Frockadvisor: specs appeal and helmet head

My optician tells me it’s normal at my age, but how on earth do I choose my first pair of glasses and how can I make them look good?

Signed: Not Happy.

Luckily for you glasses could not be more fashionable right now. Frockadvisor knows it’s daunting to think that your body is failing you, that your once perfectly functioning peepers are less than 20/20. Perhaps this has been exacerbated by a gentle downward drag of every element of your being.

The good news is that imperfection is very current, and a growing trend has been reported in Japan of young women reversing their expensive orthodontic work in order to reinstate their natural quirks in a swing away from the homogeneity of perfection. And while this seems ludicrous on paper, the notion of people wanting to look less like aesthetic automatons is one that frockadvisor applauds.

Anyway, the good news is that you’ve got yourself a new accessory; that should take the edge off the general air of disappointment.

The thing about glasses is that they are the perfect mechanism for you to exert your individuality, and the many different versions of you. The question really is, what do you want to achieve with your new look? Are you going vintage diva, all horn rim and diamanté; are you a post-modern architectural type, or are you an emerging eccentric with oversized frames like the wonderful glasses-wearing poster girl Iris Apfel (seen above).

The one thing we would caution is, well, caution. The temptation to wear invisible or rimless glasses is quite out of favour and we think, ageing. Frames are what it’s all about and black is not the only colour. Don’t be mistaken into casting your mind back to Su Pollard and Timmy Mallet, two legacies from the 1980s, we are definitely not talking “novelty” here.

The way to go forward is more to do with state of mind, taking ownership of your look, and screaming from the rooftops – I WEAR GLASSES, I AM MYOPIC AND PROUD! After all, it’s your right to see and be seen, and a society with equal rights is what we’re all after, right?

I’m in a dilemma. I’m a dedicated cyclist with a strong sense of safety but a love of big hair. How do I mitigate against

helmet head

?

First things first: as a frockadvisor follower, you have already shown an innate sense of style, so let’s start with the wearable. We see a lot of uninspiring safety gear whizzing through red lights and getting into scrapes with taxi drivers.

However, we recently came across a little gem called Freewheeling, on Pearse Street in Dublin, where the point at which style and cycling meet is celebrated. It stocks the most adorable accessories for style-conscious cyclists, including exclusive helmets by Sawako Furuno.

Once the extremities are sorted we have the issue of “the do”.

We asked one of our lockadvisors, Dylan Bradshaw, for his tips and easily implementable tactics, to fight the good fight against helmet head.

His suggestion is that you see the helmet as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

Prepping the hair is everything, and a good volumising product such as Spray Volumique from Kérestase (€21.90) which provides an anti-gravitational effect.

Loosely twist the hair into about eight to 10 sections, creating a curl flat to the head, then pin into position. Pop on your helmet, and when you reach your destination release loose, bouncy curls instead of a flattened do.

At the point of release, look smilingly at the people around you with a slow motion double take, maximising the effect head, of shine, curl and volume. Helmet what helmet head?

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