School children across the world dread the day when they're told that they have to wear glasses. But are their concerns warranted? Or have the humble spectacles come full-circle and been reclaimed by the fashion elite as the accessory du jour?

The idea that glasses are just for geeks has been around for a long time. Indeed, it was probably no accident that the first known user of glasses was Emperor Nero's tutor. Not his bodyguard, not his lover - his tutor. History buffs will know he actually used "a glass filled with water" but this is a quibbling point - the principle still applies!
Since then there has been an unspoken rule that that glasses are the exclusive symbol of the geek, adding to the perception that they're not fashionable. Clark Kent couldn't be Superman until he took his off, ditto Spiderman, Peter Parker. Glasses were for fumbling losers not buff super heroes.

Thankfully for glasses wearers, it looks like attitudes are changing. Geek-chic is upon us and glasses are a fashionable accessory. You could argue that the table turned with Harry Potter. Here was an ostensibly geeky school kid who didn't need to lose the specs to defeat evil. Indeed, as the saga has gone on, the circular black rims have becomes as much a symbol of Harry Potter as his lightning-bolt scar.

It's not just in films that we can see signs that things are changing. In the world of business, the top companies people want to work for aren't ad agencies or fashion houses, they're technical companies like Google and Facebook. It's cool to be a geek in these places. It's cool to look like a geek outside of them.
Whilst some of the world's most well-known faces have no doubt opted for contact lenses or laser surgery, the rise of geek chic now means it's possible to boldly wear glasses and still be considered fashionable.

Star stylist Gok Wan is championing this on his natural beauty show How to Look Good Naked. Wan has paired up with anti-bullying charity Kidscape and Specsavers to change attitudes to glasses and find the most stylish spectacle wearers in Britain. Gok himself has an ever-changing wardrobe of stylish frames, many of them that Osiris designer glasses given to him by Specsavers.

Comedienne Amy Lamé has, like Harry Potter before her, made her rectangle-rimmed glasses a central part of her image and she's not alone. Julia Roberts has more recently been known to don a pair (which she certainly didn't do in the nineties). For the men, Johnny Depp continues to channel European sophistication with his pair.

In an age when people vote for style over substance, it's especially encouraging to see politics propelling a fair number of ocular icons to centre stage. Sarah Palin caused opticians around the world to go crazy for those rimless rectangular frames. Over on this side of the Atlantic, when the people of Iceland were looking for a leader with vision, they chose Johanna Sigurdardottir and her classic frames.

So it seems that glasses really are fashionable again. If your optician recommends you need assistance, don't go for contacts just because you think that glasses aren't cool. Glasses have never been cooler so embrace your inner geek!