outward appearance vs window dressing

outward appearance

window dressing

noun
  • The decorative display of retail merchandise in store windows; the goods and trimmings used in such a display. 

  • The process, skill or task of creating such a display. 

  • A means of creating a deceptively favourable impression of something or someone; something for appearance only. 

How often have the words outward appearance and window dressing occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )