Those who entered "Skyrim" through the old "Elder Scrolls" game were probably used to seeing their character when they opened the inventory screen. You could see what you would look like each time you tried out new equipment (mismatched doodads), and if you were a strictly first-person-only player, it was one of the few times you could see what you were wearing.

A mod for vanilla Skyrim called Oblivion Style Inventory Character View (open in new tab) offered the opportunity to view oneself wearing new armor looted from dead bandits, but a bug sometimes fixed the camera that way The camera was sometimes fixed in that way. An updated version of the "Show Player in Menus" (opens in a new tab) is now available for Skyrim Special Edition and Anniversary Edition, and after a brief test with a few saves, it seems to work fine.

If you open the inventory and drink down the potion and three grilled leeks, there are a variety of adjustable options, including an option to turn off camera movement during combat. If you want to see the selected armor piece floating in the air, that's an option too. Additionally, you can rotate the player model on the fly with the right mouse click or the right stick on the gamepad while inspecting yourself as if you were a dress-up doll.

Show Player in Menus is available for SmoothCam (opens in a new tab), Customizable Camera (opens in a new tab), ImprovedCameraSE (opens in a new tab), and True Directional Movement - Modernized Third Person Gameplay (opens in a new tab) and Skyrim Souls RE (opens in a new tab), as well as more drastic overhauls, and is compatible with any UI replacement mods you may have

Other mods.

If you have not yet installed a set of mods that help other mods, there is a bit of homework to do to get them working. First, you need to make sure you have SKSE (open in new tab), Address Library for SKSE Plugins (open in new tab), and MCM Helper (open in new tab) installed. Then download Show Player in Menus from Nexus Mods (opens in a new tab).

The list of best mods for Skyrim Special Edition includes many more recommended mods if you are looking to improve your quality of life. Also, if you are a Skyrim VR player and want to enjoy this as a disorienting out-of-body experience, try the alternative View Yourself VR (opens in new tab).