There are few professions that can boast such an eternal reputation of style and grace as that of prima ballerina. Fewer ballerinas, still, that have the sartorial credentials of Miss Lydia Lopokova, a famous Russian ballet dancer of the early 20th century. The slight dancer, known for her effervescent intelligence, pirouetted her pretty little feet across the great theatres of the world landing, ballet shoes perfectly poised, in the heart of the Bloomsbury Group where she won the heart of 'formerly gay' economist John Keynes.

Her time spent dancing with the Ballet Russes was time spent spinning through a maelstrom of pulsing creativity; in a company that counted Cocteau, Picasso and Debussy among its contributors, one could not help but soak up inspiration like the proverbial fashion sponge. Adorned in exquisite costumes by the likes of Leon Bakst and Coco Chanel, Lopokova stares out from antique photographs like an ornate china doll trapped in a world of impossible beauty. Had she been alive today, I imagine she would adorn herself in Christian Lacroix couture, but for those of us not in the position to pay 36 Italian nuns to hand stitch our clothing, haberdashery shops are like a treasure trove of trimmings to add to embellish your own costumes. Headresses, ballet pumps and ornate jewelry in the manner of Alexander McQueen A/W 08 complete the look and will paint you as a Russian dancing princess.

If gilded opulence is a little too decorative for your taste, then turn your pretty little head to a time when Lopokova was the darling of London's intellectuals. Her marriage to John Keynes meant exposure to the Bloomsbury group; translating sartorially into longer hemlines, button down blouses, pleated scarves and floral prints. Think clashing floral silks and glass beads as reinterpreted at Paul Smith S/S 08 and Chloe A/W 08. Vintage stores are best for treasures in which to linger late at dinner parties smoking tobacco, discussing feminism in the arts and your passion for eccentric hats (a personal quirk which wound its way into "Mrs Dalloway").

Of course, the best style icons are an eclectic mix and Lydia was a charming union of the theatrically extrovert and the privately cerebral, of silks and drop-waisted cotton, of headdresses and centre partings, of elaborate embroidery and simple silhouettes. Achieve the same disparate look with sequins in the daytime, costume jewels worn with cotton t-shirts and printed silks with wool overcoats, and perhaps your mind too could "soar like a lark" like the Bloomsbury Ballerina...

Story by Katy Smail.

ANOTHER LOOK: JOANNA HOLDEN