Mirror vs. Photos

I have spent most of my life preferring pants over dresses and skirts and also being afraid of leggings. Now all the sudden, my preferences are reversing. What gives? I would have to say recent weight losses and shifts have something to do with this, but primarily photographing myself in different outfits almost daily has had a huge impact on me. For some reason, I can't get a good objective view from the mirror. Looking at photographs allows me to step back and get a better idea what I really look like.

I found this out several years ago in the famous "clown pants" incident. I had these pants that I loved bought from the clearance rack for $8. They were baggy elastic waist pants with a bold autumn leaf print. The fabric would have made lovely curtains or throw pillows, but pants? No. I wore those things all the time and my husband would just cringe. All that time I thought it was just his personal preference for dark colors and simple solids. Nope, they were hideous, but I didn't know it until I saw a picture of myself in them. I'm still searching through old photos so I can post one here, but it's possible I destroyed them all.

Anybody else get better insight from photos?

Tunic Sweater on a Sunday

I've gotten really brave lately about wearing leggings. Let me put it this way, I gave birth to twins and it had an effect on my belly, O.K.?  I'm not a stick woman--more of an hour & 1/2 glass than hourglass shaped. Most of the time I'm just fine with that but I thought it ruled out certain types of clothing completely. Now I realize I have to use leggings carefully and selectively, but I can wear them. See exhibit A:

Leggings are very comfy for crawling around in the floor after toddlers. Since I keep nursery during Sunday school, my church clothes have to be baby-proof. Then I want to look good in the choir too!Could it be these are actually slimming? It makes me look smaller on top somehow. I'm between 38D and DD according to the recent bra fitting I had, but you'd never know it from these pictures. That's one complaint I have about tunics or long sweaters--they make me look flat and a mile wide especially in the hips. I see a little flattening and maybe an emphasis on my hips, but somehow this whole thing works.

But watch out, my hubby started giving me instructions for poses. . . 

I call this next one my "Baby Got Back" shot. Maybe I was attempting one of those weird arched back poses models do? Someday I'm going to do a post of all photo bloopers, and this will be in there! See the camera really does add 20 lbs and this time it was all added to my posterior!

Tunic, Leggings, Boots

 O.K. So this is apparently an outfit formula lots of people use, but not something I do often. I thought I was too curvy and, well, blobby to pull it off. But I gave it some thought, and here are the results. Isn't it cute? And I took the sweater off when I got hot at work because it was up in the 60's today. Don't I look like a happy office elf?