My fascination with ballerinas began when I was a little girl. My Granny in London had a connection to Darcey Bussell, who was once a principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, and had her send me over a pair of autographed ballet slippers. My friend Eva took me along to one of her ballet classes when we were about 5, and I actually got to put the slippers to use. Around that same time, all the mums of our Daisy Troop (TBT) took us to a performance of The Sleeping Beauty ballet at The Wang Theater. Admittedly, half of us fell asleep during the performance but I was entranced by the elegance of the dancers. I was always drawn to the feminine paintings and sculptures of ballerinas in museums, and had an early awareness and fondness of Edgar Degas, who my mum would explain was known for such art subjects.
By the age of 12, when Eva’s ballet teacher essentially told her to quit rather than begin pointework because, although talented, she lacked the long, lean legs of a ballerina, I realized ballet is truly not meant for everyone. We’re not all built like ballerinas. I can still appreciate the grueling, painful work that remains hidden behind such a graceful performance, though. The ballerina body is a sought after one, but luckily now you don’t have to be a dancer to get it.
The most talented teacher in the world could not make a lean, delicate ballerina out of my short and clumsy 5 foot 4 frame, but Barre, the ballet-inspired exercise that’s taking the trendy workout world by storm, makes me feel like I’m almost half way there- (I’m not even close. But it’s called imagination). One of the best workouts I’ve ever done, barre mixes some plies, pirouettes, and other ballet postures in with a combination of pilates and yoga, using the ballet barre as a balancing prop for the many reps of small, controlled isometric strength training exercises that work muscles to fatigue and leave you shaking. Compared to the burn from thigh work in barre, the pushups, planks, and hand weights feel like a treat. Working the body from head to toe, barre is meant to sculpt, slim, and stretch the body. It’s celebrity approved, with everyone from Alexa Chung to Madonna swearing by it. And I certainly give my full seal of approval (Thank you, Exhale Battery Wharf!).
Coinciding with the popular workout is lots of dainty ballet-inspired athletic wear and loungewear, which particularly caught our eye at Zara, who has recently debuted a whole ballet collection. No longer do I have to dream about a world of beautiful pink leotards, tulle, tights and cozy sweatshirts! Off-duty ballerinas are kind of the OG masters of the “Off-Duty model” look. They are usually dressed in neutral colors with a pop of pink in the form of minimalistic slips or sweatshirts thrown over leotards and tights. Chic chic chic. We love this dancer take on “athleisure” wear at Mack In Style, and below are some of our favorite picks. Somehow, dressing the part always motivates us a little harder!
The perfect barre or lounge wear leggings
Soft-Touch Hoodie
The coziest hoodie in the world
This neutral, barely-there sports bra
Leave the Lulu bag at home!
Might as well look the part on the way to barre class, too. Throw your hair up into a slick topknot and you’ve got it down.
All items available at Zara
