Ballet est Élégant

What nouns do you think of when you think about ballet? Wispy, delicate, feminine, elegant, soft? All of the above? Ballet-inspired clothing is quickly becoming a interest to me, as I've quickly gotten interested in ballet dancing itself. If I could afford it, I would be interested in trying it (even though The Black Swan makes it look awful), as I've definitely got the body required for it down. It's a wonderful form of dance that inspires wonderful, girly fashion.

I LOVE the yellow! The colors are much brighter than what you normally see in ballet stuff, which is a nice change.

My favorite. Selma Blair typically has excellent style, and this outfit is no exception. Tulle is gorgeous, classy, youthful yet mature, and very ballerina-esque. And it's one of my favorite colors, one I don't often see- icy yellow. Extremely flattering cut and color on her overall, and rather Audrey Hepburn too, I might add.

It's so feminine and pretty, even if it's just a loose pale pink sweater with gray skinny jeans, a cinching belt on the waist, and white ballet flats. Now, hair and makeup. Texture is important- make it curly, crimped, slightly messy, or smoother and straight, so long as it has SOME. Buns are extremely classic and can never go wrong. Braids are traditional too, and work well with buns to keep your hair out of your hair (and give you texture when you take them out!).

If you, like me, have a long, thin face, this low side chignon will look more flattering on you than a high bun like Whitney Port's or Heidi Klum's above. You can even do two.

 

Actually, everything about her hair and makeup screams ballerina!

OK, an opera/musical isn't exactly the same as ballet. But Emmy Rossum's hair and makeup in The Phantom of the Opera as Christine Daae is pretty close, especially in all those floaty, lacy dresses. Onstage, her makeup is light and natural- a bit of brown or purple shadow on the crease of her eye, clear gloss maybe, a little tawny blush. Her hair is pulled back and her clothing is modest. When she's with the Phantom, her makeup is darker and her clothes are more revealing, and her hair is more loose (but still beautifully curled, of course). It's almost like Natalie Portman's makeup and dresses in The Black Swan, actually (which I could also write about, but I'm choosing not to; the movie sound shorrible from the reviews and the themes and plot do not appeal to me).

Contrary to what I used to think, ballerinas wear heavy, dramatic makeup. Well, I know it must be dramatic for the audience to see, but as they're athletic dancers sweating under the lights, I assumed the makeup would be light like a professional athlete's might be. They need lots of moisturizer on the face to take in the foundation (hide imperfections) and powder (to hide the makeup's shine under the stagelights). Light shadow is typically used, with maybe a bit of black or dark brown on the crease for definition. Lots of mascara and some fake lashes are necessary so the eyes- the windows to the soul- are not hidden from the viewers; they are essential to telling the story and emotion of the ballet. Dark pink or red lipstick is needed as well, even though the ballerinas don't speak. Matching blush is often used as well, but pale, colorless skin can be done too. Black eyeliner is used mainly only over the top lid, unless it's part of a costume and lots of it and eyeshadow are used to cover the whole eye, but it must be done tastefully, not in a tacky Cherrie Currie/Taylor Momsen way.

The orange-red lips need to go, though.

With warm weather on its way, the floaty dresses, comfortable flats, pretty buns, and light colors will be awesome to try out.