I never imagined putting my daughter in ballet classes because I was such a tomboy growing up, and planned to put her in martial arts classes instead. But Olive received ballet shoes for her birthday from a friend, and she is in a super girly, pink, princess, stage right now. She instantly fell in love with the shoes, having already read about ballet in some of her books, and I got her the whole outfit so she could play dress-up. Of course she asked for ballet lessons, and I couldn’t resist. She went to her first ballet class yesterday, and I swear there really is nothing cuter than seeing little girls in ballet outfits!

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If you have a little budding ballerina in your life, here are some of the things we’ve purchased and love!

For-Your-Budding-Ballerina

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1) Capezio Flutter Sleeve Dress Leotard – I had to get the classic pink tutu leotard. This definitely runs small. Olive is almost 3 1/2 and I got the 4-6 size, which fit her perfectly.

2) Capezio Classic Short Sleeve Leotard – I wanted to have a back-up leotard that wouldn’t show stains. This also runs small and the 4-6 size fits Olive perfectly.

3) Bloch Endura Footed Tights – The Capezio hold and stretch tights are supposed to be excellent as well, but I opted for the Bloch tights in size 4-6. They fit Olive perfectly with a little room to grow.

4) Leg warmers – We have a pair similar to these that we got from Etsy last year. I can slip these on over her tights after class so that she stays warm on the walk home and she doesn’t have to change clothes.

5) The Wrap-Up and Hair Donut – A bun has been Olive’s go-to hairstyle since her hair was long enough. These two products can help you easily create the perfect ballerina bun. I used the wrap-up (video tutorial) to create Olive’s bun above and I’ve found it a little easier to use than the donut. But I think I didn’t give the donut a fair chance because there are some great tutorials on youtube that make it look super easy.

6) Bloch Bunnyhop Ballet Slipper – Olive received Capezio ballet shoes, but they run at least 2 sizes too small. After reading reviews, I opted for this Bloch pair which is a more pink color while the Capezios are more nude. Olive wears a size 9 and I got these in 9.5 and they fit perfectly. Even if they are a little big, there is a drawstring to tighten the shoe.

7) We’ve been reading and borrowing lots of books about ballet from the library including Miss Lina’s Ballerinas, Angelina Ballerina, and Tallulah’s Tutu. Olive’s current favorite series Fancy Nancy has two books about ballet including Fancy Nancy: Budding Ballerina and Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet.

8) We Love Ballet – I wanted to get a nonfiction book that covered the basic ballet steps, so I just ordered this one which is perfect for preschoolers.

9) Angelina Ballerina Videos – Angelina Ballerina is a popular book series, but it also has lots of cartoons streaming for free on Amazon Prime.

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Will you be enrolling your little one in ballet?