In the world of women’s eyewear, glasses are sort of fallen behind with being dorky associated to it. But in these modern times, things had change. Frames are funky again. To celebrate the eyeglasses revival, we’ve tracked down the most stylish celebrity wearers – plus a couple of speccy heroes from the past The most interesting style heroes have always been those behind glass. The designer Yves Saint Laurent, who was short-sighted, wore glasses from an early age, and favored chunky frames throughout his life. From the beginning of his career, the press saw him as a kind of vulnerable genius, an image underscored by his glasses. The thickness of the frames, almost too heavy for his slight frame, gave an instant air of someone intellectually creative.
Andy Warhol was heavily identified with his glasses, from the harsh black angular shapes he wore in the 60s to the clear perspex rectangular ones of the 70s. The look was slightly anti-fashion, with an art-school geek twist; the graphic shapes and plastic frames of his specs tapped into his Pop Art aesthetic.
Like both Saint Laurent and Warhol, David Hockney has made glasses a signature look throughout his career. In the 60s, he balanced a rebellious mop of bleached yellow hair with a pair of solid, round-rimmed frames. He evolved this look into messier, dirty blond hair worn with tortoiseshell glasses. Hockney’s glasses have become the key item that changes in a wardrobe that rarely strays from a recipe of cardies and slacks; a brilliant, vaguely eccentric British look.
With the overload of pretty celebrities in 2009, the power of glasses to cut through the chaff is even greater. Alexa Chung, whose look revolves around an offbeat boyishness rather than high-octane glamour, is the ideal pin-up for the specs revival. Actor Jaime Winstone was clearly gunning for extra cool points when she chose to rock a hefty tortoiseshell pair recently. Hip-hop royalty are getting stuck in too. Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z have all been swapping statement pap-proof shades for quirky nerd-like specs instead. Meanwhile, at a cinema near you, Gus Van Sant’s Milk, set in the 70s, features Cleve Jones, a young gay activist (played by Emile Hirsch) whose square specs fit brilliantly with this current revival.
Over in East London, vintage-looking spec-shapes have become an integral part of the sexy-nerd unisex look that has developed from the blending of the American Apparel aesthetic – the store naturally stocks vintage-sourced specs – and the ongoing evolution of indie-kid chic. The latter boasts two natural spec heroes: in the 80s corner, Morrissey (NHS specs with quiff); in the 90s, Jarvis Cocker (dorky frames, skinny hips). Meanwhile on the catwalks, designers such as Luella and Phillip Lim included perky 50s-inspired women’s glasses, and even uber-glam design duo Dolce & Gabbana went for a catwalk specs-spectacular this season. Stefano Gabbana says: “Constantly we see people wearing glasses even when they don’t need them. They add elegance.”
With the looks of it, the women’s eyewear world had been turn upside down and eyeglasses are the new sexy. It also looks like this trend will continue longer so get your eyeglasses now.
Andy Warhol was heavily identified with his glasses, from the harsh black angular shapes he wore in the 60s to the clear perspex rectangular ones of the 70s. The look was slightly anti-fashion, with an art-school geek twist; the graphic shapes and plastic frames of his specs tapped into his Pop Art aesthetic.
Like both Saint Laurent and Warhol, David Hockney has made glasses a signature look throughout his career. In the 60s, he balanced a rebellious mop of bleached yellow hair with a pair of solid, round-rimmed frames. He evolved this look into messier, dirty blond hair worn with tortoiseshell glasses. Hockney’s glasses have become the key item that changes in a wardrobe that rarely strays from a recipe of cardies and slacks; a brilliant, vaguely eccentric British look.
With the overload of pretty celebrities in 2009, the power of glasses to cut through the chaff is even greater. Alexa Chung, whose look revolves around an offbeat boyishness rather than high-octane glamour, is the ideal pin-up for the specs revival. Actor Jaime Winstone was clearly gunning for extra cool points when she chose to rock a hefty tortoiseshell pair recently. Hip-hop royalty are getting stuck in too. Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z have all been swapping statement pap-proof shades for quirky nerd-like specs instead. Meanwhile, at a cinema near you, Gus Van Sant’s Milk, set in the 70s, features Cleve Jones, a young gay activist (played by Emile Hirsch) whose square specs fit brilliantly with this current revival.
Over in East London, vintage-looking spec-shapes have become an integral part of the sexy-nerd unisex look that has developed from the blending of the American Apparel aesthetic – the store naturally stocks vintage-sourced specs – and the ongoing evolution of indie-kid chic. The latter boasts two natural spec heroes: in the 80s corner, Morrissey (NHS specs with quiff); in the 90s, Jarvis Cocker (dorky frames, skinny hips). Meanwhile on the catwalks, designers such as Luella and Phillip Lim included perky 50s-inspired women’s glasses, and even uber-glam design duo Dolce & Gabbana went for a catwalk specs-spectacular this season. Stefano Gabbana says: “Constantly we see people wearing glasses even when they don’t need them. They add elegance.”
With the looks of it, the women’s eyewear world had been turn upside down and eyeglasses are the new sexy. It also looks like this trend will continue longer so get your eyeglasses now.
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