Seduction Secrets From La Belle Otero
Men lost their fortunes and their lives to be with her. What was Caroline Otero's allure?
She was the most desirable woman of the Belle Époque. Six men committed suicide when they could not have her. Several gave up their fortunes for her. According to one legend, the Carlton Hotel in Cannes modeled its cupolas on her breasts, naming their twin domes les boîtes à lait [milk bottles] d'Otero.
What was Le Belle Otero's secret?
Seduction Secret #1: True beauty stays in motion
A surviving grainy 1898 movie reel of Caroline Otero offers a clue. Otero is dancing joyfully on the street of Saint Petersburg. Her white skirts fly up to reveal a stolen glimpse of a black stocking leg. She waves her hat in beckoning circles like a Toulouse Lautrec poster brought to life. She is life.
It's a lesson we often forget in our swipe-left culture. Today's dating apps are so littered with photos veiled in filters that our grandchildren may wonder if we lacked pores.
And while catfishing has become a familiar fear among single people, a 2D photo doesn't capture someone's peculiar enchantments.
