Quick question: when you think of legendary glasses wearers, who comes to mind? John Lennon? Elton John? Buddy Holly? Now try the same exercise but for women. A bit harder, isn't it?
Sure, we’ve written about everybody’s favourite White Lotus guest Parker Posey, as well as icons like Iris Apfel and Michelle Visage. But when it comes to thinking of iconic glasses wearers, a lot fewer women seem to come to mind than men.
And it's not because women aren’t wearing glasses. In fact, around 62% of women in the UK exclusively wear prescription glasses, vs. 58% for men. We’ve also got an abundance of incredible female customers who wear some seriously great frames. The issue isn't presence; it's visibility and recognition.
But Why?
For much of the 20th century, glasses on women were seen as unfeminine. Advertisements in the mid-1900s portrayed glasses as detracting from beauty which, understandably, discouraged women from wearing them. If even your next door neighbour was put off wearing glasses by a magazine, it’s no wonder that those at higher risk of scrutiny, like actresses, models and singers, avoided them too.
The public disdain for female glasses-wearers was so widespread that it reached poetry, advertising, journalism, films and more…
Altina Schinasi is an underappreciated figure in the fashion history of the mid 20th century. She’s the visionary behind the much-imitated cat eye glasses; they’re timeless, and the very definition of retro chic. Yet, even as her frames became popular, adverts for the renowned cat eye still used words like ‘owlish’, ‘bookish’ and ‘plain dull’. Not exactly feel-good adjectives for the glasses-wearers who hadn’t quite got round to buying their own pair of Harlequins.
The Liberation Myth
Magazines and advertisers weren’t helping either. Contact lenses were marketed as a way to "liberate" women from their glasses—as if optical frames were literal shackles holding them back from their true potential.
Elsewhere in pop culture, there’s the makeover trope that’s made its way into countless romcoms and coming-of-age movies. In 2001's The Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway's Mia Thermopolis goes from awkward teen to princess-in-training by straightening her hair and ditching her specs. The glasses were a key signifier of everything she needed to leave behind.
Bette Davis got similar treatment in Now, Voyager—her transformation complete once the glasses came off and the hat and makeup went on.
It’s Different For Men…
Men, on the other hand, have always been more easily associated with glasses as symbols of intellect, authority, or eccentric genius. Think John Lennon's round frames, Buddy Holly's Wayfarers, or Elton John's larger-than-life spectacles. For male icons, bold eyewear became part of their personal brand—an enhancement to their image rather than a detraction from it.
The pressure on women to conform to beauty standards was (and is!) heavy. Conventionally attractive facial features were, according to popular media, better appreciated without glasses in the way. So naturally, any woman who wanted to look her best left the specs at home.
There’s also an argument that women don’t, or can’t, really have just one eyewear look. It seems that men get away with more generic styling, having just one frame that goes with every outfit. It’s a generalisation, but women tend to have more varied wardrobes, meaning they’d need a variety of frames to match. That can be pretty inaccessible. Unless you’re someone like Iris Apfel, who has a style so defining and so outrageous that you can make it your ‘thing’, you might be held back from embracing specs as part of your style.
The Shift
Today, glasses are increasingly becoming a fashion statement across all genders, with more women embracing bold eyewear as part of their personal style rather than hiding from it.
Social media and influencer culture have played a big role here. Instagram has helped reframe glasses as an aesthetic choice rather than just a functional one. Even previously stigmatised ‘nerdy’ styles are now chic. Zoë Kravitz, Rashida Jones, and Bella Hadid regularly wear glasses in public appearances—normalising them as stylish rather than something to apologise for.
But we often see celebrities wearing eyewear on their ‘dress-down days’, grabbing a coffee or heading to the supermarket. The frames aren’t a statement for when they are expected to be papped or posing.
It's not just younger generations pushing boundaries either. Legendary Glamma—a grandmother in rural Zambia—became a style icon in her own right by wearing statement frames, and even featured in the glossy pages of Vogue. Then there's Helen Van Winkle, better known as Baddiewinkle, who became an internet sensation at 85 with her bold, colourful aesthetic. Take that, mid-century Harlequin adverts.
The algorithm helps too—for better or worse. You can find yourself in micro-cultures of people who share your specific interests, whether that's vintage cat-eyes or avant-garde acetate. If you're not into what the tabloids deem hot, you don't have to be.
What We're Doing
Everyone who works at Seen is an expert at eyewear styling. We've spent time learning how to help a client choose eyewear to portray a certain type of style or to enhance a personality trait. When our female clients come to us for a dedicated styling appointment, we're fully prepared to help them, whether they want a frame for their everyday or for a specific guise—professional, daily, formal, outlandish or something else entirely. We love helping women find frames in a real range of colours and shapes, so if you’re on the hunt for your next pair of frames, we’d be happy to help.
We heavily invest in curating collections of eyewear that cover pretty much every style you can think of. Aviator, cat eye, oversized, understated, round, square, wayfarer… you name it. This is vital so our team can inspire our female clients to consider various eyewear styles to create different looks. And one thing we know for sure, when the eyewear and the look match, it’s a massive confidence boost. The right specs get you noticed, simple as that.
(And on that note, we’re very excited to bring a predominantly female styled eyewear collection to Seen, which will be launching very soon!) Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know about new drops.
Looking Forward
The stigmatisation of women wearing glasses is real —and longstanding. We’re finally seeing steps towards a more gender-balanced world of eyewear icons, but the steps are small. We’re certainly not anywhere near balanced… yet.
We’re happy that women are starting to utilise glasses as symbols of authority, genius, or eccentricity… just like men have been doing for decades. Needless to say, we’re all for seeing eyewear as a style option, rather than an obligation—and we only hope we see more of it!
