PATRICK HOET

Is vanity an attempt to hide a lack of assurance? Speaking for myself; it is.
I didn’t know, but now I realise myself that, thirty years ago, I was showing off because I was so insecure. It seems contradictory. Someone doing his best to get attention, while he would prefer to hide himself? That was me. I recognise myself now when I meet people begging for attention
and I feel embarassed.

Thirty years later, my vanity has shifted. Still needing attention, but now I’m dressed casual. I know what I’m wearing, but I don’t check in the mirror. I listen more. I speak less. I feel great when I meet someone wearing one of my glasses, but I don’t tell him or her that I designed them. I won’t brag with a VIP wearing one of my frames.

But yes, I’m still vain, otherwise I wouldn’t write about myself. Sorry.