CULT OF THE MONOCLE.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 10 November 1916, Page 2

CULT OF THE MONOCLE.

Since the beginning of the war, the cult of the single eyeglass has been spreading slowly but significantly—"monocles are becoming fixed in the' public eye," as one newspaper says. "There has never been great demand for monocles," says a Paris optician, "but certainly we have sold more than usual during the last few months. The fas-Men seems to have declined in the army, and our chief customers are men just over military age." Why do men wear monocles? Undoubtedly the single eyeglass confers distinction on the right sort of man, but scarcely one man in a thousand can sustain the distinction. To wear a monocle successfully, a man must be perfectly dressed. A monocle and baggy trousers are an impossible combination. Probably one of the reasons why monocles are hecoming popular with middle-aged men is the reluctance of the man of forty to he eclipsed by the glamour of uniform. Undoubtedly, in the right sort of man, the monocle conveys a subtle distinction of superiority. It either emphasises or obscures personality; I there is no middle."