The Magic Mirror

You know those mirrors at Carnivals and Funhouses that make you look really tall, really short, or stretch you wide? What about the one that makes you look really skinny? Those mirrors...the skinny ones...are at some women's clothing stores (but without that weird distorted look).

Case in point: I was shopping for jeans, which I detest almost as much as swimsuit shopping. I have spent countless hours, no YEARS, searching for the perfect pair of jeans, but have yet to find any one brand or style that consistently delivers a great look and fabulous fit.

In a bizarre twist of fate, a recent trip to Ann Taylor and Gap produced not one, but TWO pairs of jeans. Not only that, but one was a petite length, and the other was the hip "skinny" jean. (There has been some debate on whether a female of my age can pull off the skinny jean.) After looking in the mirror, I decided that I COULD wear the skinny jeans, and that I looked good in them too...trendy even. And did I look younger? I sure did. I may have even compared myself to Jennifer Aniston. These jeans are amazing!

I was anxious to try the jeans with my other clothes, because let's face it, the buy isn't complete until you have tried on the clothing in question with the array of garments you already own. As I looked in the mirror at home...I realized that during the 20 minute ride home, I had aged 15 years and gained 15 pounds, and really didn't look that hip at all. A Jennifer Aniston FAIL. What happened?
 

The Magic Mirror. The mirror that makes you look thin, beautiful and chic. I think women's clothing stores purposely use mirrors that make women look good so we'll buy more clothes. A marketing ploy built upon our emotions and insecurities.

I remember an episode of Seinfeld that touched on this very phenomenon.

(from seinfeldscripts.com)

Elaine: Ok, So Barney’s is having this huge sale. I try this dress on -- (holds the garment bag out towards Jerry) -- Stunning. Stunning. I couldn't take my eyes off myself.
Jerry: Yeah.
Elaine: OK, so then I put it on at home. It looks like I’m carrying twins.
Jerry: So you're saying, Store -- Hotsy-Totsy, Home-- Hotsy-Notsy.

(After Elaine models the dress for Jerry and George, George asked why she bought it in the first place)

Elaine: Why did I buy it, because in the mirror, at Barney’s, I looked fabulous.

So true. I once had one of these Magic Mirrors. It was just a $5 mirror I bought at a discount store, but it was the Best. Mirror. Ever. It was more than a reflection. It was confidence. It was style. It was elegance. A BFF, always available and full of compliments.

I don't know what happened to my Magic Mirror...and I haven't been able to find another that replicates such a fabulous image. But I'll keep searching. I'll never be too old to believe in magic.