I now own a pair of green socks, and it’s all thanks to a pair of glasses I got 2 years ago.
Stay with me and I’ll explain. I’ve worn glasses now for a very long time and as an Optometrist I’ve been able to have nice glasses. They were “safe” styles that didn’t make me stand out, but one day we decided to take on a new really colourful range of frames; Johann Von Goisern (JVG for short). And when I say colourful I mean colourful. JVG are into their third generation of frame manufactures in Austrian lake district, they know what they are doing and their quality is second to none. They hand produce acetate frames which are layered with the most amazing colour combinations and patterns you can think of. They look amazing on. I decided I’d have a pair and picked out a really nice pair that started as blue at the top but changed colour through the frame down to grey at the bottom.
Now this next part may seem very cliched. I’ve heard people say that a pair of glasses can change your life. Yes, I’ve seen this first hand so many times when people who couldn’t see suddenly can see. It can be life changing to have your vision back. But that’s not what I mean by this. A good pair of glasses can have an effect on how a person feels, about themselves and how they present themselves and are perceived in the world. I have to say this pair of JVGs changed me. You see they didn’t really look right with my plain grey work suit. They looked out of place. They didn’t seem to match my “style”. Well, it turns out the grey work suit wasn’t my style. I never really felt comfortable in a plain grey suit but I thought that is what I had to wear. Having a lovely pair of colourful glasses to wear meant that I changed my wardrobe. I no longer wear the tired grey work suit, I wear clothes that reflect my personality with more colour and style. I now feel comfortable in what I wear for work as it’s more “me”. I wear chinos, nice shirts, blazers or jackets, I now have a love of pocket squares (I have around 8 now - my wife reminds me I can only wear one at a time!) and now I have a pair of green socks. All my socks before that were plain dark grey or black – for work – but now I can wear colour on my feet too. And you know what? I’m happier now than I was, I feel right with what I’m wearing rather than wearing what I think I’m supposed to which didn’t suit my style personality. Fast forward two years and I now have more pairs of glasses that I love, that reflect my style and that aren’t the “safe” option. Glasses that let me stand out as someone with really cool glasses. My biggest take away from this is glasses don’t have to be purely functional, they can be part of our personality, our own unique style and we can feel good about wearing them.
So it’s true, a good pair of glasses can change your life!
