Wardrobe thoughts

Well into spring days in October, so winter clothes are back in the wardrobe and summer colours are not only in the shops but on the streets. I am always amazed that people expect to update their wardrobes with the seasons, but expect one pair of frames to do duty morning, noon and night, summer or winter, going out or staying in, summer or winter, meeting the Queen or washing the car.

I know that updating a whole wardrobe at once can be a huge expense, but many people choose to do it slowly - layby, or buying the skirt one week, the tops the next and the shoes after that.

How many pairs of shoes do you have? Do you wear the same ones for going out, beachwalking, in the garden, at work, to Church...not likely. Not all your shoes will have been bought in the same season, or even the same year - some are old faithfuls, some get downgraded from "best" to "work" to "casual" to "washing the car"...but you always have a spare (or several) and you have different shoes for different tasks or different looks.

I am always amazed (and dismayed) when we have a patient who says that she can't be without her glasses even for half an hour for a repair because she "needs them for driving" and "doesn't have a spare". Often practices can provide a second pair, less fashionable, at a cheaper price for a spare, or keeping an older pair is very practical too. And the time to talk spare pairs is never when the patient comes in having broken her only pair two days before Christmas...the labs are closed and what happens if she is the only driver in the family needing to head away for the Big Day...?

You might not have 2 watches (although a lot of people have), two tiaras, several leather jackets or three motor vehicles "just in case"...but telling your optometrist that you can't go to work because your glasses are broken is similar to saying that you can't go to work because your one pair of trousers is in the wash with your one shirt and one set of underwear.

Maybe you don't need to buy 2 pairs of super high fashion frames with duplicate lenses with all the bells and whistles. But you do need something as a spare that lets you function - driving, cooking, reading - as well (or nearly as well) as your usual pair does. Treat yourself for spring, if you don't have a spare at present.

Or treat yourself for summer, autumn or winter...or because it's your birthday (or will be next year)...or because this frame goes so well with your new hair colour...

Spare pairs...maybe not to match everything in your wardrobe but to at least function and still look good when you leave the house.