Retirement eyewear

I was cleaning my glasses, and they snapped in half. I sort of saw it coming – they were high-end but not particularly sturdy. I bought them when I was in the hunt for a VP job and thought I needed a conservative look. Didn’t get the job. Got a life instead.

In terms of new glasses, it would seem the world is my oyster. In retirement, we can totally reinvent ourselves inside and out. I could go completely insane or stick with my trusty black frames. I’m wearing an older pair of basic black glasses now, and the prescription is pretty much the same, so I have time to shop and consider.

Retirement eyewear. This could be interesting.

One look that sort of appeals to me is the older woman with oversized glasses. I suspect the glasses are supposed to cover bags under the eyes and crow’s feet. Cheaper than cosmetic intervention. Then again, I like the idea of something edgy. But what does edgy actually look like?

To complicate my decision, I’m sick of my hair. I wear it up most of the time, and it is super easy to take care of and cheap to maintain. I don’t blow dry, don’t style with products and only need a trim every few months. My hair is fine but shiny and healthy with plenty of body. Anything other than what I have is likely to mean more money and more maintenance.

I’ll probably wait on the glasses until I decide whether I’m going to change my hair. Hair and glasses are a big part of how you look, and I think of them as a package deal. As I write this, I’m betting I’ll leave my hair alone. I might be surprised how new glasses look with my current hair minus the pressures of conforming to a conservative workplace.

That whole conformity thing is interesting to me. How many decisions did we make to fit into our environment, to show we were part of the tribe? How many of those decisions became habits, and how many of them can we dump now that we’re beholden to no one?

Looks like I will begin the reassessment with new glasses. Shopping for eyewear is usually painful. Glasses are not cheap. I no longer have vision insurance, but I never thought it was all that great to begin with. I often paid out-of-pocket because my favorite optical shops didn’t accept insurance. However, that was when I had cash flow. Certainly, I will gasp when I see the price.

I was dreading the whole experience, but aside from the surprise expenditure, now I’m kind of looking forward to it. I’m curious to see what I like through a new lens – the lens of retirement!