Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/666061
The book covers everything from achieving her pin-up perfect hair to selecting that just-so shade of red lipstick. "I talk about things like showgirl makeup and show people how you can incorporate a little bit of the showgirl thing into your look without going fully into it. Even people who have no intention of doing a burlesque show can put these tips to use." And it is just this penchant for more-is-more, showgirl- channeling beauty that has drawn Von Teese to Las Vegas over the years. "I love how Las Vegas encourages people to get dressed up and make an effort," says the style legend. "I feel that Vegas is historically a glamorous place, so I love getting really dressed up when I go there," she adds. (Of course, she has dressed down here many times—notably swirling around clad in Swarovski crystals in an enormous martini glass during the tour of her long-running variety show, Burlesque: Strip Strip Hooray!) "I always try to uphold this sense of glamour when I'm in Vegas, but I have to admit it's not always easy when the general population is in Crocs. There's a lot of 'athleisure-wear' there. I hope it will evolve back into what it used to be." Even when she goes to the gym, Von Teese wears a skirt over her yoga pants. "It's my duty to stand for something," she asserts. "I once ran into a boy- friend's ex-girlfriend when I wasn't dressed up and I thought to myself, I'm never making that mistake again." Walking through her 1927 home, where Von Teese converted three separate bedrooms into a series of closets organized by era and function, she says that when heading to Las Vegas, she opts for her "late '50s and early '60s dresses, keeping in mind that the air conditioning means everything is always ice cold. I always have my arms covered there," she says. "I think a lot about the whole Rat Pack era and, of course, we all want to look like Sharon Stone in Casino. That's a good, strong look." Strong looks are what Von Teese herself is known for, whether she's on stage in her signature Swarovski-covered pasties, or walking the red carpet wearing high-concept clothes designed by people such as Jean Paul Gaultier, for whom Von Teese is one of his most doted-upon muses. "I've walked in Jean Paul Gaultier couture shows four times," says Von Teese. "One of my favorite moments was a butterfly corset he made. It was very show-girly with a feather headdress. That was a great moment." Recent Vegas trips have seen the glamour queen backstage at one of the final Jubilee! shows at Bally's, where she posed with the performers, her ultra petite frame contrasting with the towering dancers. Von Teese counts the Liberace Museum and Jardin restaurant at Wynn as personal favorites in town, as well as Aburiya Raku restaurant on Spring Mountain Road. While Von Teese has taken her performance to Vegas in the past, she says she would love to perform more in the future, and, ahem, teases that a Vegas residency isn't out of the running: "That's the best thing to do showbiz-wise." . 88 vegasmagazine.com Ordinary girls don't usually slither into life-sized martini glasses. This one does —in another popular act from her Burlesque: Strip Strip Hooray! tour. PhotograPhy by Kailyn idora (Performance); John Shearer/getty imageS for amfar (canneS film feStival); rabbani and Solimene PhotograPhy/getty imageS (coStume inStitute gala)