In Twelfth Night, or What You Will, the idea is that a character is nearly completely transformed simply by changing their costume. When Viola dresses as a man, everyone accepts that she is a man (except a notably hairless and young-looking one). When Malvolio receives a letter from Maria signed as Olivia, he completely accepts that it is from Olivia because it looks like her handwriting. Later, when Malvolio is visited by the "priest" he accepts that it is an actual priest because he's wearing priest's robes even though Malvolio is in complete darkness and couldn't have seen what his visitor was wearing. In other words, appearance is EVERYTHING. All of the characters in the play support this premise.
In The Winter's Tale, on the other hand, appearances are challenged at every turn. Everyone (including the audience) is certain that Hermione is faithful and her children are fathered by the king, but Leontes challenges it relentlessly. Even though Perdita is raised by a shepherd in the wilderness, the other characters remark frequently on her "other quality" which suggests that she may be of noble blood. When the rogue Autolycus dons the prince's robes, no one fully believes that he is an aristocrat, despite his courtly appearance. Both Hermione's death and reappearance as a statue are questioned (and rightly so...she was neither dead nor a statue). In other words, appearances are not to be believed.
I don't have a further scholarly opinion on the meaning of the theme of appearance versus reality in these two plays. It's just an observation.
"I'm a belly dancer!" "I'm the Bloggess!" "I'm Hamlet!" No, guys, you're just dead mice.
(photo from Jenny Lawson's blog, The Bloggess, which I cannot recommend highly enough)
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