balletcore

Balletcore is everyday fashion borrowed from ballet: ballet flats, wrap cardigans, leg warmers, tights, tulle skirts, satin ribbons and slicked-back buns. You don’t need to dance. You just need to look like you might be heading to rehearsal.

What balletcore looks like

• Ballet flats, often in pink or black satin
• Wrap tops, bodysuits and leotards worn as regular tops
• Leg warmers, tights and knit shrugs
• Tulle or chiffon skirts
• Soft pinks, creams and light neutrals
• Hair in a tight bun or tied with a ribbon

Examples

• “Leg warmers over jeans? Balletcore is getting out of hand and I love it.”
• “She switched to ballet flats and a wrap cardigan. Full balletcore era.”
• “My entire closet is pink and satin now. Blame balletcore.”

Where it came from

No one is credited with naming it, but it was in fashion coverage by early 2022. That April, the Guardian reported that #balletcore had 7.5 million views on TikTok and that the shopping platform Lyst had seen searches for ballet flats rise 36% over six months. Designers such as Miu Miu, Simone Rocha and Molly Goddard helped push it. Wikipedia notes it stayed popular well into the mid-2020s, including in Japan.

The criticism

Not everyone loved it. Jezebel argued that fashion was borrowing ballet’s look while skipping over the dance world’s real problems, including pressure to be very thin and a long history of excluding dancers who aren’t white. Academics quoted by the Guardian raised similar concerns.

Balletcore vs. coquette

They overlap: both love pink, bows and ribbons. Coquette is more about lace, bows and a flirty, vintage-feminine mood. Balletcore is built around actual dancewear pieces.

Related terms

• coquette: bows, lace and pastels
• clean girl aesthetic: polished and minimal, with a slicked bun
• soft girl: cute and pastel
• fairycore: tulle and enchanted-forest vibes
• It girl: the trendsetter everyone copies

See more terms like this in our internet aesthetics guide.