Beautiful Buttocks Coconut

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I shot with an actual coco de mer (Maldive coconut) at my last shoot with Aneil Sharma at KVmedia Studios. These rare seeds have been highly prized for centuries and European nobles in the sixteenth century would often have the shells of these nuts polished and decorated with valuable jewels as collectibles for their private galleries.

I did the hair and makeup, but the concept was all Aneil's!

The coco de mer really does look like a woman's genitalia at the front and a shapely derrière at the back- I mean it really, really does! I could hardly get over the similarity. It seemed amazing that a plant could just so happen to grow into such a shape! It was very smooth and tactile. One of the plant's archaic Latin names was Lodoicea callipyge, which is Greek for "coconut: beautiful buttocks"!

On that note, it's time for me to meet my model friend Helene for pre-runway class afternoon tea! We'll be spending hours this evening pacing the floorboards in high heels while one of the world's top runway choreographers coaches us- I believe her last clients were Karl Lagerfeld and Vivienne Westwood. If we can be half as good as their runway models by the end of the course then we'll be kicking callipyge at London Alternative Fashion Week!

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"Darling, the legs aren't so beautiful, I just know what to do with them."

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This is one of my favourite quotes from my ultimate glamour heroine, Marlene Dietrich!

I have a huge framed picture of Marlene hanging in my lounge and many of my fashion choices are influenced by her style. She was everything a fashion icon should be, in my opinion: elegant, rule-breaking, playful and entirely her own creation.

Every time I learn a new fact about Marlene, it's one that makes me respect her even more, e.g.

1. She was the first woman to wear trousers on American television.
2. She had affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Anita Berber (my namesake!)
3. She was a German who publicly spoke out against Nazism throughout WWII

If these facts alone do not a cool bitch make, what does?! And there are plenty more, believe me. I have many books about Marlene lined up on my bedroom shelf, with photographs charting her life from cradle to grave. I can assure you that she was just as glamorous in her 90s as in her 20s! As she said herself, "Glamour is my stock in trade, it's what I sell." Isn't that one of the most fabulous things you've ever heard?! Well, I think so! After all, what is "glamour" but another word for MAGIC?

 The incomparable Marlene Dietrich!

Anyway, although I am often told that I come across in quite a Marlene-like way under certain lighting (I even used to shave 'n' draw my eyebrows!), I have never done a full, proper Marlene-themed photo shoot, not least because I would need to invest a lot of time and money into getting each detail absolutely perfect! I know that it was in her contract that photographers had to use a certain filter when photographing her, for instance, and that she used a kind of wax under her foundation as as base, and... oh gosh, I could go on and on with the minutae from this era that I am obsessed with! I won't bore you with it all!

Having said all that, these photos from a recent shoot with Aneil Sharma have a surprisingly Marlene-like feel to them, especially the first one. I was so pleased when I saw them that I actually welled up a little bit! Silly, I know!

Top: Red or Dead | Knickers: Coco de Mer | Shoes: Fabulously Fetish | Styling: me!

I'll leave you with another quote from Marlene- a particularly relevant one, considering how often I quote quotes!!

"I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognised as being wiser than oneself."

It's so true!

Speak soon, and if you liked this blog, please share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook using the buttons below! :)




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Latex and Lingerie in London!

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Anyone going to join me at the Torture Garden March Ball in London on 10th March? I'll be there doing a runway show for a hot new latex designer called One Eyed. I met Brett, the designer, in the Big Red the other night and we spent the whole night chatting non-stop before we realised who each other were and she asked me to be in her show! It's great when you meet a designer that you just "click" with and I'm looking forward to wearing her rubber!

You won't believe it, but I went to yet another designer lingerie sample sale yesterday, 24 hours after my trip to Coco de Mer that I mentioned in my last blog! This time it was at Playful Promises' old shop in Soho. They are relocating to Shoreditch and were selling some of their pieces at a 70% discount! You can bet that I filled my 5" heel boots! Some of my Playful Promises and Coco de Mer lingerie is actually going to end up on eBay- I got some really nice pieces and am happy to pass my bargains on to other appreciative people!

