How to wear glasses AND statement earrings
Photo: Claire Pepper. Earrings Toolally. Dress from Toast.
Statement earrings are an easy way to make an everyday outfit extraordinary. Although, I am often asked by glasses-wearing That’s Not My Age readers how to wear statement earrings and specs. Being a firm believer in taking the ‘the more style options, the merrier’ approach, I would always suggest experimenting with a range of different accessories to try and uncover a winning combination. And then one day I realised that the answer to the glasses-and-gigantic-earrings conundrum was sitting right across the desk from me, all along. Hat Margolies (pictured here), aged 45, is a colleague and old friend (we worked together during our magazine days). She runs her own photographic agency called Lucid Representation and definitely knows how to pull off glasses and statement earrings with pizazz. Expertly blending bold hues, sculptural shapes and shoulder-sweeping styles, all mixed and matched with her chic selection of specs and sunglasses.
Here’s Hat’s advice on how to wear glasses and statement earrings:
Throw out the rulebook
‘For ages, years and years, I felt like I couldn’t wear earrings and glasses. There’s this sort of unwritten rule that if you wear glasses you can’t wear hats, earrings or chunky necklaces. So, in the past when I wanted to wear bold jewellery, I’d always wear my contact lenses. Then I saw a picture of Jenna Lyons rocking bold glasses and earrings and thought, why not? I like how graphic it makes me look – and get so many compliments when I wear statement earrings. They can completely update what I’m wearing and make old outfits look cool and cutting-edge.’
Pull out an accent colour
‘If you have coloured frames, you can use that to make a connection with your jewellery. [Above] I’ve styled my prescription Kite sunglasses with a favourite pair of acrylic earrings from Toolally and a green shirtdress from Toast. Pink is the accent colour that ties everything together – and I like that pink and green clash a bit.
With sunglasses, I always go big. I feel cooler when I wear them, like an off-duty movie star in disguise, which is kind of what sunglasses are meant to do. I used to stick to plain, simple frames, but I’ve discovered that boldness suits me and suits my personality. I tend to style my hair back off my face if I’ve got big showy glasses and earrings – my hair is naturally curly and it can look messy. The aim being to look cool, not like I’ve been dressed by my five-year-old daughter!
Earrings from A Weathered Penny. Top, Hobbs. Makeup by Louise Heywood.
Go tone-on-tone
‘If you find a pair of big, contrasting earrings make you feel too chaotic, try colour-matching them with your clothing instead. Here I’ve paired the rose pink Cora earrings from A Weathered Penny with a blouse from Hobbs. Blush pink is one of my signature colours and I like the clear contrast between the Gina top and earrings, and my glasses frames and hair.
I’ve been wearing glasses for approximately 37 years – and this is the first pair that I absolutely love. I barely wear contact lenses now because I love them so much. They’re from Cutler and Gross, and they were the most expensive pair I’ve ever bought but they’re bloody marvellous! Every time I feel guilty about the expense I think of the cost per wear. I saw a really good independent optician and he advised on this shape and encouraged me to try something bigger and a little different to what I’ve had before.’
Mirror the silhouette of the glasses with your earrings
‘The earrings I choose have to be bold and unapologetic. They give my outfits personality when I have to go to a business meeting. I work in a creative industry so feeling like myself and dressing with flair is important.
Another tip is to use earrings to echo the silhouette of your frames. Circular and sculptural shapes – like these handmade wooden hoops from Branch Jewellery – work really well with my Cutler and Gross glasses. They compliment the curvy shape and go with everything.’
Photo: Claire Pepper. Earrings from Branch Jewellery. Denim shirt, Hat’s own.
And here’s a selection of statement earrings and spectacles:
Please note affiliate links in this post may generate a commission.
Photography: Claire Pepper
Hair & makeup by Louise Heywood. Louise does one-to-one makeup lessons in her south London studio for ‘women who like to keep it subtle’.
Discussion (26 Comments)
Dawn Duffy says:
Really good article. I think the secret is definitely blending earrings to clothes so it’s not ‘busy’. Natural tones work for me, no pattern on my clothes – but colour and no necklaces so the earrings say it all.
Enjoyed this a lot… and the earrings xAlysen says:
Hats off to Hat! Nifty styling and a helpful tutorial on bold glasses and bold earrings.
And the more I see of Louise Heywood’s work, the more I want a lesson with her….
Jane says:
Hi Alysen, I can highly recommend Louise Heywood! When I was in London in July, I did a photo shoot and Louise was my makeup artist. She is not only talented, but is a delightful person to spend time with. 🙂
Barbara Thompson says:
How interesting! It never dawned on me not to wear statement earrings with my glasses. I love the look! But, I do always wear my hair back and always coordinate my earrings with my clothing.
Catherine Clarke says:
Yes, I just love the combination of spectacles, and fabulous earrings. Adding colour, interest and a sense of fun and individuality. being a glasses wearer I have a great stash of earrings and take great delight choosing what to wear when I go out. I find that they are a great way to distract from any less than perfect figure issues. Thank you again Alyson for your exploring fun fashion details.
