What was your experience of wearing glasses as a child?
"My experience was quite lonely. I was the only one in nursery wearing glasses at the time and in the late 80’s and early 90’s the specs available were not forgiving! I am very short sighted which meant the lenses were thick too. When I went to secondary school, wearing glasses was not cool at all. Although I do remember always being excited to get my eyes tested. My dad has worn glasses his entire life and he made an experience out of the whole thing. Those are memories I hold dear.
Do you have a go-to style that you wear a lot?
"Yes- I love red cat’s eye glasses like the Osiris Fabulous (left). I like them because they are my favourite shape, a punchy colour and very, very light. When I’m at home I like to feel as though I’m not wearing specs at all."
How has wearing glasses improved your confidence?
"They allowed me to see! My mum remarks on me coming home from my first glasses fitting as if I were seeing everything for the first time. Wearing glasses enabled me to actually see the black board at school which then encouraged me to enjoy my studies more making me a more confident child."
How did you become an influencer?
"I grew a platform that brands became interested in using to help them advertise. I think it’s important that influencing is seen as a business, because it is. But before I was a business woman, I was a black mother disgruntled with the lack of diversity within the online parenting space within the UK. This led to me creating platforms like my personal one and my business Make Motherhood Diverse. More often than not the topics I speak on aren’t popular, it’s online activism. The word influencer is a byline not the title."
How would describe your personal style?
"Bold! Bright! Beautiful! To be honest monochrome is my worst nightmare as is anything perceived as a ‘muted.’ I adore colour, and I take risks when it comes to getting dressed, as if I don’t enjoy an outfit I can always come home and take it off. Being so bold has allowed me to try things perhaps most people wouldn’t and it’s helped me build a sartorial style I’m very proud of. I hope when my daughter looks at me she sees that not only is looking different OK, looking different can actually be successful."
