Evil Queen Inspiration: Dita Von Teese is an Actual Goddess

Dita Von Teese is my Ultimate. She is my Supreme. She, for me, is the Be All and End All of Beauty. She is not someone whom I'd call a "Bad Bitch" or an "Evil Queen", because to me she is more of an angel. She's untouchable, completely unparalleled. And she's so sweet and soft and just ugh, okay, I'm in love with her.

Probably her most famous quote is "I advocate glamour, every day, every minute" which comes from her book Burlesque and the Art of the Teese, and that basically describes her very well. She's the ultimate in retro glamour, having amassed quite an army of red lippied, winged eyelinered ladies if the Bloomingdale's event I attended is anything to go by.

By trade she is an all-star burlesque dancer, but after gaining quite a reputation in the fashion industry, she is also now a model, muse, purfumier, and designer, with a lingerie line of her own and an apparently foray into sunglasses coming soon. Essentially, she's a full time beautiful person. And she really is stunning.

The thing that I love about Dita, besides her absolute and constant poise, grace, and femininity, is that she is an advocate for alternative glamour. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune last year, she discusses her look: "Old Hollywood (beauty), for me, it seemed easier to attain that kind of beauty because I could paint it and wash it away when I'm done. When I look at the cover of Sports Illustrated … I appreciate it and admire that kind of beauty and think maybe in another life I'm going to come back as that kind of beauty. But, actually, I'd rather be me, because I have an affection for anyone that has arrived to a different kind of substance with hard work and dedication." 

It's always really wonderful to me to see women who, though they may not look like super models, do not bring down those who do. Instead, Dita manages to promote finding a glamour that suits an individual personally. It's not about what other people tell you is beautiful, it's about what makes you feel beautiful. 

I think there's a power in that, a power that is untapped in most women. Dita helped me, along with countless others, realize that being "trendy" or looking like what is in a magazine is not the only form of beauty. 

"Growing up, I tried to conform to the more traditional, American look a few times…but it never worked. When I would dress modern, people would tell me that I have such a retro look, and I would tell them that I was trying to wear something new! [Laughs] What I remember most was being made fun of by people on the street for my style and for wearing red lipstick and black eyeliner. I was sixteen when I started doing my cat eye; it was really subtle then. When I was seventeen, eighteen, I really started going for it. I wanted to be the next Bettie Page. I started hanging around more alternative people and drag queens, and I was working in the LA underground scene. And back then, there was no E! True Hollywood Story: Bettie Page; it wasn’t trendy. So I just remember people not having anything to equate with me, you know? People love to point at you and say, ‘You remind me of this.’ I would get a lot of Dracula and Elvira. And when Pulp Fiction came out, people were like, ‘You’re the girl in Pulp Fiction!’ People have a really hard time just looking at you for you; they have to point out what they think you remind them of, which I think is a very strange phenomenon."  - Dita to Into The Gloss

""I would tell anyone that she could capture the spirit of what I'm about, that she could find her own confidence in her own way. My aesthetic is not for everyone. … I feel like I've been called beautiful and ugly in different measures. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' is very true. You have to remember that. You can't listen to what people say. It's like water off a swan's back." - Dita to the Chicago Tribune

Recently I had the opportunity to meet Dita at an event in New York, the launch of her Dita Von Teese lingerie line in Bloomingdales. And LET. ME. TELL. YOU. She is so flawless, I saw her out of the corner of my eye and thought she wasn't real. I swear to you I thought it was a mannequin or something. She is just so poised, so careful with her movements and delicate it's like she's made of glass. She was flawless from head to toe in her Zac Posen, and she was so sweet when I talked to her. She signed my copy of her book and took a photo, as well as complimented my clutch bag. It was really the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am so in awe of her. 

These are the photos I took at the event:

Dita Von Teese and EQB!