Forget contacts – like going grey, wearing glasses can be empowering

Glasses have a newly acceptable vibe. Photograph: Suki Dhanda/The Observer

Glasses are glamour’s last taboo. You can embrace silver-grey hair and be on the cover of Vogue, like Kristen McMenamy. Armpit hair with a party frock is cool, thanks to Julia Roberts and Miley Cyrus. At 84 and 76, Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren still reign on beauty billboards without having their crow’s feet airbrushed out.

And yet, women are still expected to whip off their glasses when the cameras start flashing. Roberts, Fonda and Mirren all wear glasses off duty, but tend not to on camera. When Annie Leibovitz photographed Jill Biden for Vogue last year, the first lady wore glasses in a casual portrait used inside the magazine, but took them off for the cover. At the 2016 Oscars, the black spectacles Kate Winslet wore to present an award were nowhere to be seen on the red carpet.

Adding specs to your selfies looks adorable, just like adding puppy ears or a flower crown