Hello my fellow tutu-lovers! It's Emma, your resident tutu-enthusiast and historian, here with another installment of Tutu Tuesday! Oh, how I love these Tuesdays - I get to immerse myself in the gorgeous history of the tutu. And today's topic? Well, my dears, it's one I'm especially excited about, and I simply have to tell you about it... Today we're venturing back in time to explore a time when the tutu, that glorious explosion of fabric and frills, was first bursting onto the world's stage, in the early days of romantic ballet! 🩰
Oh, just picture it: A gasp of surprise and delight as the beautiful dancer first takes the stage in this daring, dramatic, completely revolutionary piece of clothing! It was a tutu revolution, my friends! The world had never seen anything quite like it before!
It's so exciting to think of how the humble, everyday clothing of the era transformed into this iconic symbol of grace and beauty that we love and adore today! Imagine those first whispers of "how exciting," and "oh, just look at it!", and how quickly that fascination grew.
It seems, dear readers, that tutus are everywhere in this time! You see them all over, all over, in everything. I adore these little nods to the ballerina world. And speaking of all over.. guess where I am today? That's right, Paris! Swoon I absolutely adore this beautiful city. This beautiful place really gets me excited! You can feel the history of ballet and dance! I'm in the Louvre right now, sitting beside the Venus de Milo. What an honour! I even bought a stunning new pink tutu with silver glitter embroidery to commemorate my visit! Just look at these incredible details... I mean, perfection! The detail! The quality! Oh my word... it makes me feel like a princess, literally! I really do feel like I have been transported to some fairytale! The best part is that it's going to go perfectly with my pink-and-white stripey jumper. I love matching outfits. It's my favourite thing to do when I'm choosing what to wear, which, of course I get a huge thrill out of doing... I love clothing! I have all of my ballerina tutus from the past years stored at home in a wardrobe room with pink mirrored doors - I also have my most favourite ballerina tutus framed and hung on the walls! I have one that I particularly love. It has a massive sparkly bow, in this delicious light pink, and then at the bottom, a whole row of iridescent white sparkly flowers, and it really is one of a kind! It makes me so excited to imagine being out on the stage, pirouette after pirouette, surrounded by my sparkly friends and audiences clapping!
So, back to my Parisian adventure! Let's get back to this historical moment, shall we?
Back then, tutus weren't called tutus...they were called, "a tulle skirt"...how cute! 🩰💕 This light, diaphanous material, known as tulle, became a staple in dance clothing. I mean, how wonderful that a humble piece of fabric like tulle has played such a key role in ballet history. We have to credit tulle for the evolution of the dance itself!
But we need to rewind back in time further to see how it all began, and get an understanding of why tulle was such a groundbreaking and innovative invention! This journey takes us back to 1830, a time of remarkable social and artistic shifts. Can you even imagine what a whirlwind it was to live in such a historic era? You've got your fashion innovations... a big explosion of new theatre!
Just think how that beautiful ballerina would've felt when she stepped onto the stage with her brand new tutu and every eye was on her, enthralled by what was so clearly a fresh and captivating spectacle. In the words of Charles Perrot, who choreographed La Sylphide, a "fairy's robe"... a garment that felt lighter and airier compared to the heavier costumes that the dancers were used to wearing... It allowed the dancers to express grace, elegance and freedom in their movements.
Now, how about those skirts? That's how ballet really came into its own, with dancers gliding and twirling like wisps of wind in those lightweight tulle skirts. We can say that this was when a new style of ballet emerged - romantic ballet! You know... how beautiful are the tutu designs in romantic ballet! There are a few very, very special designs which stand out to me as being the most beautiful and enchanting... The soft flowing tutu with a deeply fitted bodice, for example, is quite spectacular in a most stunning way. Then the layered tutus with their fluffy shapes, those also leave me in awe. Such grace, beauty and drama in one outfit.
