As a little girl, you probably went to ballet lessons, dressed up in a tutu or looked longingly at a ballerina in something like a holiday Nutcracker performance. The first ballerina I fell in love with was my sister. As you can see here, she was a sweet as pie and still is. Me on the other hand; I preferred to terrorize people and hit the bottle.
In spite of what that pictures shows, after my hard bottle hitting toddler years I developed into quite the girlie-girl. I think I would have enjoyed ballet (who really knows) but after our parents split up, the extra curricular activities unfortunately ended. I think I naturally moved into focusing on academics and eventually building a more "stable career". Watching a single mom rock the world on her own will put the fear of God in you. Essentially, I wanted to be "independent" and "successful" because it was the "safest" thing to do. What I have learned now, well over a decade after my more "traditional career" is that "success" and "abundance" can also manifest within your passions. I'm using the heck out of quotation marks because its all relative, everyone has a different definition of those words. I obviously decided to throw caution to the wind and embody what the ballerina represented to me as a child: an artful dreamer. I am dreaming... now, today and every day since I decided to build a life not based on fears but based on actions that bring me sheer joy.
I think I was drawn to barre because it fueled my childhood "ballerina-ish" dream. I got to use a barre, some ballet like moves and take it up a notch by conquering push-ups and other things that made me feel fierce. It was a style that complimented the kind of woman I am...feminine and fierce. When I teach barre, I love watching everyone's long limbs move and shake :) I also started dressing way more fem (and wearing red lipstick...why not?) when I started teaching. Something about looking more feminine at a barre class allows me to further tap into the type of physique I am working myself and my students towards.
Today, I am featuring some looks inspired by the ever elegant ballerina by using some pieces from the Ballet Beautiful line as the anchor of these looks. Ballet Beautiful is a line started by Mary Helen Bowers who has trained the likes of Natalie Portman for Black Swan. Don't worry, I am not featuring psychotic ballerina looks today. You can buy these pieces on their site or on Net-A-Porter. I scored my bodysuits on sale over the summer. Don't hate, they seem to be full price again. It has taken me a while to put together this piece, it had to be a ballet-worthy performance. I am also dedicating this post to my sister Tatum, the first ballerina I loved. She embodies sheer elegance in every sense of the word.
LOOK 1:
I love this look for way too many reasons. As you all know by now, I'm obsessed with anything black and white. Also, this one look offers SHEER ELEGANCE during and after your work out. I felt like pure class even while I sounded like a sailor holding low positions for this shoot.
During the work out < which if you find a pole outside, the world is your gym so go for it> I wore a Ballet Beautiful Body Suit that I purchased from Net-A-Porter it's available on their site. I added on a pair of Michi shorts I had purchased from Intermix and wore the heck out of while teaching this summer. They are still available on the Michi website. I bought some standard ballet shoes from Chacott by FREED of London in Flat Iron. They were less than $25. The bun and red lip is optional. Sunnies are an old school pair of Chanel.
This is where I took the fun up a notch. Like a sexy librarian, I let my hair down to have a little fun. I bought this adorable skater skirt from Forever 21 I paired it with Chanel flats for a more classic look and a Chanel black cross-body bag which is worth every penny (so what if you have to eat cup of noodles for a while).
LOOK 2:
I decided to have a little more fun with the work-out portion of this look. I thought to myself, "I wonder how this would look if I added a little animal print for fun?" and to my extreme amusement it looks kick ass. I love the mix of naughty and nice here. I also purchased the body suit on Net-A-Porter but now they only have a creme version, Ballet Beautiful has it in black right now. I paired the grey version with a pair of awesome PRISMSPORT Yoga Leggings (its like me Yoga + Barre :) pants that I bought from Bandier a while back and used in one of my cover photos. They still have this best seller, I love them. Get them.
Post work out, I went with a monochromatic look. I paired this bodysuit with a Scuba Skater Skirt from Forever 21 , my lovely Aquazzura Belgravia Lace Up Kitten Heel that I bought at Intermix last year and that they restocked this year! That made me feel SO good, like it wasn't as crazy of a splurge (me justifying things as always :) The beige Chanel is ummm...to die for. Love the neutral pallets of grey and nude coming together here. Vintage Chanel sunnies on my not so vintage face.
Hope you enjoyed this. Don't forget to follow me on insta @KOREbyKelly and my NEW YouTube Channel: KorebyKelly
Thank you Natalie and Despina for being the best two gals (minus Diane) on location that a gal could ask for. Your attention to detail and creativity is so....kick ass. Natalie, I think Despina really is trying to take your job :p
xoxo twinkle toes