When the best is nothing at all

Amy Klobuchar's recent video on food safety gives us a great view of her choice in glasses:

Glasses with bold frames are a popular fashion choice right now, but for Senator Klobuchar, this rimless pair is a win. They allow us to see as much of her eyes as possible, which is important since her eyes are a bit smaller in proportion to her face.

Reading glasses matter too

Do you buy your reading glasses at the drug store? Do you choose them carefully? Do you let your niece choose the frames, because they're "just" your reading glasses, and hardly anyone will see them anyway? Life can surprise you sometimes. In her opening statement before the Senate Banking Committee, Sarah Bloom Raskin said that she never expected to be nominated to the Federal Reserve Board.


I'm going to assume that when Ms. Bloom Raskin chose these reading glasses, she wasn't expecting to end up on C-SPAN. It's the only reason I can think of that the "confetti" look would be ok. These glasses are so distracting. Do yourself a favor: save the "fun" patterns for the case.

The advantage of neutral colors in changing light

Karen Bass is the front runner in today's Democratic primary for California's 33rd district. She was interviewed last week at the Georgia Aquarium, where the lights cycled through a rainbow of colors:


Ms. Bass was extremely well served by wearing neutral colors on this occasion, although it was certainly a coincidence. The black, tan and white tweed looks great under yellow, pink, blue, green and so on. I also like that she keeps her jewelry small and understated to compliment her short hairstyle and not compete with her bold glasses.

Claire McCaskill questions Blackwater contracts

Senator Claire McCaskill questioned contracts with Blackwater during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week. She wore a red jacket, and her signature glasses with black frames:

The Senator's glasses are a bold look, and she wears them often. Here's another angle, from January in anticipation of the State of the Union address:

The question, of course, is whether she wears the glasses or perhaps they wear her. There are some image consultants who will suggest that dark, bold frames like this obscure the face, no matter who you are. I'm not one of them (full disclosure: my own Michael Kors frames are rather similar to Senator McCaskill's). I do think, though, that for her this color is perhaps in too strong a contrast with her coloring overall. Similar frames in a warm brown might have softened her look in a way that would work better with her hair color especially.

But frankly, I applaud her for regularly wearing her glasses at all. It's amazing to me how frequently we as women still succumb to the idea that glasses are somehow "unbecoming."