More From Cato Lein

You've seen pictures from photographer Cato Lein here before, and a while ago he shot me again. Just like the time before, we used my apartment as location, and here is the result!

To see more of Cato Lein's photos, you can always follow him on Facebook here, or on Instagram, where he is @catolein_

Fabergé Friday

Today's Fabergé object is something that will help you see more clearly - a magnifying glass! It was made by workmaster Mikhail Perkhin, sometime between 1896 and 1903!

The square lens of the magnifying glass is held in a gold frame, covered in blue guilloché enamel decorated with gold neo-classical ornaments. The handle is carved out of chalcedony and set with a blue enamel band. A gold laurel wreath, topped by the Russian imperial crown, holding a gold rouble coin from the reign of Tsarina Elizabeth, dated 1750, connects the handle with the framed lens. The magnifying glass can now be found in the Royal Collection. 

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Dita Von Teese Eyewear

After creating her own clothing line, lingerie line, makeup, perfumes etc, Dita von Teese has now also released her own line of sunglasses! As usual this classy woman delivers something I really like! Maybe it's not so strange a vintage-lover like me likes her old fashioned designs, but even if you have a more modern style, you will probably find a pair of sunglasses in this line that will make you look cool in the sun!

Here are a few examples from her collection, but there are many more styles in different colors. My personal favorites are the cat-eye shaped ones. To find your own favorites, go to Pretavoir, where you can see the whole collection!

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Comfortable In My Birthday Suit

Going from being the smart nerd without friends in school, to daring to do what I do today - burlesque, modeling, going to auditions (and getting the parts!) etc - is something I have to say I feel proud of myself for doing! These things have really built up my confidence and made me feel comfortable in my own skin, even when I'm completely naked for everyone to see. Just after my very first nude shoot I felt very empowered, and not objectified at all! And with the right photographer behind the camera, I think art nudes can be extremely beautiful and interesting to look at. One of these photographers who has the ability to make nude models look really good is FG Photography. You've seen some pics he's taken of me here before (you can see them again here), and here comes two more! The gorgeous girl with me in the bottom pic is Midnight Maitresse...

Photo: FG Photography

Fabergé Friday

Do you have many trinkets that needs boxes to be put in? Well, why not put them in a box from Fabergé?! This one was made by workmaster Henrik Wigström, sometime between 1903 and 1908!

This little circular box is made of red gold, covered in translucent royal blue over a guilloché background. The borders are decorated with leaf ornaments in green gold. The lid is set with a flower basket of rose-cut diamonds, which holds flowers of diamonds, emeralds and cabochon rubies with gold leaves.
The dimensions of the box are 0.9'' x 1.4'' x 1.4'' (2.2 x 3.5 x 3.5 cm), and since 1953 it has been part of the Royal Collection.

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At The 1940s Lingerie Show

During the 1940s photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt was assigned to cover the Corset and Underwear Review for LIFE Magazine. The photos from the show depicts the models both backstage and on the runway, and I love that the girls aren't all tall, young and skinny, like in most of today's fashion shows. The models range from young, slim and small busted, to older, curvier women - which I think is the perfect way to show off that your designs fit everyone! Love these photos...

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Fröken Frimans Krig Part 2

Last year I was an extra three times in the costume drama series Fröken Frimans Krig (Miss Friman's War). It is shot by Swedish Television (SVT) and takes place in the beginning of the 1900s. The show got so popular that they decided to make more episodes, and so they called and asked if I wanted to come back. As this meant I had a new opportunity to spend a few days walking around in beautiful old clothes, of course I said yes! I blogged about this series last time we shot it, and if you're interested in seeing what I wore then, you can read about it here, and here.

This time I got a new outfit, and just walking into the big rooms where SVT has all the clothes for this series is amazing! Above is a rack full of pretty hats for the ladies.

My shoes fit me perfectly, but takes ages lacing up! No use putting on those if you're late for the buss and quickly need to get going...

