Reflections

In my bathroom mirror on a bad day, I'm 45. On a good day, I'd be carded. In my full length Ikea bedroom mirror, I'm Christie Brinkley in her prime, only with darker hair. I know those mirrors are accurate because at Ann Taylor Loft, I look exactly the same as I do in my own mirrors. Young, tall, lithe. I consequently buy all my clothes there. So how does one explain my appearance in the mirrors at Lord and Taylor? That store, has placed 3 way mirrors in all its dressing rooms that fatten, shorten, age and wrinkle. There, I'm a 4'9" plump crone. It's a wonder they're able to sell anything but gloves. Good mirrors reflect reality. My mirrors are good mirrors. Ann Taylor Loft's mirrors are good mirrors. Lord and Taylor's mirrors---very very bad. Some people might opine that well made mirrors should always reflect the same reality. They're morons. Why should a mirror be any more objective than a person. My friends are all within 10 years of my age, an age which gets me into the movies at a discount. They all look fabulous. None looks older than 45. Strangers my age, on the other hand, look ready for assisted living. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of us all?" If my mirror said "Snow White," Harry and David's would be getting an expedited order for poison apples. And a happy new year to all.