Magic mirrors

I’m sure most of you have read or heard that some shops are going to be introducing ‘magic mirrors’ into their fitting rooms, but have any of you experienced them?
I’ve been in shops where they’ve obviously tilted the mirror away to create an elongated trimmer looking figure, but these curved mirrors are a new one on me. Apparently a new breed of curved mirrors that give shoppers the impression they’ve dropped a dress size are making an appearance on our high streets… this is only my opinion - but doesn’t it all seem rather like a con? How many times have you got home, excitedly clutching your new purchase, only to try it on in the comfort of your bedroom to be overcome with disappointment that it just doesn’t look as good as you thought it did?


I know the retailers will argue that there’s no harm in making shoppers feel more confident in the fitting room (Something that I know a lot of women don’t feel when shopping) but what about when they get home? Doesn’t it end up knocking their confidence even more?
 Image courtesy of Michal Marcol

We should embrace the fact that we’re all individual and different shapes. Every one of us has something good to show off and we shouldn’t need a fancy mirror to convince us to buy something. It’s just not true that to look good, we need to be slimmer; we just need to have some body-confidence.

My advice for confident shopping is to understand your body shape; I don’t just mean whether you’re pear, apple, hourglass or column, I mean really know your shape. Take some time to assess yourself in the mirror, be honest and don’t focus on the parts of your body you’re not too happy with. Try and look at your whole figure – from top to toe. What are its proportions? What are the assets you should be showing off – waist/legs/boobs, you get the idea. Now think about how you might balance out your proportions, for example if your top half is smaller than your bottom half then consider wearing clothes that will enhance your bust and broaden your shoulders, and avoid clothing that makes your bottom half appear bigger than it is(pleats and detailing around the hip area are a definite no no).

Once you start to understand your shape you can begin to balance out your proportions and most importantly, start to enhance your best bits! So, next time you go shopping and you think the mirrors are being unusually kind, ignore them. If you’ve picked styles that enhance your assets and balance out your proportions then you’ll look fab in the fitting room and at home.

I’d love to hear your comments about magic mirrors so please do share!