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Immodesty Blaize
Immodesty Blaize saddles up. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Observer
Immodesty Blaize saddles up. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Observer

Five things I know about style: Immodesty Blaize

This article is more than 13 years old
The burlesque dancer on inappropriate footwear, her va-va voom style, and not being a size zero

1) I used to think my mum was Wonder Woman – she was very womanly: curvy and busty with big, flowing hair. All the women in my family looked like that, so I always looked up to very strong, feminine women.

2) I've always loved heels. I was continually being hauled into the headmistress's office because of my inappropriate footwear – I was never without a pair of 5in heels even then. I was deputy head girl, so I'd get told off for setting a bad example.

3) My style could be described as "va-va voom". I dress for my hourglass figure and I go for dramatic silhouettes. I never stick to one decade – glamour didn't stop after the 1940s.

4) I don't like girly or frilly clothes. I'm tall – 6ft 2in in heels – so I like to go for a strong, feminine look. I collect vintage Thierry Mugler and Yves Saint Laurent – Mugler made his women look like superheroines.

5) I'm happy in my own skin. I get a lot of support for not being a size zero. I'm a UK size 10, and I'm perplexed by the fashion industry's obsession with size zero and the fact they think that a size 10 is enormous.


Immodesty's new novel, Ambition, is published on 14 October (Ebury, £6.99)


Visit theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/fashion for more style advice

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