Hello darling dears! Welcome back to Pink-Tutu.com! It's Tuesday, so you know what that means! It's time for another fabulous voyage through ballet history! I’m your favourite time-travelling ballerina blogger, Emma, and I’m so delighted you’re here today! Today, I'm popping my time machine over to 10th December, 2030! Now, settle in for a fabulous feast of ballet history - you know how much I love a good dose of historical facts about our beloved tutus!
Where am I, and what is there to do?
We’re in Paris, my lovelies! What a dreamy place! I’m just off the Eurostar – Paris is so easy to get to these days, thank goodness! I love exploring the beautiful architecture of the French capital – they still have amazing grand avenues here! It feels so glamorous to be back in Paris! What a place to be for a tutu-lover!
Firstly, let’s pop into the Galeries Lafayette department store – there are so many designer boutiques there – it’s absolutely heavenly! You’ll be able to pick up the latest tutu trends! Speaking of the latest trends, did you know there are 'Tutu Wednesdays' at the Musée d’Orsay! It’s a fantastic new trend! Everyone loves showing off their beautiful tutus to each other - I wonder what they'll be wearing today! And remember, if you don't want to go all out on a tutu just try a pink or light colour - to create that balletic look! Paris is so fashionable – all the chicest boutiques are in the Marais and Saint Germain – the perfect places to pick up a beautiful ballet inspired outfit for an evening at the opera – if you're lucky enough to have tickets to one of the new ballet productions of Romeo and Juliet. If I’m lucky, I’m heading to a show of that at the Paris Opera this evening! The Palais Garnier is just stunning – they even put on fabulous ballet tours around this gorgeous building, too – so much to discover!
The Tutu Trend of 2030
You know how much I love tutus! This year the key trend is a touch of the romantic! We've moved on from those crazy colourful neon-bright colours that were so popular last year! And the big shape? The tiered skirt, of course! All those romantic billowing layers that dance and twirl so beautifully – absolutely perfect! It looks so good – you can really spin those beautiful layered ruffles like a ballerina! All those ruffles – that's the key thing for the year 2030! They give a wonderful twirly look – and there’s something so captivating about a little ballerina skirt as you pirouette around the dance floor! And those ruffled, layers just feel so beautifully romantic – the perfect tutu shape for that dreamy ballet look!
You’ve got to check out the amazing new ballet collection by Dior in the Galeries Lafayette – you’ll love the pink colours in there – it’s absolutely breathtaking! It really gives off a modern romantic ballerina vibe! But don't just be content with seeing it in a window! Why not wear a pink tutu to create that gorgeous girly ballerina effect – you really should!
Speaking of romance, everyone’s head-over-heels for all those gorgeous romantic floral colours for our tutu trends in 2030! It's like the ballerina floral bouquets from our favourite shows are suddenly being splashed right onto our tutus! I can't resist those dusty pinks, lavender shades and delicate apricot tones - such soft and beautiful hues! But remember – they must be the right colours to really compliment your skin tone! A bright peach will compliment a freckled redhead, while a light lilac is best for brunettes. A bright pinky pink or a deep pink works for anyone with darker skin tones, my dears. It's all about that soft and girly, yet glamorous look!
You really can’t get a more romantic look than that!
*But first – how did the Tutu come about? *
A lot of people think the ballet tutu has always existed – like a fairy-tale or a magic trick! However, believe me my loves – the history of this whimsical and delightful dancewear is as amazing and exciting as it looks on stage!
It wasn’t until the end of the Romantic era in ballet in the 1830s, when it all started!
For those of you who are a bit vague on your ballet history, the romantic period, lasting from around 1830 - 1850 was an absolutely fantastic era! If you love poetry, beauty and dancing, it's an amazing era to research! The whole of Europe was captivated by fairies, dreams, folklore and tales from the Orient. I've travelled through that period and let me tell you it’s an incredible time for the arts and performance. You have to see The Sylphide - it's amazing! It really pushed forward our fashion – and that included our tutus too! Imagine how a romantic ballet like Giselle – with its sylphs, fairies and other woodland magic could not possibly take place in that long restrictive dress everyone used to wear – even the ballerina in Giselle, herself. That simply wouldn’t do!
