Ambling across the streets of chi chi St Germain in Paris, everything is a charming distraction in itself. You become sort of benumbed to every sight — every delightful sight. Until you behold what can be considered a force de femme, signaled by a sensual clicking of heels behind me. A whiff of cologne that can only be described as a thorny bouquet of rare flowers plucked from the farthest, most unreachable recesses of earth.
And like most divine creatures, she was out of sight. It was only later when I discovered that her name was Dita. She was a showgirl. She does sport feathers in her hair and wore dresses that went nowhere. And as I would discover a year later, watching her bathe in a giant martini glass at the opening party for Louis Vuitton’s Paris flagship, the Teese was the ultimate manifestation of va-va-voom, stimulating the entire room with her every look and fanny. Her name was Dita Von Teese.
And that started my yearly pilgrimage to France, just to get a glimpse and a whiff. Last year at the Cannes Film Festival, I got my chance for a tete-a-tete with The Teese. The Chopard people had arranged for us to meet. Unfortunately, my Lufthansa flight had arrived late, and left my bags along with it. Running to the hotel, sweaty and post-flight grimy, I met up with her agents who were on their way out, and then I craned my neck — and there she was, undulating a subdued yet sultry quality about her. There was Dita. And then there was light.
Venus and Belo
Born Heather Renee Sweet and growing up in Rochester, Michigan, Dita would later become a sex symbol, a counter-culture style icon who is equally best dressed and best undressed. Looking back at the conversation we had last year, it was all a blur, with only the thought of Dita’s whiter-than-white porcelain complexion in my memory bank.
And as time went on, other pop cultural deposits to this memory bank were made. From David Beckham sending text messages of adoration to her former marriage to shock rocker Marilyn Manson, to her former life as a ballet dancer, the mystique of Dita Von Teese was that she was a Venus flytrap. Her fixation for lingerie stems from her perusal of her father’s Playboy mags. Coincidentally, it was Playboy mag who gave her the last name “Von Teese,” and “Dita” is a tribute to silent film actress Dita Parlo. (Okay, I feel like I’m writing for FHM now.)
“If I didn’t become a burlesque dancer, I would be a stylist,” she told me when I asked her about her style, which is both ’40s pin-up and goth goddess and glamma mia in one pristine package. No wonder surgeon to the stars Dr. Vicki Belo has had this long-time obsession of bringing La Dita dito, to be a special guest as Belo Medical Group turns 18 this 08-08-08. The debutante Vicki and her group of aestheticians are pulling all the stops to make their Venetian Ball a vibrant celebration of beauty and bare booty. “Dress to your beauty fantasy’s delight,” as Vicki’s invite states. When it comes to beauty and fantasy, Dr. Vicki Belo reigns Supreme.
Expect the most vivacious and voluptuous Venuses to make apparitions on this night of heavenly bodies.
Welcome to Manila, Dita!
