It was the little things that bothered me… Not being able to read the drinks board at bars(!), a few headaches, catching the wrong bus, and once, mistaking a bicycle for a very short person. Everyday my eyes were deceiving me in new and shameful manners. Time to get my sight checked.
(Yes, admire my poor edit of this ad)
I tottered up the road to my local optometrist, which by sheer good luck happened to be Occhiali, a store known for its fashion forward approach to eyewear. I went through a barrage of fascinating tests, confirmed shortsightedness and then moved on to the fun part – choosing frames.
LA Eyeworks: They design fun plastic frames in a huge range of colours. I like the owl-like look of these Pip frames but they would make my face super-duper round.
Ksubi: I thought about going brand-matchy-matchy with my sunnies, by getting the most extreme pair of eighties jammers out there. They certainly made a statement, but would I want to make that statement every time I went out to dinner with my parents? That said, they also had some sweet fawny glasses.
Colab: I adored the round glasses with the keyhole bridge, and earnestly considered the very serious two tone frames from Colab’s range of optical eyewear…
The grand winner however, is a pair of gorgeous Chloé spectacles:
As Occhiali mention on their cute blog, oversized frames in neutral hues are big right now; plus they suited my (apparently very symmetrical) moonface.
Branding wise, Chloé is a class act; from the letter pressed box to little touches like a branded cleaning cloth and the tiny envelope with the warranty tucked away inside.
Despite the unexpected expense, I’m a very happy girl. Tip for pros: Occhiali offers a tax free service if you’re travelling internationally. As you might have noted, I’m in a hotel room in (South Korea), so they sorted me out a pick-up service at the airport. If you need prescription lenses and are going abroad soon, see if your optometrist offers this. It let me afford the cuter pair of frames, a sound investment! Alright, I’m off to sight-see now… literally.
by Jack Kerouac, the initial inspiration for the Book Club For Drunks.
