Window dressing, I am sorry to say, is a dying art. There are still so many old storefront buildings in the U.S. with massive display windows. And so, so few of them still use those windows to display anything, let alone create an imaginative world in still life.

Whenever I find an exception, a holdout from the good old days of theatrical store displays, I’m ready to jump for joy. So you can imagine my excitement at the fact that just a few short blocks from my house sits NW Costume—a living treasure. The owner swaps out the displays every few months, and the results parade through like a revolving door of mannequin-theatre masterpieces.