Optical Illusions

Remember the time when glasses were confined to the realms of geekdom, and leaving the opticians with a pair of specs meant automatic relegation to nerd, before you could even say ‘four-eyes’? Well, those days are long gone, and the latest craze is wearing prescriptive-style glasses, even if you don’t need to. Just last week I noticed a gaggle of girls lining up to try on fake, NHS-style spectacles in Urban Outfitters in an attempt to update their look, so why this current change in thinking?

As always, it’s those big boy designers that have got something to do with it. The Autumn / Winter catwalks were awash with frames in every style, shape, size and colour. Michael Kors picked tortoiseshell to complement his neutral palette and animal print designs, whilst Chanel opted for classic gold. Also helping carve the trend were Tom Ford, Prada and Paul Smith.

A fantastic way to change your look, in the same way sunglasses can enhance your features, so can a pair of see-through specs. They can add personality and character, but also act as an extension of your beautifying process too. Glasses mean make-up doesn’t need to be as heavy, and rather than eyes lined in thick, black kohl, dark frames serve a purpose in highlighting and opening up the eye area.

Functional and fashionable, this new era of optics also means there are a lot more celebrities that are ‘out and proud’ about their glasses-wearing needs, and are starting to favour frames over contacts. So if you’re the real thing and you’re lucky enough to own a pair of designer specs, this is definitely the season to flaunt your frames!