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Dita Von Teese collects dead animals

Jul 17, 2012, 21:01 GMT

Dita Von Teese

Dita Von Teese has a fully grown dead ostrich in her house.

The burlesque dancer collects vintage taxidermy and her unusual collection of stuffed animals includes the huge flightless bird and a monkey.

She revealed: 'I collect vintage taxidermy: I have two big heart-shaped domes filled with birds, I have a bear rug, a monkey and a full ostrich. I also have a collection of rare feathers I got from a famous place in France that supplied feathers to Josephine Baker, Mistinguett, and all the showgirls in Paris for 300 years.'

As well as having a morbid menagerie, Dita also collects vintage lingerie, classic cars, pin-up and burlesque memorabilia, Victorian tea sets and hats.

The 39-year-old sex symbol now has so many pieces of headwear she has a room in her house which she only uses to stores hats.

She said: 'My hat collection is massive. I have several hundred, and a whole room in my house devoted to them.'

Dita - who was previously married to Marilyn Manson and is now dating Hurts singer Theo Hutchcraft - finds the unusual items she loves on eBay and at flea markets and there's nothing she enjoys more than uncovering something valuable amongst junk.

In an interview with Collectors Weekly magazine (http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/dita-von-teese-on-fast-cars-and-old-lingerie/), she said: 'I am especially into flea marketing when I'm jet-lagged, and it's easy for me to wake up at 6am. I love the big flea markets like Long Beach Veteran's Stadium, my favourite in LA, but I also hit all the little ones around, too. I usually do get recognized, probably because a lot of people that would be fans of me are going to be fans of vintage things, too.'

Speaking about eBay, she added: 'I love entering my favourite keywords and seeing what comes up, saving searches. It's such a great way to shop for vintage, I've found wonderful, amazing things at great prices. Just last week I bought ... a gorgeous pale blue silk velvet robe, definitely something custom-made and meant for an extravagant woman! It has these huge voluminous sleeves, a train, pleats at the shoulders. It's really beautiful. I paid $200 for it ... This is what I love about vintage, I love the thrill of the hunt.'