Nothing makes Americans more irrational and empowered than the run-up to the presidential election. Every four years we watch strange archetypes of American society dress up in red, white and blue and wax philosophical about issues that have, for all major purposes, nothing to do with any real presidential power. Still, the carnival of the election really brings out new fashion trends that are not only comical, but sometimes supremely so. We’re talking red, white and blue sunglasses, or high fashion eyeglasses like Newt Gingrich’s wife’s impossibly chic Prada eyewear and Versace clothing.

One way to look more presidential is to wear blue. You’re hinting subtly at a blue collar vibe, which is what Republicans love to espouse despite being the party of the wealthy. Rolling up your white, long-sleeved dress shirt into a short-sleeved shirt hints at the American passion for disrespect to authority. And again, a blue collar vibe. So, to look presidential wear a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, a blue tie, and possibly a darker blue windbreaker, which, ironically, hints at authority so you start to associate the candidate with power.

Democrats, on the other hand, tend to play up their education, as they are appealing to a more educated crowd. Expect nice suits, shoes and expensive hair cuts, they now that they are creating a specific look to appease a certain crowd, but they do it anyways because it’s what’s expected, like a Kennedy running for office or a Bush running a farm while simultaneously holding office.

There are several celebrities who love their eyeglasses, and who look good in only one brand or one model. These celebrities have built an image on a fashion brand, like Sarah Palin and her snazzy, modern glasses, or Larry David and his Oliver Peoples glasses. This shows just how important it is for you to cultivate a specific look. What would be memorable about Harry Potter if he wore normal glasses? It’s the giant circle frames that make him so unique. Find your own brand of unique and stick with it. Eventually it will become a part of who you are, like Larry David and Harry Potter (who, by the way, have similar taste in fashion).

Glasses are such an important part of your wardrobe, the most important part in fact. Your face is the first thing people see, and of that area your eyes are what most people hone in on. They will, in fact, be looking at you through your glasses so don’t skimp on them. And studies show that people who are happy with their fashion sense are more comfortable in their bodies, and thus have one less thing to worry about. A godsend when you consider the stress you are already under.

Designer glasses are sturdier, made of better-quality items and the lenses are likely to last longer and obstruct your vision less. The only down side to designer glasses is the cost, and when you consider how long your glasses will last it kind of makes the cost gap pretty small.

Inner beauty is like outer beauty, but better. More meaningful. More lasting. Still, one thing about outer beauty is that it signals to other humans how you feel about yourself and the world around you. A woman who wears designer brands like Prada and Dior isn’t necessarily wealthy or conceited, perhaps she is just happy to treat herself to nice things. If you dress poorly and don’t care about your appearance you are telling people around you that you have low self esteem and don’t value yourself enough to spend money on yourself. Perhaps you think you are too busy, or that money is an issue. But the real answer perhaps lies deeper, in your own psyche. One reflection of healthy inner beauty and health is to project that to the world around you.

When seeking a mate humans look for small, subtle signs to discover simple, but vastly important truths about the other gender. First, women look for a well groomed man when they want someone with decent self image and a commitment to himself. These traits ensure the man will keep up with his health and thus be around to protect the woman longer. It’s why animals look for flashy colors in male mates.

Men don’t always look for women with beautiful accessories, but it doesn’t hurt to demonstrate that you are a woman who cares for your body and appearance and that you don’t let that go. Thus, inner and outer beauty are linked in a very serious way. There is always a method for taking what you were born with and making it really shine.

Celebrities have coaches who keep them in the latest and greatest of fashions. It’s not by pure charm that they know what to wear and what fashionable looks work. That Tom Ford is always in season but Ray Bans ebb and wane. So, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have as much time to commit to each day’s outfit or to fixing your hair, make up or other aspects of your wardrobe. When not filming, celebrities look every bit as normal and fashionable confused as the rest of us. That’s why so many magazines can survive solely on printing pictures of celebrities in civilian garb.