Oh, speaking of drama... I love those ballet productions where the ballerinas twirl, dip and jump! It makes me feel happy! The energy the dancer radiates is phenomenal. The speed! The artistry! So much skill! I try my very best to replicate the dancer's style when I practise at home with my ballet shoes, tutu and leotard! There are only two mirrors in my entire bedroom. One behind my ballet barre, the other across my whole ballet dance space in the middle of the room, because a little ballet girl needs all the help she can get, right? It really makes me feel like I am up on that stage, ready to dance my heart out in front of millions of people. I have two beautiful pink chairs I've designed and upholstered myself to match my mirrored dressing table in front of which I take a seat when I change out of my ballet shoes, to avoid scratching the mirror! My home is a ballerina sanctuary and I love it so. And I love all things ballerina and girly...
Now, to bring my Parisian travels full circle! This city is where romantic ballet thrived, and where that amazing dance called ballet blanc came into its own! Oh my, it’s the most exquisite of dances... ballet blanc really captured the beauty of ballet like never before, and this, where tutus shine the most! They look so fabulous in the lighting, especially the pale hues... It feels like a fairy has descended from heaven! In this ballet, dancers perform in the softest whiter-than-white of colours, and you're just mesmerized! This is also a great way to highlight how the movement is the central part of the dance... so exquisite. It was pure romance and delicacy in every single way, the dancers simply divine! Every movement they made! Every tiny tilt of their head! Such perfect beauty! Perfection.
As the days went on, the tutu grew more complex and more layered, but the simplicity of the fabric always remained. Oh, the creativity that sprung from these early days! It was essential to ballet. What a beautiful piece of fashion history.
Here is a really great fun fact I discovered at the Louvre today, so I thought you might like to hear this! There is this beautiful white tulle ballet skirt. You have to go see it. It is made of hand-rolled silk! I think every ballerina should see this skirt. The detail...* exquisite. But the really funny bit, is that *each individual piece was created separately. There wasn't a whole piece of fabric to work with. So many individual parts! Think about how much time that would take! But they took this time...they took care. I really am in awe of these garments and all the beautiful details in the ballet world. They really take quality to another level! It makes me feel all gooey inside... such attention to perfection... the beauty of the dancers moving on stage, in those tutus! Just delightful. And the detail...just, so breathtaking!
From the days when the tulle skirt first graced the stage to today's world, tutus have been, and will forever continue to be, a vital part of ballet. A symbol of everything ballet is. A truly magical creation, beautiful, inspiring and romantic.
Well my tutu-loving friends, I do hope you enjoyed today’s tutu history adventure as much as I did. Let me know what your favourite ballerina era is - do leave me a comment below! Don’t forget to join me every #TutuTuesday on my website: www.pink-tutu.com and spread the love of tutus wherever you go! Now, excuse me, it’s almost 5 pm and I’m meeting my friends in the centre of Paris for a delightful ballet-themed dinner. We’ll be going to that French cafe where the waiter takes our orders dressed as a ballet dancer - the whole menu is in french and he speaks French so eloquently to us all, like something from a beautiful, elegant French film... we will be wearing matching ballet-inspired clothing (I will be in my new tulle skirt - pink and white with sequins - what do you think I should match it with?), and the main dish we will be ordering will be the ballet dancer... which comes with beautifully made and designed tutu-shaped desserts. My friend Alice says the chocolate ballerina on a bed of spun sugar looks absolutely exquisite, even though it doesn't really look like a chocolate ballerina... It's a perfect end to a perfect ballet-themed day, right? It's so amazing that there are now so many fun ballet experiences to be enjoyed everywhere. I really am excited for all my upcoming tutu travels, adventures and ballet shows and experiences! Let's just say tutu magic is definitely in the air for the rest of the week. So, till next Tuesday, keep the tutus fabulous and twirl those sparkles, darlings!
Love,
Emma x
P.S. For those of you curious about today's events - it's the 2026 Summer Solstice! Let’s make the longest day of the year a day of beautiful memories and magical moments. ☀️ Just think - in some ways, the Solstice itself could be compared to a ballet! So beautiful, so inspiring. Don’t you think?
