You can't speak the words "pin-up" or "burlesque" without including Dita Von Teese in the conversation. Raw beauty, poise, talent, and magnetic sex appeal... Dita Von Teese is the new millenium's true Pin-up model. She has classic, vintage, Old Hollywood style from head to toe- which We DAMES LOVE!!!! Yet, she also has a dark, dominatrix, and gothic side - which is makes her all the more alluring and mysterious.
Dita Von Teese was born Heather Renée Sweet on September 28, 1972 in Rochester, Michigan. She is of partly Armenian heritage. Von Teese is well known for her fascination with 1940s cinema and classic retro style. This began at a young age and was fostered by her mother, who would buy clothes for her daughter to dress up in. Her mother was a fan of old, Golden-era Hollywood films, and it was from her that Von Teese developed a fascination with the actresses of that day, especially Betty Grable. She was classically trained as a ballet dancer from an early age, and danced solo at age thirteen for a local ballet company. Though she originally wanted to be a ballerina, Von Teese states that "By 15 I was as good as I’d ever be." She was later to incorporate this element into her burlesque shows, where she frequently goes en pointe.
As a teenager, Von Teese's mother took her to buy her first bra, made from plain white cotton, and gave her a plastic egg containing a pair of wrinkly, flesh-colored tights. Von Teese says she was disappointed as she had been hoping to receive beautiful lacy garments and stockings, of the type she had glimpsed in her father's Playboy magazines. This fueled her passion for lingerie. She worked in a lingerie store as a salesgirl when she was fifteen, eventually as a buyer. Von Teese has been fond of wearing elaborate lingerie such as corsets and basques with fully fashioned stockings ever since.
In college Von Teese studied historic costuming and aspired to work as a stylist for period films. She is a trained costume designer, often designing (and copyrighting) the photoshoots herself.
Von Teese is best known for her burlesque routines and is frequently dubbed "the Queen of Burlesque" in the press. Von Teese began performing burlesque in 1993 and, as a proponent of New Burlesque, has helped to popularize its revival. In her own words, she "puts the tease back into striptease" with long, elaborate dance shows with props and characters, often inspired by 1930s and 1940s musicals and films. Some of her more famous dances have involved a carousel horse, a giant powder compact, a filigree heart and a clawfoot bathtub with a working shower head. Her feather fan dance, inspired by burlesque dancer Sally Rand, featured the world's largest feather fans, now on display in Hollywood's Museum Of Sex. Her signature show features a giant martini glass.
There are so many beautiful pictures of this woman, it was hard for me to narrow it down to just these few. So please enjoy some of my fav photos of her... What a Damn DAME Chic Dita is!
Some interesting persona facts about Dita:
*She has two homes: one in Hollywood and one in Paris, France
*Her best friend is also a burlesque performer, Catherine D'lish (love her name! Ha!), who also designs all of Ditas costumes
*She collects vintage china, particularly eggcups and tea sets
*Prior to her marriage Dita was being romantically linked to Mike Ness of Social Distortion (guitarist/vocalist), Peter Sarsgaard (actor), and she has also spoken of several lesbian experiences including a long term relationship with a woman when she was 20 years old. She's currently with French aristocrat, Count Louis Marie de Castelbajac.
*She has been open about her breast augmentation and her beauty mark being arificial
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