If you are interested in celebrity fashion there are a few celebrities who do it well, and do it with the best coaches in the business. Look at Angelina Jolie before she hit the big time. She was a model, so she knew fashion, but she was also wearing clothing that didn’t make her look sexy. She didn’t have a specific look figured out until later, when she had professional help. The same goes for her hubby Brad Pitt, whose fashion sense has taken a more serious and focuses turn in recent years.

Jennifer Aniston is another celebrity to watch. She is conservative and alluring, but she manages to be sexy and bold at the same time. She walks the thin line between beautiful and boring without breaking a sweat. That takes a lot of talent. You can also look at big shots like Adam Sandler. Not normally seen as a fashionable man, his look takes some work. He is sporty and carefree without looking like a frat boy. Not an easy task.

Sometimes fashion fails. And fails horribly. We’re talking 1980s fashion flops and turn of the century frilly shirts on men right down to the purple shoe craze of the Victorian era. Fashion should make people look good, not scary or downright horrible. Spend a bit of time researching Versace and you’ll see great designs, but some real flops, too. And that’s part of the fashion game- finding out what doesn’t work. And for that, we’re thankful that some of the highest-end designer fashion labels are willing to push the limits of fashion in search of new forms of beauty. Sometimes the looks are scary, sometimes they work, but we’re happy there are still innovators out there.

When we think of scary glasses we’re thinking of those large, shapeless glasses of the ‘80s that everyone wore, or in some cases the large glasses that grandma still wears. These don’t flatter anyone, and it’s strange that these disgusting-looking glasses are still manufactured. Everyone can be sexy and beautiful, from the elderly right down to models in their early twenties. Why some elderly give up on fashion is beyond us. We think there are plenty of age-appropriate styles for grandparents that wont’ cover have of their face in a scary reflection of light and shadows. So, the scariest glasses are the no-name shapeless face covers of the ‘80s.

Fendi is currently exploring new color combinations and new shapes for late summer that are innovative and bold without crossing the line into scary. Still, these looks aren’t for everyone and Fendi is not likely to attract a huge fan following with these kinds of fashion investments in the future.

If you’ve spent a lot of time around animals wearing glasses then you know that sometimes these optical frames can cause animals to feel a bit uncertain or fearful. Still, there are studies that show the cause of this phenomenon has more to do with the person than the animal. For example, imagine you just purchased a lovely pair of Ralph Lauren glasses, but when you are around your pet dog he barks or acts fearful. First, it’s impressive if you were attentive enough to pinpoint the start/cause of this behavior. Second, try taking off the glasses and seeing how the pup reacts. Third, if the animal responds better without the glasses then you have a situation that will take some delicate attention on your part.

To begin, you’ll have to take off your glasses, sexy as they may be, and approach your animal. Once your animal is in a comfortable position slip into your glasses when the animal is looking away and continue the comforting behavior, whether it be petting the animal or feeding it, and when the animal looks up again it will notice the glasses but associate you still with the comfort. This is a typical training technique used by professionals who train animals to detect or ignore certain traits.

It’s important not to give in to your animal’s behavior. Animals seek a dominant creature, especially when house broken, and rely on a certain amount of change in their otherwise routine lives. Training them to get accustomed to glasses is time consuming but vital, and the same goes for training animals in situations where they dislike other wardrobe choices like hats.

Beauty is only skin-deep, or so they say, but finding something that is invisible within yourself is no simple task. One think you’ll notice quickly about happy people is that they are comfortable with themselves. You’ll see them being more unique, acting more comfortable around groups, whether loud or shy. You’ll find them acting out with crazy fashion, like Hugo Boss eyeglasses or Dior shades, or chilling easy in Prada. A comfortable person who enjoys living in their own skin will enjoy any fashion, and be able to look okay in anything.

Extremely happy people don’t need to be flamboyant to gain attention, they do it to express themselves. There is a huge difference between those things, and yet amateurs can’t tell the difference. The difference is how an item is worn, a shy person won’t be able to pull off wild sunglasses without looking a bit out of place and tawdry.

