Joe Biden’s Mask & Sunglasses Look Is Inspiring But Dangerous
As we continue to grapple with the reality that wearing something over our face is part of how we get fits off, a few celebrity looks have given us the blueprint for navigating this unknown terrain.
Tom Hardy, a man ironically known for playing a masked character, provided us a fit for the ages this April when he was spotted donning a pair of camo cargo pants with an equally rugged N95. And, of course, the oeuvre of country musician Orville Peck can give us some guidance. But Joe Biden’s fit-heard-round-the-world, black mask and aviators look he wore during his first Post-COVID public appearance back in May, remains the most inspiring piece of COVID-era styling advice.
The lesson: the best way to deal with having extra stuff on your face is to have more extra stuff on your face. See above for proof.
However, having experimented with Biden’s dark lens PPE remix myself, there is an inherent and present danger to the look. While wearing most masks with most sunglasses, breath from the mask will leak out from above and directly into the area between one’s eyes and shades. This causes an intense fogging effect, which for a man well into his seventies (or one of us just trying to get a fit off) is a highly dangerous tripping hazard.
In order to remedy this, I’ve taken to anti-fogging sporting shades as a go-to for my summertime mask look. The best I’ve seen are the Oakley EV Zero Path, a highly ergo-core pair of sunglasses that checks the box of looking like serious HAZMAT gear and being something that could be on a Vetements runway. Oakley has a variety of great colorways for the shade, but the clear-to-dark ones offer the added benefit of being used as a barrier for your eyes while doing indoor grocery shopping. A morbid fashion rec, but a useful one.