And here is my whole costume - which also fit me like a glove!

Compared to last year, when I was one of many extras on set, this day we were only two, doing one scene each. Girl number two was Sandra, who was dressed in a pretty bluish grey outfit.

Of course I had to be naughty and show off my petticoat... Here I am outside "my" house, in which I got to do my scene against the two lead characters of the drama, played by Sissela Kyle and Sofia Ledarp. It was fun - as an extra - to get to do something else than just walk past the camera in the background.

Since I was doing my scene inside, my hat and gloves were taken off. But with no gloves hiding my not so early 1900s-like hand tattoos, they had to be covered up with make up. It felt a bit weird seeing my hands with no tattoos...

Even though I loved my hat...

...taking it off made my pretty hairdo visible. As I both got help getting dressed and putting up my hair I feel I could very easily get used to living like a lady in the early 20th century. Haha!

Photo: Anette Westerlund (except for the two top ones, which I took myself).

Fabergé Friday

We haven't done a Fabergé egg pendant for a while, so here comes another one. It was made by workmaster Henrik Wigström, sometime between the years 1903 and 1917!

This little egg - that actually looks like a real egg - is made of white quartzite. Around the egg sits a gold band set with rubies and rose-cut diamonds. The dimensions of the egg are 0.7'' x 0.6'' (1.9 x 1.5 cm), and it was probably acquired by Queen Alexandra. Since 1953 it has been part of the Royal Collection.

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Full Moon

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A couple of weeks ago I turned a year older, and the birthday gift I got from my sister was Lana Del Rey's new album Ultraviolence. I fell completely in love with her last album Born To Die, and I really like this new one too! Very mellow listening. So for this month's Full Moon post I decided to share one of my favorite songs from this album - Shades Of Cool. 

Jack the Ripper Case Solved

I think we've all seen at least one movie based on the story about Jack the Ripper, or read a book about it, or taken a guided tour through the streets of Whitechapel, the area in London where he committed his gruesome murders in 1888. The name Jack the Ripper originates from a letter - believed to be a hoax - written by someone claiming to be the murderer.

Here are the the men suspected to be the culprit, and it's the man in the bottom right picture who now has been proven - as far as possibly can - to be the Ripper...

Aaron Kosminski was a Polish Jew who had fled to London with his family to escape the Russian pogroms in the early 1880s. His admission papers states that he was a hairdresser, and what is certain is that he was seriously mentally ill - probably a schizophrenic who suffered auditory hallucinations, and described as a misogynist prone to self abuse, a euphemism for masturbation.

In 2007 businessman and Jack the Ripper enthusiast Russel Edwards (above) bought a shawl allegedly handed down from a policeman who found it by the body of Catherine Eddowes, one of the Ripper's victims. With the help of Dr Jari Louhelainen - a world-renowned expert in analyzing genetic evidence from historical crime scenes - a long period of painstaking analysis of the shawl began. The police had always suspected Kosminski was the murderer, but they never had enough evidence to convict him, despite identification from an eye-witness. After holding him in custody for 24 hours, he was committed to mental asylums for the rest of his life.

By using cutting-edge scientific techniques, which would not have been possible five years ago, Dr Louhelainen found both blood and semen on the shawl. By comparing the blood's DNA with samples from descendants of the murdered victim, and the semen with DNA samples from Aaron Kosminski's descendants - and getting perfect matches on all tests - the case was solved. So it turns out Jack the Ripper was a crazy man getting sexual satisfaction from murdering these women in very gruesome ways...

So now I guess script writers and authors all over the world are thinking about making new movies and writing new books about the true Jack the Ripper! Or maybe Kosminski just happened to pass by the newly murdered body of Catherine Eddowes, felt aroused by what he saw and decided to masturbate over her, leaving his shawl behind. Who knows? But as he was one of the prime suspects for the crimes even from the beginning, I guess this new proof is true, and the case is closed!

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