Our friends at Collectors Weekly interviewed Dita Von Teese about her penchant for vintage lingerie, antique hats, classic cars, burlesque memorabilia, and a lifetime of flea market finds.
Collectors Weekly: What are the most unusual items in your collection?
Von Teese: I have a corset that Betty Grable wore in a film called "The Farmer Takes a Wife," and I also have a shawl that Dorothy Lamour knitted. It has her little "Knitted with Love by Dorothy Lamour" label, and I have a photo of her in her chair on set knitting the actual shawl. I keep both of these garments in glass cases that can be opened so I can wear them or show them to people anytime. I also have lots of rare vintage books about burlesque and about beauty. I have a collection of vintage flared riding pants—I guess that's kind of odd.
My hat collection is massive, too. I have several hundred, and a whole room in my house devoted to them. I collect vintage taxidermy: I have two big heart-shaped domes filled with birds, I have a bear rug, a monkey, and a full ostrich. I also have a collection of rare feathers I got from a famous place in France that supplied feathers to Josephine Baker, Mistinguett, and all the showgirls in Paris for 300 years.
"Va-Va-Voom Vintage: Dita Von Teese on Burlesque, Fast Cars, and Old Lingerie"
