After champagne, oysters and ile flottante at Bofinger, Boyfy and I spent a rainy afternoon shopping in Paris. I love to visit the original Dior flagship store, est. 1949. I also don't mind being offered complementary champagne while I try on dresses, that's for sure.
I wanted to go to the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz, but when we got there, the whole place was closed for refurbishments. Disaster! I've added a book called The Cocktails of The Ritz to my Amazon Wish List so I can make them at home, but I think it will be a while before I order myself any more gifts- living it up in Paris comes with a price tag!
The evening was the highlight of our trip, Dita's Crazy Show at the legendary Crazy Horse, which has been a burlesque house since the 50s. We saw Dita perform her new acts, which made clever use of lighting technology and the small space. The Crazy Horse has a small stage with the audience almost touching distance from the action and no room for feather fans, giant Martini glasses, or the like- but there was room for the Lili St Cyr-inspired bathtub :)
I'm happy to say that photography of the show was strictly prohibited, so the audience wasn't constantly alight with people trying to record everything on their phones, blocking each other's view, checking in on Facebook, etc etc. In fact, I didn't even take my phone with me on this trip! I really wanted to just live in the moment of being in Paris, thinking only of the now, and not of how best to record it for when I'm back home. It was a good experience. I'm sure I will still take photos on my phone from now on, but probably fewer pointless selfies. I'm getting a bit bored with this "pics or it didn't happen" social media culture we have.
So, here is a photo I lifted from Dita's Instagram (I also reposted it on my Instagram) of her first of the five acts she appears in (maybe call it four and a half as her final appearance is really at the end of the finale, where she just comes out and waves goodbye). I have to say, this show is genuinely very sexy, and definitely not a family show or something toned down for tourists! It is a proper strip show- just an extremely imaginative and high calibre one!
"...what we do with the girls is magic, too, because they aren't as beautiful as you see them onstage. It's the magic of lights and costumes. These are my dreams and fascinations..."There are even strict guidelines on how the dancers may appear offstage, on their way to and from work. A man after my own heart! Modelling is all about lighting, costumes and fantasy, too, or at least, it is for me. I go into this subject in depth in my book, The "Ugly" Girl's Guide to Modelling, which is £12.99 from various online retailers and should be of interest to all self-made glamour goddesses.
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