..
