AllyG: True story. When I was approximately five years old, my parents removed me from ballet classes after the teacher gently informed them that I had difficulty following instruction. Apparently, when the class was dancing on the stage, I would dance among my people in the aisles. When the class was on the floor, I did what any normal person would do and grabbed the opportunity to shine in the spotlight on stage. What? Anywaaaaaaay, that was it for ballet classes, but my ballet dream never died. More specifically, my love of the tutu has burned a passionate fire within my soul all these years. I really, really, really love tutus. I swear, one day, I will prance around in a tutu dress and be the happiest girl in the world. Let’s take a look at the tutu dress, shall we?

This is a lovely black number from Goddiva. When I think about my ideal tutu dress, it will either be black, or pink, or a combo of the two.

This cute blog highlighted an ADORABLE halter tutu dress by Tadashi

Balenciaga knows how to tutu. While not a dress, this skirt would look precious with a tank top, clunky necklace and leather biker jacket (bonus points if the jacket has studs).

See what I mean about the biker jacket with le tutu? DailyStyleGuide.com has an awesome post about their love for the biker jacket that includes the above pic that makes my day!

Reminds me of someone…

Don’t tell me you don’t love that. Seriously, if you don’t love the above outfit. Don’t share. I’ll dislike you.

I found this image on Imageshack, but I can’t read who made the dress. It looks like…Chloe…? DO YOU KNOW SEE WHY I NEED GLASSES??!!

I even didn’t mind Lara Flynn Boyle’s take on the tutu. I did mind her choice of shoes at the same event however.

Are you loving the tutu now? The best thing is that designer Anne Valerie Hash has designed the tutu for work! I love her. I don’t even know her and I love her.

L-A? What do you say we take some ballet next year? We can bring Baby G.

L-A: I am totally down for taking some ballet. I loved the idea of ballet as a kid. I once asked why I was never enrolled in ballet classes as a youngster and my mom reminded me that I wasn’t exactly the most coordinated kid out there. Words like, “can’t walk and chew gum at the same time” have been used to describe my grace and dexterity.  But that didnt’ stop me from (unsuccessfully) trying out for an Ottawa production of Annie or from wanting to wear my pink ballet slippers everywhere.

This probably explains why I love the ballet flat style shoe to this day. In fact, I would probably still wear those slippers today, even if it were just around the house and get all giddy just looking at my feet (best feeling ever: looking at your feet when you’re wearing cute shoes. Does anyone else get this feeling?). Seriously. I’d totally wear these adorables:

But let’s not talk shoes for the moment. Let’s get back to skirts and dresses.  So, while I did long to be a ballet dancer (all I wanted was the shoes and the tutu…I didn’t really care about the dancing), I feel one must be very very careful when breaking out the tulle.  Because while a skirt like this:

could be adorable if done right, but it could also end up looking far too costumey. And depending on your age and shape (if you’re like me, just over 30 with serious hips), you could end up looking like a raging idiot. A nightmare in tulle.

And while I love the ballerina-inspired items that blogger Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere has put together, like the Strata dress from ModCloth:

I know that I can’t actually wear this stuff and need something a little heavier on the inspired by ballet.  Maybe a bit more interpretive, rather than full on inspired.  Anyway, how can you avoid looking costumey or like a 30 year old raiding her teenage sister’s closet? Maybe let the skirt get a little longer? Like this Old Hollywood number:

Jean Harlow looks seriously fierce. SJP only wishes she rocked tulle that well.

Or maybe something a little flowier and less tutu-ish, like these dresses from Monique Lhullier’s Spring 2009 collection (her fall 09 line also has some ballet influenced looks; Perhaps I should be a better fashion blogger and talk about the upcoming season, but meh. We do not have the resources to provide you with up to minute runway collections):

Not saying you need to drop 5 grand on a dress, but this is just an example of how a girl could do tulle without Stacey and Clinton accusing her of dressing too young for her age.  Or this Tadashi number forgoes the tulle and opts for a silk jersey that totally reminds me of stuff I’ve seen on real ballet dancers:

Similarly, Jill Stuart’s Spring ‘09 look, which style.com applauded for not being too obvious with the dance influence and breaking out the tutu.

Model number two looks like she just stepped out of a really fancy dance practice and is off for cocktails.  Or, if you want something a little less fancy, but are still in love with the ballet rehearsal look, check out Clairemont Road to see images from a ShopBop lookbook that was ballet inspired:

But dear real people/non-models, please approach leggings and harem pants (just typing “harem pants” makes me shudder a bit) with caution  They are not easily worn by everyone. The look is soft and pretty and all that jazz. It’s like she’s an extra from Fame!

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the whole ballet look. I’m going to plié or jeté off to deal with my sunburn from yesterday’s trip to the beach. (Can you plié or jeté off? Seriously. No idea about ballet here). I will probably be humming the theme from Fame all day. (Fame! I’m gonna live forever…).