In the Metro this morning their token nugatory story (aren’t they all?) was about monocles. Apparently Specsavers have been overwhelmed with requests for the things and as a result have started stocking them for the first time. I guess handsome people like Mark Ronson are to blame for the return of this dandy, foppish thing and while I definitely like the idea of people wearing monocles, I can’t help but assume it’s 2010’s verstion of the fake geek glasses. Still, despite what Specsavers say, I’m yet to see anyone attempting this look, and I live in the fop-friendly Goldsmiths area. If I saw dude wearing one I’d probably think he was an idiot, so I’d rather try and make this trend work for the ladies.
On Wikipedia (my most trusted resource, of course) they say that the monocle ‘garnered a following in the stylish lesbian circles of the earlier 20th century, with lesbians donning a monocle for effect’ which is a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one (honestly, I mean that). Here are some stylish types with their monocles that I’ve managed to dredge from the internet; I’d love to see more!
From the movie Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, 1933
D’hervilly, a photo by French photographer Charles Ogerau, c. 1905! On Flickr thanks to @deeAuvil
The always inspiring Lady Una Troubridge in a famous portrait by Romaine Brooks…
…and the famous portrait of Sylvia von Harden by Otto Dix.
[…] des Garcons MAN EDT and L’Occitane per Homme. What can I say? I like to think of myself as Una Troubridge, lounging in a library, smoking a pipe, with a […]