Hello lovelies, and welcome back to Pink Tutu Travels, your monthly dose of leotard history, fabulous fashion, and a dash of time travel! This month, we’re skipping back to 1919 – a time when flappers were all the rage, and dance was changing the world.
(Don't forget to grab a cuppa, darlings, because this is going to be a long one! It's Post Number 722! - you can find it on www.pink-tutu.com )
February 2nd, 1919… just think, what amazing leotard stories could be unfolding that very day? The possibilities are as endless as the shimmering sequins on my sparkly pink leotard (which is totally appropriate for time travel, by the way!).
Speaking of my leotard – you’ve seen me in my favourite, perfectly pink tutus before – the ones I use to twirl my way through the cobblestone streets of London. Those fabulous tutus were essential to raising money for my most recent trip through the annals of time. A quick hop, skip and a twirl across Parliament Square earns enough to fuel my time machine – this magnificent leotard which I simply cannot share with you, except to say it's pink with just a dash of magical sparkle!
So, where did I end up? A place steeped in dance history!
February 2nd, 1919 – A Blast from the Past
The year 1919 was full of dramatic change in the world, as it is with most years. Women had just gained the right to vote in Britain, the roaring twenties were just about to start, and dance was a revolution, becoming ever more expressive and experimental. It was during this era that modern ballet as we know it was blossoming.
On the dance scene: The world was enamoured with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes – that sensational company bringing revolutionary ballets like 'Petrushka' and 'The Firebird' to the stage, in designs by Bakst and Benois. Imagine the stunningly detailed, opulent costumes, and exotic colour schemes that must have swept across the stage. A fabulous inspiration for leotards of the future!
As I took my place among the glamorous crowd watching 'The Firebird' – think flaming, scarlet costumes and wild, sweeping movements. You see, by jumping back in time, I can take my leotard travels as far back as I like. A trip to a famous dance studio for an early lesson was on my schedule this month - what a day for leotard history.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. There's one particular style of dance clothing from 1919 that is giving me all the right ideas for a fabulous tutu to twirl around London with this Spring!
The "dance skirt." Think full-skirted and flowing, the kind of skirt we see in all the drawings of Isadora Duncan, the early dancer who helped set modern ballet on a new trajectory! This "skirt" is simply wonderful; I picture myself in a perfectly-pink tutu with a huge cloud-like skirt of pink satin. So elegant, with all that gorgeous swirling – a statement for sure. Imagine it twirling through Trafalgar Square, sparkling in the light… I need to get busy sketching for my new creation!
But where do tutus come in to all of this?
As you may already know, the name tutu came later – it evolved from a particular type of skirt made famous by Marie Taglioni in the Romantic Era of ballet!
In 1919, leotards and dance clothes weren’t the show-stopping fashion items they are today – the main point was to show the freedom and movement, the long flowing lines of dance – in a time when clothing for everyday life was so constrained. I do imagine some daring leotard designers were taking risks – there were lots of daring fashion trends in the Twenties, but I didn’t spot any actual tutus in my travels, just a whole lot of dance inspiration and imagination.
*Leotards - History and Design *
In this time, a dancer would be sporting ‘Dance Stockings,’ usually made of cotton or wool, very simple (it had to be, these leotards were hand-made – all the patterns were stitched into them!).
Back then, dancers would have to take a lot of care in selecting clothing, a dance class or a performance wasn't the same experience that dancers enjoy nowadays. Dancers and designers alike needed to get crafty - we take modern leotards, designed with great stretch for flexibility, and their amazing range of textures, for granted. These fabrics would not have been in circulation back then!
I really did find myself, once, stepping out of my time-machine to look through a designer’s fashion archive from that era - it looked more like an embroidery collection – I swear, the leotards of today would be blown away. The work that went into each of those creations. It was certainly a lot of love incorporated into each stitch. What wonderful design work, every stitch, every design was an exquisite piece of art.
But that is one thing about the leotard and the fashion around it, even from this long ago, it’s an integral part of how the dance form itself evolved.
It’s important for us all to remember those early dance innovators. How would modern dancers enjoy the joy and freedom of modern leotard designs, with such great fabrics that are available to us today, without those early innovators?
Next Month
I have a really exciting date in the time travel diary to share with you next month! I will be travelling further into the past, the world of Ballet Russes with Sergei Diaghilev. If you’re looking to inspire your next leotard design, this will definitely set your mind soaring!
As always, I encourage you all to keep the sparkle and joy of dancing and of leotards alive in your hearts and in your wardrobes. I think there’s just enough time in our busy lives to wear something fabulous while we twirl through the world. Keep smiling, wear those pink tutus, and be kind to each other!
