I want to talk about… full-length mirror!

Without it, you’ll be unable to acknowledge your silhouette as a whole.

You need it to balance the volumes, the colors, the prints, and accessories in your outfits.

And if the reason you do not own one is a lack of love of your body I swear you that learning to look at it and improving your style will improve your self-image.

Besides, maybe am I preventing a broken leg? I have seen many clients who needed to climb on the edge of the bathtub to get a glimpse of their outfit (ahlala).

I/ Choose and place your full-length mirror

What you need: a mirror when you can see yourself head to toes.

A/ What mirror to choose? 

• Inbuilt mirror

If you are building your closet, why not opt for an inbuilt mirror?

(Beware, if you place it just in front of your bed… some say it’s can be scary).

It can be any closet…in my tiny Parisian apartment, I own a mirrored shoe cupboard.

Just like so (but do not do like me and insert handles, otherwise it gets dirty).

• Standing mirror

If you have room, you can invest in a mirror specially designed to admire your own look.

In french we call them “psyché mirrors”, referring to a princess whose beauty made gods jealous in greek mythology.

Psyché mirror from the seventies (modern versions exist)

• Wall mirror

Even with a small apartment, there is always somewhere you could place a wall mirror.

No need for the mirror to be wide, what is important is for you to be able to see yourself head to toes easily.

Pay attention to have the mirror standing perfectly vertically. If it is, even slightly, bent to the floor, it will distort your silhouette and make it look shorter.

You can also just lay your mirror on the floor. If you do this, it can be slightly bent toward the ceiling… a good trick to elongate your body and boost your image… but do not abuse it ^^. ( Hint: when you start looking like elastigirl, that’s when you have taken things a little too far.)

French influencer Sophie Fontanel with her iconic super simple wall mirror.

The pretty floor mirrors at second hand shop Louise Paris.

Notez le soin apporté à l’arrière plan (si vous avez vocation à prendre des selfies, pensez y).

• Folding or tryptich mirror

The ultimate styling mirror!

So you can see yourself from every angle (bum included) like Mistinguett around 1927

A modern one by Joseph Dirand

B/ Where to place your mirror in the room? 

Prefer daylight! Artificial lights alter colors.

If you have direct daylight, localize your mirror at a side angle from the window.

90 degrees angle from the window.

II/ Posing

A/ Seduce yourself

Years ago, there was a french show called “Belle toute nue” (Naked and beautiful) which aimed to restore women’s confidence. The “before” pics where taken with the most awful angle. The woman where standing straight, legs and arms apart from their body in the most artificial yet unflattering position.

And there I was, screaming in front of my TV: there are already beauties, but of course if you show them a picture of themselves in this horrendous pose they are going to start crying.

I mean… what the???

Surprisingly enough, some of my real-life personal styling clients tend to pose in a similar unflattering manner when confronted to a full-length mirror.

The idea behind it is to not favorably influence themselves to buy clothes that “do not really look good”.

That my friends is biased thinking. The clothes do look good when you do look good.

Act in front of the mirror as you would in real life! Stand on one hip, hands in pockets, walk confidently, smile, throw a seductive gaze… Be nice to yourself! Not only others deserve to see your best self.

You can even pretend you are a model because why wouldn’t you?

B/ Step away from the mirror

In shops changing rooms there’s often not enough space to see your full silhouette in the mirror.

To do so, you need to go outside of the room and look at yourself from a further distance. (That’s what the central mirrors are for).

Voilà! 

Bises de Paris,

Aloïs

Plenty of other stories like this one in my book: “Why french women wear vintage and other secrets of sustainable style”