Silver Screen Specs

“A celebrity is a person who works hard all of their life to become well known, and then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.” – Fred Allen

Eyeglasses have been around a very, very long time. In fact, when eyeglasses were first produced, many books did not exist and most people did not read, therefore eyeglasses (which were quite expensive due to their rarity) were a symbol of wealth and wisdom.

However, as they developed, glasses also quickly became icons of fashion and glamour, too. As early as the 1920s, glasses had made their silver screen debut. And of course, since then, they’ve been gaining popularity by the blink.

Eyeglasses. Moving Quickly From A Necessity To An Accessory.

Eyeglasses started playing a different role in cinema. Instead of being something an actor had to wear, as frames and styles shifted, eye wear became incorporated to the actor’s on-screen persona.

Even today, costume designers understand the importance of the right pair of specs. The right piece of eye wear can change the way we perceive the character and also even influence the tone of the plot.

For instance, the “I need 19 seconds to hack into the main frame” guy. You know this guy; he’s the technical genius the entire team relies on. Sitting in the back of a windowless (and obviously too big to be life size) van, illegally hacking into something and narrowly making the cut in time, this guy is ALWAYS the proud owner of a pair of big, geeky glasses (not to be confused with geek chic).

Running with the heist theme, we have the brains of the operation. This guy is suave, dreamy, yet rugged. He drinks his coffee black, only has about 3 emotions and is constantly hunched over his work (leaving him emotionally unavailable for any sort of real relationship). He’s the textbook definition of masculinity.

He may not normally wear glasses, but when he does slip on a pair, his entire persona is transformed. Once rugged and edgy instantly alters into intellectual and sophisticated. All of a sudden, everyone around him assumes him to be a banker, or a stock broker, or something else that allows him easy access to a room with a vault or a key or secret documents leading to millions all by himself. And obviously, he switches these super intelligent specs out for sleek sunglasses as he hits the pavement and blends in.

Women are no exception to this character transformation, either. In the movie, Legally Blonde, for instance, the main character went from a clueless sorority blonde to a clever Harvard student, trading in her dark pink oversized shades for thick, black rimmed glasses.

Eye wear makes a statement about you, because they are a reflection of your taste and personality. And yet, eye glasses are one of the most overlooked accessories we wear. An accessory that has the power to impact the tone of a movie, or the personality of a character in front of your very eyes, should be something you pick intentionally every day to reflect who you are. Don’t you think?

Eyeglass World. Glasses that make the difference. Prices that make it possible.