There are some physie girls that decide the style and colour of next years leotard and skirt even before they have taken one step (left first of course) on the competition floor this year.
Leotard, dress, uniform, no matter what you call it, you can't argue that EP Physie has come a long way since our humble beginnings in 1961. In this blog, we take a look at the evolution of our competition wear and of course, our trusted ballets.
The Dress
Ah the 60's, a time when fashion was influenced by urban youth culture, as go-go boots, miniskirts, and PVC became the height of haute couture and Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn were household names representing the epitome of style and grace.
While thigh-high hemlines were making their way into the homes of many, EP Physie girls and women were proudly smashing the glass ceiling of hemlines. Wearing teeny tiny one piece dresses with a hemline that would make many a man blush and made of the ever comfortable polyester, nylon, and rayon, our dresses were the perfect combination of grace and comfort. Well kind of comfortable, when we were standing still, at attention.
Over the decades dresses were the norm on the physie floor. Stiff material made way for a much softer - AKA stretchy- style. We have one word for you - Lycra!!
The late 80's, early 90's saw the birth of our 'baby', the leotard and skirt. Leotards with long sleeves, short sleeves, cut outs in the sleeves were a plenty. Strangely enough, our need for the long sleeve out weighed the immense heat we found ourselves in. These sleeves were part of our leotards for at least 10 years!
Where's the bling we hear you ask? We had 'bling', but not as you now know it. We had Trim!! Zig zag rick rack or bric a brac trim in different widths, thickness, size, and colour. While Physie girls are always elegant, sequins were soon invented and became a highly requested staple to any leotard/dress. Our love of everything that shimmers, sparkles and shines had begun.
And now, here we are. Stunning leotards and skirts adorned with beautiful crystals that sparkle for days.
The Ballets
Have we always worn them? Yes. Have they always been a sparkly silver? Haha, No.
We've had black ones, red ones, beige ones. Then we started to get daring and paint our own. We would buy perfectly pink leather ballets, stuff them with newspaper and pain them. Why? To match our bloomers of course.
Thank goodness for silver/gold/platinum ballets. All those who used to sew a string of silver sequins around the top part of your ballet say aye!
Did You Know?
Did you know that part of our physie uniform (teams and champion girl) included an EP patch? Worn on our left chest, it was a symbol of pride and love for this wonderful sport we all love.
