Skinny Mirrors

I am in the need of practically an entire new wardrobe, especially for work.  I used to dress a lot nicer back in CA, but the company I work for here is quite causal.  I've now been there for six years and I've been getting more and more casual.  I remember my first week when I dressed nice for Monday through Thursday, then wore jeans on Friday.  The person who was training me, who wore jeans and a sweatshirt every day (I'm not this bad), told me, "you can wear jeans every day you know".   I didn't take her seriously at first, but now looking back, I miss dressing nicer. 

The Happiness Project is a book about a woman spending one year doing things to try to make herself happier.  Not that she is unhappy, but she wants to improve things.  She spent each month for a different subject and one of them was about cleaning out the clutter.  One thing she did was clean out her closet and it inspired me to want to do the same.  My closet is stuffed with clothes...most that I don't wear.  It's time to clean it out and make room for a new wardrobe!

Now my challenge is finding clothes I like.  I've been terribly uninspired most of the time when I go into stores.  Now that I have my new attitude of dressing nicer at work (although not too formal since I wouldn't fit in), maybe I'll find some things I like.  I went to Ann Taylor Loft a couple nights ago.  I usually like their clothes, but they don't tend to look good on my body.  I decided to just start trying things on and see what works and for some reason almost everything I tried on was too big and I had to get smaller sizes.  Once I had clothes that fit, I was surprised how good everything was looking and how skinny I looked!  I have lost a few pounds recently, but I looked even thinner than I thought.  I ended up buying a pair of slacks, a skirt and a shirt.  When I got home I tried them on again...but they didn't look so good.  I've convinced I was the victim of a "skinny mirror".  I still like the clothes, and they do fit, I just don't look the way I thought I did in them.  I think the store was trying to play to my ego...the clothes run big so I feel good buying a smaller size and then the mirror are likely tilted to make me look thinner.  It's a great feeling in the store, but then a downer when I see myself at home.  I guess it's better than those dreaded 3 way mirrors at Bloomingdale's that make everything about me (including my hair) look horrid.

Have you ever been the victim of a skinny (or fat) mirror!