Lo: And what's your relationship to the actual photos. As an artist, are you really critical of them? Or do they feed your self-esteem? Or maybe sometimes your ego? Or do you ever get turned on by them?

Dita Von Teese: First of all, when I look at a photo, I don't usually look at it and go, "I look hot!" I'm looking at whether or not the photographer pulled off the look I was trying to get, to see whether it came across in the photos. And I'm especially critical of how the vintage-style photos look, because just dressing up in a vintage outfit doesn't automatically make it look authentic. I'm constantly struggling to find photographers that can make it happen, because today's film is totally different than it was back then and it's really hard to re-create, to make it look really timeless, when you wouldn't know if it was taken yesterday or 50 years ago. So I guess it feeds my ego when people say, "You're that girl who does all the vintage photos, and you're the best at it." But not like, "Wow, my tits are great!" That's not how I feel about it.

Speaking of those, I have to say, in some pictures your breasts look perfectly real, and in others, they look almost too perfect to be real.

Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment.

I'm assuming they are, then...?

They're real good [laughs]. That's all. I mean, they work for me, but they're not real.

Really? I pride myself on being able to tell the difference. I once took one of those Internet tests where you have to determine which are real and which are fake and I got a perfect score. I should say that's good work.

Thank you. I got really lucky with my doctor. I don't have any problem telling people that they're not, because I think whoever wants a pair should go get some for herself.

Well, I guess it's nice to see someone who actually went through the surgery with some restraint, because it seems like these days, the women who usually do it, end up just going way, way over the top.

Yeah. I said, "Go smaller, for sure," because I was afraid of waking up with these big, giant boobs. Sometimes when I do Playboy shoots, the other girls have these giant breasts and it's like, oh, wow, I feel a little flat-chested here.

Some of the corsets look like you would need to remove a few ribs to get into them. How does that work?

I haven't lost any ribs...