Dita Von Teese

I like having my cellphone. I like the Internet. I like being different.

I'd say the only time I ever get nervous is around great ballet dancers or people I really admire.

So I have the green smoothie every day for breakfast, and then sometimes even for lunch too, and then I have a normal dinner.

Me personally, I want to entertain people above all. When you look back at burlesque in history and the real golden age of burlesque, those entertainers were there to entertain, and there wasn't usually some big political message behind what they were doing.

When I was a little girl, I watched all old movies. My mother liked old movies, and she loved shopping for antiques, so I was around old things all the time.

I don't work with a stylist, I don't work with a glam squad to get me together for the red carpet, I really enjoy the time it takes to do it myself, to choose my clothes and do my own makeup and my own hair.

I want to remind people of a different kind of glamour, a different look, and breaking the rules of fashion. I wanna break the rules.

My beauty icons are women whose images are self-created.

I'm not always in a full face of make-up! That's actually one of the things I like about make-up - that you can strip it away and show your vulnerability.

I feel better about myself when I look my best. I always find the time to put on my powder and do my chignon.

I was always intrigued by the idea of bringing things together that are considered taboo or risque and bringing them together with something of high elegance and sophistication.

I feel empowered the fact that I can look the way that I do on stage and in photos - I can look that way any time I want. And I feel like it's important message to other women that they can do it, too.

I like styling girls that don't normally dress in vintage clothes and don't normally wear red lipstick; I like seeing those kind of girls restyled in a retro way.

I like when people know who they are, know their limitations and what they want to do. It's the same thing for me.

I'm a designer, producer and I am hands-on for every project I undertake. The creative side of what I do is really something I think people overlooked for a while.

I don't have long-standing regrets; they pass as I see how things are meant to be.

Red lips don't look good on blotchy, uneven skin.

I prefer the competitive atmosphere of a classroom setting, like yoga or Pilates. That keeps me going. Although performing on stage is great exercise!

People who follow all the rules and chase every trend tend to get forgotten - they look great, but they're not as memorable.

I'm more of an exaggerator than a liar.

I have been obsessed with seamed stockings my whole life, and I would collect vintage ones that were made in the '40s and '50s with the authentic styling of the keyhole, the welt, the reinforced toe and heels, French or Cuban heels, and hand-stitched seams.

Anyone who says they don't like to receive a gift is lying.

Thanks to my mother, people tell me I look younger than I am, especially without make-up. And I suppose my father had a part in making me more frugal with my money.

I have a lot of Burberry items at home, including one dress that I loved so much that I had my living room painted to match because the color was so flattering.

Yes, but more than being a designer, I'm more of a stylist, because I don't sew and I don't sketch, but I'm good at putting things together, choosing things that are chic and glossing over the aesthetics of things.