Anne Murphy says:
Having worn glasses for years, toning down the rest of my ‘ensemble ‘ just never occurred to me. With the advent of buying glasses online (much cheaper) I also have a wardrobe of glasses….red, cats eye , animal print & purple toned everyday. Maybe time I bought some new ones….and that’s not even mentioning my numerous earrings! .look at Pru Leith, a wonderful advocate of colourful specs & jewellery.
Love the specific, actionable advice in this piece! Hat’s inspirational photos are terrific, too! Thanks much!
Martine Large says:
Great post. It’s actually never occurred to me not to wear big earrings with my glasses, but it’s reassuring to see somebody doing it as stylishly as Hat, and the tips are really useful too.
Carol says:
I have been wearing glasses since I was 5 and I co ordinate my earrings to match my clothes, and more importantly, my mood! I have never heard of the “rule” before (and I was raised with rules, such as nothing ostentatious on a Sunday).
Rose says:
Great tip about keeping the hair sleek and tidy to smarten up the look.
A “rule” for myself, that Hat also seems to follow, is to have something solid at the ear lobe. This covers up the ear wrinkles and lobe-sag that I have when there is just the wire going through the piercing.
There are some fab stylish ear cuffs out there too!I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 2 and earrings since I was a teen. It never crossed my mind not to! Because my prescription is expensive, I only ever have one pair of glasses at a time, so I don’t choose bold, stand-out frames. I guess that’s why I’ve never felt that they clashed with statement earrings. I think Hat accomplishes something similar in photos 2 and 3 by wearing frames that coordinate with her hair colour.
Anne says:
I also did not know the ‘rule’ about glasses and earrings. These great tips and examples will spur me on.
Thank you Alyson for your consistently inspiring and helpful work. .
Sara says:
Yes, yes to several of the above comments. I wear glasses part time ( for reading etc, more and more as time passes) and was unaware of the specs and earring rule, but as Linda says, it’s not the specs, it’s the hair! When mine was very short, I loved my long earrings but now my hair is longer, I do not bother as they are invisible. I have kept my favourites in case I either go for a mad crop or unexpectedly go bald; in either case, they will delight and distract.
maudie says:
‘unexpectedly go bald’ – made me laugh! I love the HUMOUR that filters through so many of the comments. We really are a fascinating and smart bunch who read TNMA!
Mrs Tonia says:
Really like how confident and attractive Hat looks in Claire’s photos. And the colour coordination between the frames, earings and plain coloured clothing without fussy necklines. It all works well for her.
But for me no thanks. When I used to wear earrings, have a collection, I scarcely wear now, they were more of the on the earlobe type or with a small pendant.
But I wear glasses far more than I did and lenses far less. I don’t have pierced ears so my earings are clip or screw on type and uncomfortable after too long. Last time I wore earings was my son’s wedding : yellow pearl clip ons with a peach baroque pearl necklace and tortoishell framed sunglasses summer 2018. I’d put them on with sunglasses not regular vision glasses. Instead I go for necklaces, big bold choker types down to layered chains.
This is a useful how to post and good to have a real woman modelling how she does it.
Jenna Lyons in her day as Design Director at J. Crew was in the vanguard of showing a tall woman wearing glasses in all sorts of clothing for all sorts of clothing. Now actresses are photographed wearing glasses as are others. It’s helpful to see how it’s done.Your smashing earrings and specs give me courage to go for bolder ones. I have earrings envy for the gorgeous ones included in your post!
JoansGate says:
Great points made here. At almost 70 years old, I gave up wearing earrings about 6 months ago, quite by accident. Because I live in Rhode Island, summertime is all about being outdoors–going to the beach, that sort of thing. So, I would forget to put my earrings on! In addition, I have large, fun turquoise frames and another pair of wireframes, more formal. I thought that earrings would be over-powering. I tend to use different hairstyles and my eyeglasses as a focal point of fashion, wearing my hair in a bob, styled differently every 8 weeks when I go to the salon, with highlights and color. Whatever floats your boat, as they say!
Sallymandy says:
Thanks for thes post and photos – great ideas that I had not considered before.
I also think it helps to consider what you’re wearing, and what’s going on with hair. I notice that Hat’s hair and tops are all simple (not to mention very natural makeup), and I think those give a kind of non-flashy context to the glasses-and-earrings. She looks classy and also creative interesting. If she were wearing bold prints AND the glasses AND the earrings (and if her hairstyle and/or makeup was more complex), it might be too much..?
Anyway, thanks!
Rach with an E 
Jenny 
Linda Pennell 
K 
Jen 
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I also for years thought you could not wear big earrings with specs. I have worn glasses since being a small child and so missed out on many fun years of lobe fun! Like Hat a I also got to the what-the-hell stage and bought some and have never looked back. There are so many brilliant earrings out there for not much money (although some ARE a lot of money) that I now have a jolly stash of large/dangly/multicoloured/geometric earrings and I snazzed up my specs courtesy of Bailey Nelson. Probably growing my hair eased me in to the earring thing but now I tend to tie it back. I think I stopped being apologetic and got the ‘sod it syndrome’ and I am pleased that I did.