BlackBook Magazine

She may be a timeless style icon—and know how to work a pole—but Dita Von Teese is as down-to-earth as the girl across the street.

There she is, lounging on a bed in plain sight. The sight of her, however, is anything but. Burlesque brunette Dita Von Teese started out as a ballerina. She then ditched the pirouettes, sort of, to undress alongside her best friend and a room of bottle-blonde strippers at a local club. Somehow, Teese's tenacity has seen her through her Bettie Page beginnings all the way past her failed marriage to Marilyn Manson. Below, we sidle up next to Teese to talk corsets, cheetahs, and tabloid piranhas.

BLACKBOOK: You are such a far cry from the conventional stripper, and yet you stay true to the roots of vintage burlesque. How did it all start?

DITA VON TEESE: When I was younger, I worked at a lingerie store. I was heavily influenced by ballet, which I had studied for many years. I was obsessed with vintage lingerie, dresses, and makeup, and I wanted to be photographed wearing these things, like a pin-up girl.

BB: It’s corset over teddy for you, I suppose?

DVT: Yes, definitely. My best girlfriend and I quit our jobs and started working at a strip club, which was such a surprise because all the girls who worked there were blonde, rock ‘n’ roll chicks with tans. And there I was, ivory skin, my jet-black Louise Brooks bob, dressed in a corset, ready with a classic routine.

BB: The notion of vulgarity has certainly changed over time. Today’s strippers seem to rely more heavily on S&M tricks.

DVT: Oh, totally. I mean, look at the Marchesa Luisa Casati [Italian heiress and art patron]. She walked down the street naked, her pet cheetahs on leashes, and look at how classy and flamboyant she was.

BB: What movies inspire you?

DVT: I’m a huge fan of Technicolor and post-war films, the kinds that were all about fun and didn’t have some deep message. I also love Betty Grable and musicals with huge show-stopping song-and-dance numbers, where at the end, all that’s left is love.

BB: What cosmetics can you not live without?

DVT: I’m kind of a basic girl, but if I had to say, I guess red lipstick, hot rollers, face powder, and false eyelashes.

BB: I read somewhere once that you never shower, that you only bathe.

DVT: [Laughs.] No! I love a good shower!

BB: See that? Never trust what you read! I’d love to hear what inspires your fashion sense.

DVT: I’m inspired by so many designers. I love going to shows—seeing all the beautiful clothes, the lights, the colors. I’m more amazed by one 15-minute fashion show than I am by a huge Broadway production.

BB: Who are some of your favorite designers?

DVT: I love Dior, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Moschino, and Marc Jacobs—I just love what he’s doing for Louis Vuitton!

BB: Are Dita the performer and Dita the person quite different?

DVT: If people would only get to know me, they’d see I’m completely human and down to earth. 

BB: Luckily, gossip columns have been consistently kind to you.

DVT: You know what? They can say whatever they want to about me. They can call me ugly, say I’m not talented, that they don’t like my act, whatever, but they can never say that I didn’t pay my dues.

Photos courtesy Patrick McMullan Company