Earrings and glasses: Pairs and possibilities

Reader LauraH asked, "As a fellow glasses-wearer and jewellery maven, do you have any advice about combining them with earrings?"

I wear glasses only for close work; they're not on my face all day. But as I thought about it, there are a few ideas swirling there in the background.

Let's deconstruct the elements and begin with glasses, which are an accessory stuck to your face. Imogen Lamport of Inside Out Style has written some useful posts on choosing glasses, like this one.

Adding earrings piles another visual element on that face. You'll be the judge of how busy you want to get, but if you (and I) aren't careful, we can pile on a lot, because you can come to think of your glasses as just part of you.


High-info frames

Lafont's "Borgia" is an intriguing frame I'd be tempted to own as a second or third pair. But there's a lot of visual information here, and if you pick the frame in red, hel-lo! But I have at least one glassy-lassie friend who would wear the heck out of these.

With them, I'd choose pearl studs, for example. I'd save to get them big, with gorgeous overtones, like this 12mm Kasumi pair from Kojima Company; price, $1,250. These are hardly retiring earrings but they do not fight with the frame's detail.

If you're a brave girl, you could ramp up the visual energy and wear something that goes toe to toe with the frame, like a pair of retro ruby and diamond earrings set in 14k, from Beladora. (Price, $1,450.) As you would expect, the clothes with this are architect-office quiet.

Medium-info frames

Kate Spade's Lucyann is the style I'm wearing currently. Though an anonymous commenter advised a change, they work for me, and I can wear several types of  earrings with them.

Most winter days I'll choose small diamond studs because the screw-backs hold securely as I whip hats or earmuffs off. I also wear a pair of John Hardy earrings similar to those below, from Beladora: the 18k/sterling mix blends with other metals easily (Price, $250).

 Lightweight metal frames

Metal frames, especially the light, spare type, add minimal information, but if you wear that frame with metal earrings, that's a lot of hard texture at your face. It will look alright, but it's a colder effect, as shown by this Vera Wang black titanium pair, which I like very much. They are graceful and clean but lack the warmth of the acrylics, especially those with laminated colour or tortoise-shell mottles. 

With them, I'd choose an earring that's more gem than metal, like Gabrielle Sanchez' amethyst globes, $1,250 at TwistOnline.) Nor would I confine the earring setting to a dark metal unless I wanted that goth-girl effect.

In a drop earring, Beth Orduna's lavender-grey drop hoops soften the metal and add the always-magical glow of pearl. (Price, $308 at TwistOnline.)

And, LauraH and others, how often do you update your frames? Do you choose for yourself or take an optician's advice? My friends Alice teases her husband: his aviators, over 30 years old, are now back in style.

But we don't want to wait out a turn of the retro wheel!