When Linda had first arrived in Paris from the little town in the South of France where she was born and she and her husband met, she was only twenty years old. She was badly dressed, shy, innocent. She had luxuriant hair which she did not know how to arrange. She used no make-up. Walking down the Rue Saint-Honoré admiring the shop windows, she became fully aware of her deficiencies. She became aware of what the famous Parisian chic meant, that fastidiousness of detail which makes every woman a work of art. Its purpose was to heighten her physical attributes. It was created largely by the skill of the dressmakers. What no other country was ever able to imitate was the erotic quality of French clothes, the art of letting the body express all its charms through clothes.
Anaïs Nin, “Linda” (1940-41)
Photo: R. Kennedy Stephen
