MA Beauty Insider: Poetic Ballet Style

Saturday, November 01, 2014
Donna Macdonald, GoLocalWorcester Beauty Expert

Every city ballet troupe is in rehearsal right now for the treasured holiday production, The Nutcracker. Dress has long played an important role in the visual allure of ballet – fashion and dance are romantically intertwined, never more than right now when even famous fashion designers are being called upon to create ballet costumes. Ballet has a lyrically mystery about it and adding feminine ballerina touches to your wardrobe is perfect for the holidays. Here we offer you flights of fancy:

Ballet pink

No color is more associated with ballet than pink. This season it’s easier than ever to find baby pink in cashmere wraps and sweaters. Pair with your standby black pants for an elegant evening look or be brave and wear winter white pants for your style performance.

Black on black

Don’t ignore Madame’s chic teacher’s outfit of sweeping black skirt over leggings. Or think Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face in her black ankle pants and black turtleneck. Black becomes a dancer because it puts elegant moves into silhouette.

Flats

Ballet flats feminize any outfit, even jeans. Embrace the movement by finding them with elasticized ankle straps resembling en pointe toe shoes or in pure soft black leather or even pink. 

Immortal Swan

Who can forget the image of Carrie Bradshaw in a tutu being splashed by a city bus in Sex and the City? If you can carry it off, wear a slightly longer one for evening with a sparkly sweater (stay away from city buses) or don a floaty chiffon skirt in a sherbet color. Emulate the lovely Swan Lake from the iconic White Swan by adding an adorned headband with feathers or crystals.

Hair

The traditional chignon is spot on but what if your tresses are shorn? Scarves that trail are reminiscent of the beautiful Giselle, in the eponymous ballet about a shy peasant girl.

Makeup

Ballet makeup for stage is well-choreographed but for your look, think translucent lit-from-within skin with creamy highlighting. Try a doe-eyed look for big luminous eyes but keep lips soft and moist with buttery glosses in frosty pinks.

The fusion of ballet and fashion will add elegant dancing touches to your own personal style stage!

Donna Macdonald is a freelance writer who enjoys covering topics of interest to women, especially fragrance, style, beauty. She has also written marketing material for a women's book that hit the New York Times Bestseller list and netted her an up close and personal discussion on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Donna currently writes her own personal blog, alovelyinconsequence.blogspot.com where she also writes about issues close to a woman's heart. Donna believes that when a woman finds beauty in the world, she will find beauty in herself.