Talk about celebrity worship gone wild.
Hundreds of Philadelphians - including a woman who said she was a Benedictine nun - converged on the Center City Macy's this afternoon to get a glimpse of celebrity heiress Paris Hilton.
"We love everything about her. Her clothes, her hair, her handbags, her shoes - even her dog, Tinkerbell," said Mary Ellen Mullins, 56, who bought a $55 bottle of Hilton's fourth fragrance, Can-Can, just to meet her.
Mullins' 50-year-old sister, Kate Newcomber, gushed:
"I would just love to spend the day with her. Wake up in the morning and party with her all day and night until she goes to bed at 6 a.m."
"Yeah," chimed in Rich Rosa, 19. "She can live a party life. She's got this mystique about her. She's a modern-day Marilyn Monroe."
Uh, how is that? Marilyn Monroe had talent.
But we digress.
Hilton was in town as part of a $5 million advertising push by Parlux Fragrances for her pleasantly citrusy fragrance, Can-Can, inspired by the Moulin Rouge.
The eau de parfume is projected to earn Parlux $20 million before the end of the year, said spokeswoman Lori Zelenko.
The campaign, featuring Hilton in a blood-red dress surrounded by red roses arranged in a heart, debuted in fashion magazines this month. Hilton is such a big deal that her image will flash 2,700 times for the next 58 days on a Jumbo Tron in Times Square.
This is not a Simple Life.
"And I'm so excited to be here," Hilton said, standing on the podium in the middle of Macy's shoe department.
For her fans, Hilton embodies their dreams. She's beautiful. She's thin. She parties. And lest we forget, as an heiress of the family that owns the Hilton Hotel chain, she's filthy, stinkin' rich.
It didn't seem to matter that she's an ex-con. Or that she's seen as flighty (we aren't really buying that).
Or that, early Tuesday, it was reported that she was trying to save binge-drinking elephants in India. (The Associated Press later retracted that story, but still it deserves a big "Huh?")
Security was tight - it seemed easier to see Prince Charles and Camilla Bowles last February. After a long wait, it was finally time to talk to Paris.
What does it feel like to have all these people want to be like you?
"It's a great feeling to be able to make so many people happy, to inspire them," she said.
So what do you tell people who want to be like you?
"I tell them believe in yourself. Be confident. It doesn't matter where you are. It's not about the money. . . . It's about your attitude."
So you are telling me it's not about the money?
And with that, her handler stood up.
Interview over.
