Rewriting the Glasses Aesthetic: Styling Vintage by Era, Not Aesthetic
Rewriting the Glasses Aesthetic: Styling Vintage by Era, Not Aesthetic
I’ve noticed that a lot of people are styling the Miu Miu glasses in this super curated dark academia way. It’s all oversized blazers, oxford shoes, and maybe a worn-out paperback. And while that’s a cool look, it honestly felt too predictable for me. It’s not that I don’t love a good academia moment—but when I put these glasses on, I wanted to wear them how I would actually wear them, not how a Pinterest board would tell me to.
To me, that means reaching for pieces that I already love and wear-especially the true vintage ones. Like, not “vintage-inspired,” but actual pieces from the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s. A lot of people only wear glasses like this to play a character. But if you wear glasses every day, it’s not a costume. It becomes part of your personal style, and that’s what I wanted this outfit to reflect.
The Outfit Breakdown (by era):
- Top (modern): Black asymmetrical tank top from Target — the only non-vintage piece in the look. The modern cut helps balance out the older pieces and keeps the outfit from leaning too retro.
- Skirt (late ’80s/early ’90s vintage): This is a real-deal Liz Claiborne skirt. The material has a denim-like structure, but it’s lighter and printed with these yellowy-orange leaf motifs. The cut falls somewhere between midi and maxi depending on your height, and it feels like something you’d see in a 1989 summer lookbook. It’s got that tailored-but-easy silhouette that defined a lot of late-’80s casualwear.
- Shoes (early 2000s vintage): Platform wedge Guess flip-flops. These are so early Y2K it’s unreal—chunky, unapologetic, and super nostalgic. You could totally see these in a Delia’s catalog or on a red carpet in 2002.
- Bag (late ’90s/early 2000s novelty piece): I call it my Carrie Bradshaw purse because it’s covered in shoes—and it feels very “Sex and the City” era. The playful print and mini-structured shape are total hallmarks of that late-’90s, early-2000s novelty bag moment.
- Bracelets: One’s a black beaded wrap bracelet (not sure on the era, but it has that stretchy early-2000s craft market vibe), and the other is this gem with gold flecks, a gift from my twin that feels super sentimental and wearable.
- Glasses (modern dupe): The Miu Miu frames are a modern take on that oversized intellectual style, but I like to style them without leaning into the costume of it all.
Originally, I had my hair up in a claw clip (another early 2000s touch), but I let it down because I wanted the outfit to feel less styled and more lived-in. Sometimes I worry when I wear longer skirts with glasses that the whole thing will read as “teacher” or a little too polished for what I’m going for. Wearing my hair down softens it, and next time I might go with pigtail braids or another casual style to keep it playful.
Why This Look Matters:
The entire outfit—except for the top—is real vintage. That matters to me. I think we throw around the word vintage a lot, but this skirt is from the ’80s. These flip-flops are from the early 2000s. And that purse? Definitely late ’90s. I’m not just mimicking the past—I’m wearing it, comfortably, in the present. And that’s the energy I want to bring to every outfit: not recreating a trend, but letting the past and present sit next to each other in a way that feels like me.