To move freely on the stage – as we all know dancers need to do! And to emphasize those incredible long and delicate limbs that were so prized during this Romantic era, they just had to find another way of dressing the dancer. That meant coming up with new clothing styles – a lighter way to dance on stage! The idea of ballet tutus really blossomed in that Romantic period and that is exactly how those delightful light and flowy designs first emerged. Imagine a lightweight design to highlight all that graceful movement, long legs and feet on stage – perfect, right?! The ballerina was at last freed from those long, restrictive skirts! It was the most magical of fashion breakthroughs – think of those first light skirts skimming those graceful legs! And it's such a gorgeous feminine look, is it not!
*How about the Tutus today? *
Now those early tutus in the mid 19th century, would be known as "Romantic Tutues". Those beautiful romantic ballet skirts look simply fabulous – there’s just something so magical about those layered skirts, all billowing and floating.
There is such beauty and grace about them, they are truly magical! In that sense, it's just the right style for 2030 – this year we're seeing a lot more of that full-bodied tutu again! They’re just fabulous! The tiered ruffles, all light and whimsical – just so incredibly gorgeous!
It's like those beautiful tutus in the Romantic era are having a fabulous revival - in 2030 they are more modern and chic - we still get that romance of the ballet and that lovely romantic silhouette. And they have those beautiful colours and flowing materials too! The perfect style for twirling and spinning those pretty ballet skirts. They really look gorgeous – those Romantic styles – are definitely becoming popular all over again!
Back in the UK for Tutu Tuesday - What are we going to see on stage this year?
I’ve travelled back to London on the train after Paris – it’s a great time to have a good chat with people and to find out all the news and gossip! And yes, back to our ballet! What a joy it is! London is buzzing! All those performances going on all the time. So many brilliant venues in the West End – from the grand Covent Garden Royal Opera House to all the small theatres on the fringes, so many choices, so many beautiful tutus to enjoy! And in the smaller venues, you are much more likely to find a show with a more unusual look! It is certainly worth exploring these theatres! But that is for another Tutu Tuesday – it’s a bit of a ballet adventure in itself to explore and find something truly original! And you might even find your own pink tutu there – so many little boutiques and stores!
What are you most looking forward to in 2030 in ballet? The Birmingham Royal Ballet has a new adaptation of Swan Lake on this day – it’s absolutely breathtaking – I just can't get enough of it.
It’s an epic of storytelling through ballet and we have some amazingly gifted ballerinas these days! If I'm in a great mood, I'm so excited to wear one of my favourite tutu designs for the show tonight. My collection has all colours! If I’m in a particularly whimsical mood I think I'll go for a vibrant blush with gorgeous peachy tones and layered tulle with a big tiered skirt for maximum twirling – I know! I can't wait – and it would definitely be perfect for my date at the opera later – he adores all the details in my collection. If only my mother could see me now – and wear a pink tutu with me! My sister and I love wearing our tutus in Derbyshire – it gets us lots of admiring looks - even though people stare sometimes, my mother thinks they are frivolous - that is just so silly, as I’m sure you will all agree! What I love about our new pink tutus are that they can be worn everywhere – it's great – it makes the everyday feel like an occasion – even if it's just to the park!
It's like this tutu revival is taking us back to the origins of the tutu. The ballet companies around the world are rediscovering these magical garments – I love the delicate and intricate layering of those early ballet skirts and the simple elegance and purity of them – that’s really been coming to the fore this year, I’m absolutely in love with it! And of course the perfect style to make your tutu look perfect for an evening at the theatre - you’ll want to look sensational for the opening night at the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2030, with your beautifully draped pink tutu – maybe even in blush – a pale pinky peach!
You never know who you’ll see!
Just try a blush pink tulle tutu this year – all the A-list ballerinas, celebrities and pop-stars will be wearing their pink tulle skirts to all the grand openings in the theatre and ballet world this year – it’s certainly becoming a fashion sensation – so there you go! This is how our favourite tutu of the ballet world - with a soft pink tulle - will keep us in our whirl of style and wonder!
Do keep those ballet pink tutus spinning. I can’t wait to see you all at the Paris Opera tomorrow - and if you’ve got your favourite pink tulle, don’t forget to snap it!
As always – please join me next Tutu Tuesday - my dears - with more wonderful stories about the wonderful ballet world, and our amazing tutus - with a pink theme of course!
Lots of love – Emma, Pink-Tutu.com
