Dita Von Teese

Undressing The History of America's Favorite Pin Up by Brooke Butler

- Brooke Butler

If you were to look up the word “glamour” in the dictionary, there is a good chance you would find a picture of Dita Von Teese. Never once seen without her signature red lip, Dita has been an icon of femme fatale and has paved the way for a world in which women can be seductive yet uncompromisingly classy. She is the kind of woman we can all appreciate for her ability to be unapologetically who she is. Born Heather Sweet in Rochester, Michigan with blonde locks and a classically trained ballet background, she always knew she would be something more. At 18 her metamorphosis began. She dyed her blonde locks black, began taking off her clothes, and was photographed as a classic pin-up. It wasn’t long before she was on the cover of Playboy and dubbed the Queen of Burlesque. The stage name “Dita” was her tribute to silent film actress Dita Parlo, and it was her first of many Playboy covers that gave her the name “Von Teese.” And thus, an icon was born.

From her famous burlesque shows, designing her own lingerie line with Wonderbra and gracing the covers of Vanity Fair to her infamous relationships with the likes of Marilyn Manson, Dita has always done everything on her own terms. That is what makes her so iconic. In a world where we are so often told who to be she remains Dita, a woman who is so effortlessly comfortable in her own skin. Without her we may not have some of the voluptuous stars that grace our magazine covers now, or classic and timeless beauties that have defined sexual confidence. Dita is and always has been a woman worth watching, a timeless beauty, and whether or not it was her intention, an innovator in glamour.