WEARING WELL

Stories of the clothes we love SUNGLASSES

There’s a moment of private joy when you try something new and realise that it really works for you. Like a dramatic haircut, or a red lipstick. That moment first came for me when

I was a student, and tried on my first pair of cat-eye sunglasses. A huge vintage tortoiseshell pair that cost £3 and lasted for years. I’ve been an avid cat-eye fan ever since. It’s the shape of them, you see; those little flicks work hard. They lift my cheekbones, they arch my brows. There’s a little humour to them, but they look incredibly chic. They are unambiguously feminine.

Everyone has their favourite sunglasses shape, but the cat-eye was the first shape created with women in mind. Sunglasses, as we know them today, are a 20th-century invention and, in the 1930s, designer and filmmaker Altina Schinasi Miranda set out to create a pair of glasses that would make women feel attractive. The result was the ‘Harlequin glasses’ – the first cat-eye.

We all know the practical purpose of sunglasses, but the best pairs offer something more. When Audrey Hepburn wore her dark sunglasses as Holly Golightly in the opening credits of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, they became as iconic as her little black dress.

Who was the sophisticated woman behind the glasses? The mystery was undoubtedly part of the appeal.

It’s perhaps not surprising then that cat-eye glasses were inspired by the silhouette of classic Venetian masks. While they’re attentiongrabbing – especially if the corner flicks are adorned with diamanté

– my pair also served well as a mask when I wasn’t quite able to face the world. When I suffered from agoraphobia, unable to get past my front door for even a short stroll, my sunglasses acted as personal armour on my tentative trips outside. Like so many items in my wardrobe, they make me feel good as soon as I put them on – whether it’s for a tough meeting, a difficult conversation or just a day when I’m feeling a bit off, they bolster me – and we all need that sometimes.

There’s plentiful choice when it comes to finding your own feel-good pair: the chic without the eye-watering price tag options of Le Specs ( lespecs.com), or the retro reproductions of Jeepers Peepers (jeeperspeepers.co.uk). For true vintage style, try Peep eyewear ( peepeyewear.co.uk).

These days I step out of my front door without a second thought, ready for whatever the world has for me.

And I’m still in my cat-eye sunglasses. They don’t just make me feel feminine, as Altina Schinasi Miranda had hoped, they make me feel bold.

“They serve me well as a mask when I’m not able to face the world”