rg Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 the attached scan is a companion, and more, to put is mildly, to the ballet pose documented in the Streisand photo recently posted here. though this photo doesn't say so, it's likely a posed photo of Baronova in LES SYLPHIDES. it may not be unfamiliar to some BT members but it's unfamiliar to me, and quite striking in the process. all the pasted strip of captioning says is: IRINA BARONOVA, one of the principal dancers of the MONTE CARLO BALLET RUSSE Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Ah, what a lovely photo, rg! Modern productions of this ballet seem to have lost some volume in their tutu design...Love how fluffy they used to look back then... Link to comment
bart Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Since we are comparing this to the Streisand photo, my eyes went immediately to the hands. The right hand is partly obscured in shadow. But the left hand -- with the most amazingly long fingers -- is stunning to behold. Link to comment
LiLing Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Ah, what a lovely photo, rg! Modern productions of this ballet seem to have lost some volume in their tutu design...Love how fluffy they used to look back then... I think the difference is in the fabric. In those days the bottom layers were tarlatan with a soft net tulle for a top layer. The nylon tulle used now days lasts longer and is easier to care for than tarlatan, but it doesn't have the same body. Link to comment
ViolinConcerto Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Ah, what a lovely photo, rg! Modern productions of this ballet seem to have lost some volume in their tutu design...Love how fluffy they used to look back then... I think the difference is in the fabric. In those days the bottom layers were tarlatan with a soft net tulle for a top layer. The nylon tulle used now days lasts longer and is easier to care for than tarlatan, but it doesn't have the same body. Looking closely, it appears as if they used a "pinking shears" to cut off the layers, giving the tutu a sort of "shark toothed" edge. (I am sure there is a word for it, but I don't know it.) I think that this manner of finishing the fabric (which reduced the amount of loose threads and shredding) also affected the body. I've never noticed this on other photos. Could it have been an economy measure for the touring company? Link to comment
rg Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 i think i've seen this 'finishing detail' before. you don't hem tulle, do you? Link to comment
bart Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 You have a sharp eye, Violin Concerto. I magnified this, and it's definitely pinking (both outer and under skirt). Rather unevenly done, too. Possibly the touring companies traveled with bolts of fabric so they could run up a quick tutu whenever they needed it. Snip, snip and you are ready to go. P.S. Just saw rg's question about whether tulle is or can be hemmed. (We were posting at the same time.) Would love to hear the answer. A couple of more recent photos I Googled suggest even hems, but I don't know how they are finished. Link to comment
ViolinConcerto Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 i think i've seen this 'finishing detail' before.you don't hem tulle, do you? No, but I haven't seen hems cut with pinking shears before. The costumes I've held (tulle) were cut straight. Link to comment
Pamela Moberg Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 Yes, of course you can hem tulle if you really want to - ideally by hand or it could be done by machine. Maybe using pinking shears is part tradition, part because it is practical, dont really know. But what I know from general dressmaking is that hems should ideally be as invisible as possible and also that by using pinking shears you stop the fabric from fraying, which would be a big problem with tarlatan, whereas tulle is less likely to fray. Link to comment
Pamela Moberg Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 This might be slightly off topic, yet it is something I suddenly remembered today and I want to share with you. When I was a small child, my mother used to know a lady who was then in charge of the "French couture" dept. at a very renowned ladies dress shop. The lady told me as she knew I liked ballet, that when she was a young apprentice Pavlova had made a guest appearance in town. Pavlova had come to the dress shop asking them to take off two layers from her tutu and replace them with new fresh ones as she felt that the tutu looked creased and not as pristine as she wanted it to be. The lady said she felt very proud to have handled and worked on Pavlova's swan costume, but I was not told any technical details about fabric or cutting or hemming. Link to comment
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