Through the looking glass

I’ve been wearing contact lenses since the age of 14 and for as long as I can remember I’ve managed to ignore glasses. Yes, even when they were being sold in their hundreds by American Apparel to kids wanting to achieve that phony hipster look. Oversized glasses with no lens? Could it get any worse? Unfortunately, the mother of all battles is about to take place. I’ve been getting the most painful and uncomfortable eye aches for the past year. I got away with it for a while but it’s now happening more frequently. To the extent that I have to abandon whatever I’m doing at the time, take my lenses out, put some drops in and sit in complete darkness until it passes. I’ve seen a specialist and circumstances dictate that I wear glasses at least once a week (preferably twice) to give my eyes a chance to rest and re-oxygenate themselves. Laser eye surgery frightens me so there’s only one option left. And that’s a disaster. Only a few weeks ago I was talking to a friend about how I hate wearing glasses. I tried to explain that I think all frames look bizarre on me, that I don’t feel like myself, I would need a new style, I wouldn’t be able to wear all my jewellery like I do now (5 rings, 2 necklaces, a big watch and several bracelets), I would have to try and look more feminine. The detailed list goes on. My outburst was followed by an awkward pause and laughter. She clearly thought I was hilarious. Eyesight is my enemy. Without lenses or glasses I can hardly see anything! Naturally, now that I need to seriously envisage wearing glasses on a weekly basis, I’ve scoured the web for hours in search of frames and inspiration. I remain unconvinced. I look crap wearing glasses (what a brilliant turn of phrase)! But the pressure’s on. Between looking less than delightful aesthetically speaking and suffering, I can definitely tell you which one is worse. Yes, I’ll have to endorse looking shit! So, I’m now enlisting your help. Sabrina recommends Prism (and she looks damn cute wearing them) and Fred advocates the Iris Apfel style (he wears it very well but he's a boy. Boys can get away with anything). What do you think? I’ve looked at a variety of brands and so far only three appeal: Prism, Oliver Peoples and Moscot.
Let’s hope that a nice pair of glasses will make the experience less dreadful and a little bit more pleasurable. Oh, how I resent having such bad eyesight…

Photos courtesy of Prism and The Fashion Spot, collage by July Stars

Glasses

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Persol: http://www.persol.com/

Chrome Hearts: http://www.chromeheartseyewear.com/

Marius Morel: http://www.morel-france.com/marque-morel/

Ray Ban (but that's a bit of hippsterish, isn't it?)

Matsuda: http://matsuda-eyewear.com/

roxanne said...

i have the opposite problem - i've been wearing glasses on a daily basis for twenty years and got so jaded by the process of finding nice, not stupid frames that i just wore nondescript ones and pretended they weren't there.

as of yesterday, however, i am now the proud owner of a killer pair of rounded cateyes from fabulous fanny's. consider me converted.

July Stars said...

@dreamer-jef: thanks for the recommendations!

@roxanne: How bad is your eyesight? My other problem is wearing makeup and prescription glasses. Doesn't seem to work. What's your solution to this dilemma?

STOP IT RIGHT NOW said...

I have a hard time believing anything would look crap on your face. Pffft. My vote is for top left. Or Persols. I'm trying to convince my husband to get Persols instead of walking around squinty-eyed pretending he can see just fine.

July Stars said...

@stopitrightnow Ha, you're so sweet but seriously ... I look odd wearing prescription glasses and I just don't enjoy it. I like the pair on the top left too (Prism) but I have a feeling that they might look enormous on me. Going to check out Persols now. Thanks for the tip!

joli brouillon said...

Depuis toutes ces années je me demande comment tu fais pour porter tes lentilles tous les jours.

Last time I wore contacts was on my wedding day! hihi! Still I find chosing glasses very traumatic.

Try them on, take pictures do that about 10 times in 5 different opticians... you'll know when the right pair has landed on your nose.
Uuntil then... good luck!!

Anonymous said...

Hej Jaja!

You should pop in to MINT. James has hundreds of brilliant vintage frames hidden in the back of the shop... My favorites are the early 80 s Dior and also 80 s Persols. The choice of glasses is super tricky, am in a similar situation, and putting a lot of faith into my next London trip.
Sofia Sweden x

July Stars said...

@joli brouillon: J'ai deja essaye des dizaines de lunettes et toujours pas de chance. Le desespoir. Why wasn't I blessed with perfect eyesight?

@sofia: Let me know when you're next in London and let's meet up. Maybe we can go on a shopping for glasses trip together? Kiss

galatea. said...

doo it! i stopped wearing contacts as i was paranoid to get my eyes dirty from touching it constantly.. but there are really some cool specs out there i bet you could pull off. loove to you sport it on your next post! x

thisisnaive said...

Prism, I wear it, and Oliver Goldsmith, I want to wear it.

Anonymous said...

As an optician, I'm super bummed that people thing glasses suck. My entire job is convincing people that glasses rule, and I feel I'm damned good at it. I bet I could find you glasses that rule. How bad are your eyes anyway?
Tell me, what are you looking for in a new pair of specs, other than just looking awesome? Do you live in London? I will tell you where to get THE best glasses, and they don't have to be too hipster, or too weird, or too expensive. Just don't buy glasses on line cause they are shit for your eyes.
freshspex.tumblr.com | freshspex@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

go get your liver checked out. eyes are the sensory organ pertaining to the liver. often times the heart might be involved. go to an acupuncturist for a full evaluation.

Anonymous said...

Jaja-kins! Pample-kins. I know the most wonderful bestest shop in lil ole Brighton. Organise that day trip and we can check it out!

rental mobil said...

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

Lulupop said...

Hi,

nice : Swedish eyewear designer Oscar Magnuson
http://www.oscarmagnuson.com

Greeting from Berlin

clare said...

try david clulow, their in house range is really nice and not mega expensive (i lose things easily and have 3 pairs to avoid being blind) x