Chapter 5, Part 2 - THE INTERVIEW

When I arrived at the Playboy Club for the interview, first I had to fill out the necessary applications and forms and then had a short interview. You only needed to be 18 to become a Bunny. Oddly enough, you could serve alcohol at 18 but you had to be 21 to drink! Next, I was sent to the “Bunny Room” which was the dressing room for the Bunnies. There was just one seamstress that made all of the costumes. I was given some stockings, shoes, bunny ears, a tail and the collar and cuffs that were worn with each costume. She went through the extra costumes and found one that fit me as good as she could. I then returned to the Bunny Mother’s office where she took some Polaroid pictures of me. She then sent me back upstairs to change back into my clothes and was told to return to her office.

The man that had approached me was absolutely correct in describing what the Bunny Costume does to your appearance! The stockings were very tight black, semi-sheer panty hose. Right away, my legs looked way better because the stockings were so tight they slenderized the look of your legs and made them look much firmer (smoothed out all the lumps). We wore 3-inch high heels which also made your legs looked longer! Even the added height of the bunny ears made you appear taller.

The costume itself fit like a very tight corset which was ribbed with bones that made your waistline several inches smaller. Zipping it up in the back was no easy task. You had to hold your breath and push it together in the back while someone else zipped it up. The legs were cut very high on each side – almost to your waistline. There was lacing that was tied just above each hip bone which also created the illusion that your legs looked longer. The bust line was strapless and would be stuffed with extra “bunny tails” which made your boobs look several times larger than they were. The stuffing would be placed under your breasts so it pushed them up and gave you a cleavage and a bulge so all bunnies looked like they had large breasts. When I looked in the mirror, I couldn’t believe it was me I was looking at!! Whoever designed the costume was a genius! The seamstress was a true artist and miracle worker!

To my utter disbelief and amazement, the Bunny Mother asked me if I could start that very night! She explained that they were badly in need of Bunnies to fill positions and she had two jobs I could do that night. My first job was to stand behind a “Shrimp Bar” where there was shrimp on ice. This was located on the bottom floor in the “Playmate Bar”. If a customer wanted to purchase some, I would put six shrimp on a plate along with some lettuce, tarter sauce and a slice of lemon. It cost $1.50 and they would pay me with a paper “key” that they would purchase first. I would do this for three hours (4:00 pm to 7:00 pm) for $6.00 and hour plus tips and then the shrimp bar would close for the night.

Later that same night from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM there was a “twist party” in one of the showrooms. A few bunnies would do the “twist” with the customers for two hours. For this I was also paid $6.00 an hour plus any tips the customers might give me. My very first night, I did the twist with Johnny Weissmuller who had been “Tarzan” in the movies. He was the first of many celebrities I would have the opportunity to meet over the next six years that I worked for Playboy. My first night working as a Bunny, I made $55 which was more than I made a WEEK at the department store! I was hooked! I couldn’t believe this was happening to me! I was ecstatic!

Needless to say, I quit my job and never returned to Carson Pirie Scott. I was nineteen.