Trends come and go, in eye wear as in any fashion, but every summer there’s a returning horror as predictable as soggy picnics. For some reason we all start to imagine we’re on the prom at St Tropez, and before we know it the dreaded white sunnies have come out of the drawer again!
Just like Liz Hurley in her white jeans, we all have an image of the ideal summer look, and despite the fact that white is hard to wear, isn’t very flattering on most English rose complexions – or indeed any others – and picks up stains from your hair dye, we do it every year. It didn’t look good in the eighties, can we make it look good now?
The important thing is the right shape – retro can be good but there are limits – don’t go round, don’t go too bug eyed, and choose a shade of white that suits you. Cold grey toned whites are good on cool complexions, shades of creamy white are good with olive toned skins. It looks classy lined with black or crystal white, as a contrast in colour helps to avoid the cheap and nasty effect.
Keep the white plain – don’t add bling or bright pattern, although white is good with turquoise – very Pucci and hot for summer. A discreet inlay or touch of silver is good, but keep the lines clean – think Bianca Jagger lounging in a trouser suit, not Madonna pretending to be like a virgin! This is one fashion that the seventies actually did better than the eighties, let’s see if we can actually nail it in the noughties!