Avery Trufelman

and this evidence of a parallel life she once had.

Because the other witnesses to her story are mostly gone.

Most of the artisans and experts and historians who were involved with the mannequins in both of their incarnations have passed away.

In a lot of ways, this story has become Linda's.

After our weekend together, Linda sent me a quote that she had heard a long time ago, which had stayed with her.

It was attributed to Ben Brantley, the theater critic for The New York Times.

Glamour is whatever you can't have.

It is best perceived at a distance, either literally or emotionally.

Knowledge kills glamour.

This just seemed so utterly true to Linda.

She experienced the shadow side of her jet set life with Susan.

She knew about the suffering and deep trauma behind the tiny mannequins.

And yet, I personally don't know if knowledge kills glamour entirely.

Wounds it severely, for sure.

But it's hard to completely destroy the illusion.

The aspirational pull of fashion carves out a space in our imagination.

It's why we dream of Paris.

Why we want to see Cardi B on the red carpet in vintage couture.

Glamour involves so much delicate placement of smoke and mirrors for the people who occupy that rarefied air, so much so that the pleasure in it is really ours.

We, the viewing public, the audience.