'Ida had changed beyond recognition: she had blossomed out, as a magnificent flower sometimes blossoms in the purest water, in a crystal goblet; and she was also dressed accordingly: she wore an immensely modest but immensely flirtatious little winter hat which must have cost a fortune...'
'Ida' by Ivan Bunin (this translation by David Richards in The Penguin Book of Short Stories, edited by David Richards).
Photograph: from Two Centuries of French Fashion, a catalogue produced by the Brooklyn Museum in 1949 showing a collection of mannequins which were created by the Syndicat de la Couture de Paris to showcase the craft and artistry of the French Haute Couture designers and ateliers in the aftermath of the Second World War. Designers chose historical costumes to interpret as well as producing perfectly scaled down copies of contemporary designs to fit the wire figures which were less than a metre tall.
The dolls were part of the Gratitude Train exhibit sent to the USA in 1949.
