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Remember Cynthia, The A-List Mannequin Who Hit Up NYC's Hot Spots?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 20, 2012
Modified Jan 20, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 20, 2012
Modified Jan 20, 2012
Share
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In 1932 the artist Lester Gaba, not unlike Andrew McCarthy's character in the 1987 classic Mannequin, created Cynthia, a mannequin for Saks Fifth Avenue. Cynthia was "a 100-pound model who had realistic imperfections like freckles, pigeon toes, and even different sized feet." Five years later, Gaba posed with Cynthia around New York City for a LIFE magazine spread which supposedly "launched the career of an up-and-coming starlet [and] made Cynthia a household name overnight."
No, really. She was a legit A-lister, complete with her own television talk show, roles in movies, and a box seat subscription to the Metropolitan Opera House.
A whole fleet of Gaba Girls were created eventually, modeled after well-known New York debutantes for the windows of Best & Company, and mannequins became the "hot new tool for sellers to attract their clientele."
Sadly, Cynthia died when she slipped from a chair in a beauty salon and shattered, the press even reported on her death. She was reconstructed and tried to have a comeback much later, in the 1950s, but the appeal was gone and she was stored up in a box. LIFE notes, "Cynthia's current whereabouts are a mystery." Creepy!
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cynthia
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gaba girls
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lester gaba
mannequin
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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