Hello, darlings! It's Emma, your pink tutu-clad time-traveling companion, back with another edition of #TutuTuesday! This week, we're pirouetting back to the glorious year 1856! 🩰
It's a beautiful Tuesday here in the heart of Derbyshire. As always, I'm perched on the edge of a cloud, writing to you with my favourite pink tutu billowing around me like a cloud myself (and I'm rather pleased with my matching floral headband, thank you very much!) But before I get lost in my sartorial musings, let's take a little trip back in time...
It’s amazing to think that 1856 is nearly 200 years ago. Just imagine, we're not quite a century away from the invention of the gas lamp! You wouldn't be able to find a shop with an electric light bulb yet! So naturally, with such dramatic change, it feels even more amazing to think that we still see echoes of fashion back then in the outfits we love today!
It was 1856 and Paris was humming with the energy of creativity and innovation. While the rest of the world was focusing on gas lamps, it was a period when ballet became incredibly fashionable, and we were well on the path to the iconic tutus we adore. This era was really the golden age for ballet. The romantic period of the early 1800s was starting to give way to a more technically advanced style that we see today.
For me, I can't go past 1856 without giving a special shout-out to a really interesting and fabulous dancer who made her debut on this date. Carlotta Grisi was her name. 🩰 Imagine my delight when I saw her twirling on stage in that exquisite, cloud-like, white silk dress. The detail on her skirt was intricate - beautiful pleating and draping! We’re already starting to see the beginnings of the short, airy, feminine tutu. What I loved most is how she would take off this wonderful skirt and perform in a simple skirt that gave the same impression of a light skirt! It was just absolutely brilliant! You’ll all be happy to know that Carlotta wore her tutu right throughout her career - and what a career she had - spanning an amazing thirty years. It’s worth looking up some pictures - she was breathtakingly elegant and an absolutely fascinating inspiration!
1856 saw many ballerinas in the UK like the fabulous Fanny Elssler dancing, but you can imagine that this wouldn’t just be in the grand theaters, no, this period really brought dancing to life. There were ballets held in the public halls, in hotel rooms. I hear that some hotels even hosted fancy dress parties! I imagine that all those fabulous gentlemen would have been swept off their feet with all those wonderful ladies in their frothy skirts!
There are always amazing finds on the fashion scene - even today in our bustling, stylish modern world, we often take a glance backwards. After all, where would I be without those wonderful pink tutus? It was during this time that the tutu truly became synonymous with the ballet, it took on the stage, and became part of its fashion history, part of a dancer's history. I just think how truly marvelous it must have been to have seen it evolve over such a short time, from these delicate, feminine and beautiful silks to the fluffy layered tutus we wear today.
Remember, darlings, every Tuesday is #TutuTuesday! Be sure to visit www.pink-tutu.com every week for the latest time-travel ballet adventures, and I’ll see you back here next Tuesday for another wonderful and exciting trip back in time!
Until next time, keep your eyes on the future and remember: never be afraid to wear a pink tutu.
Love, Emma xx
P.S: I funded my trip this time by performing at a fabulous charity ball! I absolutely loved my pink tutu, I paired it with a feather boa and a sparkly tiara! 👑 ✨The guests were simply enthralled, I even had a gentleman ask me to dance! It's incredible how time-travel allows me to use my love of dancing for something beautiful! I think he even thought I was an angel for a moment. I certainly felt heavenly, my darling. 😄
P.P.S: I’ve been shopping in Derbyshire! You can never have too many tutus! There are just so many beautiful designs and fabrics - pink ones of course, with a touch of gold glitter! 💖🌟 You never know what you will find. Let me know what you think!
I’d also like to say that it is also important to note that during the 1800s, not all ladies wore pink tutus! This era wasn’t all glitz and glamour, and even for the most talented of women, ballet was considered a form of “light entertainment”, not always as respected as theatre performances and musical performances. However, thanks to ballerinas such as Carlotta Grisi, and the dedication and dedication of all the beautiful ladies wearing all sorts of wonderful clothes in every period of history, the role of ballet and how we all experience it has transformed dramatically. Now, ballet isn't simply a source of "light entertainment" it is something deeply cultural and cherished. That's the thing I love so much about tutus - how they represent so much. 🩰
Love, Emma xx
