LittleMsSunshine
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Star-Telegram: Glamour-gal ambassador brings Cointreau ‘ritas to North Texas
DALLAS — It’s not surprising that Dita Von Teese enjoys a glamorous cocktail party. She is, after all, considered the modern-day queen of burlesque, a real live 1940s-style pinup gal who’s renowned for performing in a giant martini glass.
She started the summer on tour for an all-new variety show but is on hiatus so she can tend to her cosmetics line in Germany, her lingerie line in Australia and other obligations, including a reported book deal.
Von Teese, who splits her time between Los Angeles and Paris, also travels the world as the brand ambassador for Cointreau, a brand of triple sec liqueur distilled in France. Through this experience, she has gained an appreciation for the art of the cocktail, and also an understanding of how easy it can be to host an elegant cocktail party in your own back yard — something she loves to do on the patio of her ultra-fabulous, oft-photographed Los Angeles home.
Von Teese was in Dallas recently to host a pool party kickoff event for a DFW-wide Cointreau promotion tour that will come to Fort Worth on Friday, and she shared the three simple rules she follows when she invites friends over for drinks.
1. Keep the menu simple but delicious. There’s no need to try and impress guests with multicolored, sticky drinks or elaborate buffets. True elegance is streamlined and unfussy, and that should be the spirit behind your bar menu. For food, Von Teese suggests choosing two or three easy-to-eat, delicious munchies like gourmet nuts or cheeses.
Cocktails should be similarly simple, she instructs. One of her favorite drinks is a two-ingredient mix of Cointreau and champagne; another is the original margarita, a refreshing mix with just three ingredients popularized in the 1940s by a Texas socialite. But Von Teese stresses that this margarita must be mixed with freshly squeezed lime juice.
“I have a strict rule against using mixers,” she says. “It has to be made like it was in the ’40s.”
2. Serve cocktails vintage-style. Channel the glamour of Old Hollywood by setting out cocktail accoutrements on a bar cart. Whether you have a bartender on duty or you invite guests to mix their own, this presentation makes the experience special. It’s even easy to do on a budget, Von Teese says. She found her vintage bar carts at flea markets, but they also can be found on eBay or Craigslist.
Von Teese adds that bar carts can provide a bit of on-site entertainment at the party: “People like to watch the drinks being made.”
3. Be an elegant hostess. Simplicity is key here, Von Teese says — after all, it may be early evening, but it’s still hot. Stick to light clothes in natural fabrics, and keep makeup minimal. Von Teese is never without her signature matte lip color, but instead of a full face of foundation, she’ll opt for a simple sweep of powder, maintained through the evening with blotting paper.
Above all, Von Teese advises against overindulging in your own bar cart.
“Sipping cocktails is an art,” she says, “and you should always maintain elegance when you drink.” At her own parties, she follows a one-two rule of drinking two glasses of water after each cocktail, and she always sets a two-cocktail limit for herself.
And another hostess tip: If you’ve got a pool, make sure your party stays beside it, not in it. An elegant hostess always stays dry on deck.
source pocketvenus.wordpress.com
DALLAS — It’s not surprising that Dita Von Teese enjoys a glamorous cocktail party. She is, after all, considered the modern-day queen of burlesque, a real live 1940s-style pinup gal who’s renowned for performing in a giant martini glass.
She started the summer on tour for an all-new variety show but is on hiatus so she can tend to her cosmetics line in Germany, her lingerie line in Australia and other obligations, including a reported book deal.
Von Teese, who splits her time between Los Angeles and Paris, also travels the world as the brand ambassador for Cointreau, a brand of triple sec liqueur distilled in France. Through this experience, she has gained an appreciation for the art of the cocktail, and also an understanding of how easy it can be to host an elegant cocktail party in your own back yard — something she loves to do on the patio of her ultra-fabulous, oft-photographed Los Angeles home.
Von Teese was in Dallas recently to host a pool party kickoff event for a DFW-wide Cointreau promotion tour that will come to Fort Worth on Friday, and she shared the three simple rules she follows when she invites friends over for drinks.
1. Keep the menu simple but delicious. There’s no need to try and impress guests with multicolored, sticky drinks or elaborate buffets. True elegance is streamlined and unfussy, and that should be the spirit behind your bar menu. For food, Von Teese suggests choosing two or three easy-to-eat, delicious munchies like gourmet nuts or cheeses.
Cocktails should be similarly simple, she instructs. One of her favorite drinks is a two-ingredient mix of Cointreau and champagne; another is the original margarita, a refreshing mix with just three ingredients popularized in the 1940s by a Texas socialite. But Von Teese stresses that this margarita must be mixed with freshly squeezed lime juice.
“I have a strict rule against using mixers,” she says. “It has to be made like it was in the ’40s.”
2. Serve cocktails vintage-style. Channel the glamour of Old Hollywood by setting out cocktail accoutrements on a bar cart. Whether you have a bartender on duty or you invite guests to mix their own, this presentation makes the experience special. It’s even easy to do on a budget, Von Teese says. She found her vintage bar carts at flea markets, but they also can be found on eBay or Craigslist.
Von Teese adds that bar carts can provide a bit of on-site entertainment at the party: “People like to watch the drinks being made.”
3. Be an elegant hostess. Simplicity is key here, Von Teese says — after all, it may be early evening, but it’s still hot. Stick to light clothes in natural fabrics, and keep makeup minimal. Von Teese is never without her signature matte lip color, but instead of a full face of foundation, she’ll opt for a simple sweep of powder, maintained through the evening with blotting paper.
Above all, Von Teese advises against overindulging in your own bar cart.
“Sipping cocktails is an art,” she says, “and you should always maintain elegance when you drink.” At her own parties, she follows a one-two rule of drinking two glasses of water after each cocktail, and she always sets a two-cocktail limit for herself.
And another hostess tip: If you’ve got a pool, make sure your party stays beside it, not in it. An elegant hostess always stays dry on deck.
source pocketvenus.wordpress.com