Meanwhile, a wild person can’t pull off simple fashion without looking like they are trying too hard to be serious or refined. It would be like seeing Ben Stiller in Armani and thinking that he dressed himself. He didn’t.

A confident brand that can walk the line in the middle of shy and confident is Tom Ford. You’ll find Jennifer Anniston wearing these as well as the girl next door. Celebrities across a range of genres and occupations from musicians to actresses to people who park cars for a living wear Tom Fords, which is what makes Tom Ford such an amazing brand.

Women, you have it easy. You can wear makeup in public without scorn to make you look prettier, and with that ability and social power you can change how you look a dramatic amount. Men can’t do that. Men can only try to be cool. Only women can be beautiful. And with some sunglasses you can take your look from good to fantastic. Alexander McQueen sunglasses, for example, take the idea of beauty and sexuality for women and uses that in every design. McQueen loved the feminine form, and he worked tirelessly to perfect each piece and imbibe it with sexuality. He invited hip-hugger jeans for crying out loud, and was one of the architects of the concept behind bottom-cleavage. And yet, despite these achievements his sunglasses designs have never received the praise they deserve for their innovation and charm.

Prada may be stark, cold and bold—the perfect look for city women, but it was also innovative and fresh when it was launched. The idea behind all of Prada’s high-end gear is durability and functionality, and those are two concepts that are usually tossed out the window the second one thinks of ‘fashion.’ This alone makes Prada a stand out and while it has a reputation as being the bosses preferred sunnies, this simply isn’t fair. Prada wanted to provide high-end, durable gear for the emerging middle class. Items that would last forever and be passed down through generations. They didn’t think they’d be the ‘flavor of the week’ in NYC.

There are a few top brands for biking sunglasses, naturally Oakley is one of the favorites, but aside from the obvious, Bolle and Nike are great brands for biking that have a few features and credits of their own that the overly sporty Oakley shades do not.

Oakley sunglasses are a strange looking eyewear. They are usually an odd bright color and they look like cheap plastic. At first glance they look like te cheap sunglasses you wore when you were a kid and your parents were trying to teach you sun safety. They do not look cool.

Bolle sunglasses, on the other hand, offer everything you need from sporty sunnies without making you look like a Tour de France wannabe. They can also be worn when not astride your saddle, which is ideal because it isn’t likely you’ll be peddling 24/7, even in summer.

Nike sunglasses, like Oakley, are a sporty look that doesn’t stray far from the established formula for sports eyewear, but where they do differ is in the color schemes. If you don’t want to wear neon yellow or pink with Nike you don’t have to. They have perfected the art of classy sports wear, something most people only associate with tennis.

So, don’t be a poser. Toss out the Oakley idea and instead opt for something more versatile and innovative, like the Bolle of Nike option. Adidas also has a great line of sports sunglasses and sporty-looking eyeglasses that would make even the least able bodied athlete look cool and sporty.

Children need to look good, too. And with designer sunglasses that come in a range of sizes, like the kid-friendly Ralph Lauren glasses and sunglasses, you can keep your kids looking fashionable all summer long.

It isn’t just sunglasses that keep kids safe and looking fashionable, you can get your children hooked on hats at an early age for optimal protection from the sun. Naturally don’t tell them its about something healthy and they will be more likely to play along. Hats, sunscreen and sunglasses are all items you need to train your child from an early age to use. We all know that once they reach adulthood it will be impossible to change the habits they should have acquired when they were young.

Getting designer brands for your kids is one way to ensure they wear the protective gear. IF other kids think their sunglasses, eyeglasses and hats are cool they will wear them around their friends. The opposite is also true, if you buy your kid cheap gear the other children will mock him or her and you’ll have a harder time instilling good habits. Nothing beats the power of peer pressure, especially around middle school age, when kids are very impressionable.

Finally, sun screen habits are going to be a life saver if you teach your children young. Since the 1920s when women were lathering themselves with oil to bake quicker, cancer rates have shot up. In the 2000 skin cancer rates went down, owing to a more informed populous and wider use of sun screen. Teach your kids young and they will never have to fear a trip to the dermatologist.