“Does This Make Me Look Short?” was the question posed to me by my client Mary, who is 5’ 1” tall, does not wear heels higher than two inches and is one of the most intelligent and charming people I know. She is not tall; she is short. For what ever reason she felt it was the dress she was trying on that made her look short not the fact that she is indeed short. My response to her question was quick, “Mary, you are short.” Thankfully, in addition to her charm she has a sense of humor and we both laughed. This story brings up a much broader point—what is it we see when we look at ourselves in the mirror? Tall and fit or short or fat? Why don’t we see that proportions can make us look taller or shorter, wider or slimmer? Instead we see what we don’t like and walk away frustrated that nothing looked right. We are our own worst critic. We imagine what we should look like instead of what we do look like. What I want to hear, from you, when you stand in front of the mirror is, “Wow, I look gorgeous!” Because when you wear clothing in the right proportions and colors, you do look gorgeous. 
Fashion is architecture. It is a matter of proportions.
-Coco Chanel