I have so much lingerie, I never actually need to do laundry as I always an abundance of fresh drawers in my drawers! I could probably go a whole year without washing my knickers, if you know what I mean. Maybe even two! Some of the really top retro lingerie companies actually pay me in lingerie instead of cash! They know my weakness! After all, money is fleeting but glamour is forever!

I received this 1940s style silk blouse as part of my payment for the runway show I did for Playful Promises earlier this month. I had a great time shooting it in my room at London's iconically luxurious Savoy Hotel with Aneil Sharma earlier this month! I did all the styling, of course :)

Now I'm going to have New Covent Garden Co's Autumn Gold soup for dinner, which is probably my favourite of theirs so far, then take a relaxing candlelit bubble bath with The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber. I don't know how many times I have read it but I need to refresh my memory as part of my research for a shoot next week where I'll be "playing" her. I'm doing all the styling and I'm really excited about it! I'll post the photos here, of course :)

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A Dangerous Method

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I've been getting some good/ interesting questions on my Formspring lately! If you haven't had a go already, you can submit an anonymous question right now and I'll promise to answer it on Facebook and Twitter!


Yesterday I took myself to The Phoenix Cinema to see A Dangerous Method. As I may have mentioned before, I just love seeing movies at The Phoenix! It's Britain's oldest cinema and has its original 1930s art deco interiors! It is even in a scene in Interview with the Vampire, another old favourite. Anyway, A Dangerous Method was very good. I forgot my glasses so I had to sit by myself in the very front row. You can't really go wrong with a period film about psychoanalysis with corsets and spanking, in my book! I much prefer Keira Knightley as a kinky drooling Russian maniac than in any of her other roles. All the sets and locations were stunning, of course, and I loved the costuming, especially Mrs Jung's dresses and hats. She looked the very epitome of purity. I will definitely be getting it on Blu-ray when it comes out!

This morning saw me first in at the Coco de Mer sample sale to shop camisoles, knickers, suspender belts and bras. I tell you I was in lingerie heaven! I eventually came away with a gorgeous two-tone satin boned cami and a boned pair of fringed knickers that will go amazingly well with that fringed blindfold I won in the Fräulein Kink competition! Hopefully I will be shooting them on Saturday, when I am doing a shoot based around my namesake, the Wiemar Berlin actress, model, performance artist and all-round nutcase Anita Berber. I can't wait!

After shopping Coco de Mer I came home for lunch and watched a good old movie, Cover Girl, starring Rita Hayworth!

She is such a fashion inspiration for me! In fact, take me to see any period film and I'll enjoy it for the costuming, at least! I just recently saw The Artist (at The Phoenix, of course) and loved every second!

The 1920s and 30s are probably my favourite periods style-wise but my favourite movies mostly come from the 50s, when there was that great blend of romantic comedy with the birth of realistic/ method acting. Some of my favourite movies of all time are Marilyn flicks, of course, like How to Marry a Millionaire and Some Like it Hot!

I adore Marilyn's dresses in How to Marry a Millionaire!

Some Like It Hot might have been made for my tastes- a 1950s Marilyn movie set in the 1920s! How perfect is that??

Right now I am watching the original 1940s The Postman Always Rings Twice while answering my emails (yes, I do read every email you guys send me! contact@anitadebauch.com. I promise to reply, even if it sometimes takes a while!). I really need to see the remake with Jack Nicholson! Perhaps I should put it on my wish list! I originally set up a wish list at my family's request as they never know what to buy me for Christmas and birthdays, but then figured I may as well make it public and contain everything from knickers and stockings to my dream car, just in case one of you reading this happens to be an eccentric millionaire or something!! A girl can dream!

Love and kisses xxx



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