One of our fabulous Retropeepers customers, Michelle Haswell, who blogs at www.kingdomofstyle.net recently posted about ageing and her eyesight worsening. Like millions of women across the country, she was getting to grips with her age and spoke of her defiance at all the changes that society was dictating she changed in her life, such as not doing certain exercises now that she was perimenopausal. Of course, age is just a number and we should do whatever makes us happy, but as she stated, there are certain parts of getting older which mean that we have to adapt somewhat and one of these is the deterioration of our eyesight.
When you have great vision and have never had to wear glasses, suddenly not being able to see properly can be a big shock: I know as it also happened to me. I went from suddenly being able to read signs from a really long distance away, to squinting at subtitles on my TV. I have been wearing glasses for a few years now and I still forget to put them on some mornings; it has become a running joke with the young teacher I sit next to in meetings that she will need to read key information to me which is on a PowerPoint in staff meetings! It can be extremely disarming as it is something that comes up on you all of a sudden and changes your life completely.
Of course, as Michelle so rightly asserts, if we just see glasses as another accessory, then needing them becomes quite exciting. I have over twenty pairs of specs – with a mixture of original vintage and some fabulous Retropeepers pairs and I always make a statement with them with my outfits. Your glasses can be just like a piece of jewellery or a favourite jacket; they can say something about your personality and style. As somebody who is covered in tattoos and has an almost full body suit, I have never shied away from standing out from the crowd. So, both Retropeepers’ Groucho style and their Gidget cat-eye in leopard print were pretty much made for me.
However, with recent events and many people being furloughed on a smaller percentage of their wages, buying new glasses might not be top of many people’s priority lists. Luckily, Retropeepers have a large range of frames for under £30, so with lenses on top, it would still be a brilliant bargain!
If you are still struggling with transitioning to wearing glasses, Michelle has given us some really useful advice to help you on your way:
“I’m a graphic designer and fashion blogger so have been working in front of a computer or device of some type for over 20 years. Therefore, it was just a matter of time before my eyesight started to fail me. It finally happened when I was 45 and I had to admit I needed reading glasses. At first, I was gutted. I thought wearing glasses would be a total pain and in the beginning, it kind of was. Not really the wearing of them, just the practicalities of remembering to take them with me when I went out. But I tackled this by having a pair that stayed in my bag and a pair that I wore at home.
When I discovered I needed glasses, I knew I didn’t want anything understated, as I didn't want to try hide the fact I was wearing specs. If I'm going to wear them, I wanted the biggest, boldest cateye glasses I could find! As a fashion blogger, I celebrate every aspect of personal style, so for me, my reading glasses are an accessory; I take as much care selecting them as I do my shoes. I was so happy to find Retropeepers, as they have a huge selection of dramatic cat-eye frames. They even put my prescription lenses into a pair of sunglasses for me. I really enjoy wearing my glasses now.”
Get Michelle and Haili's look here
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