An Unexpected Accessory

Seventeen magazine recently took a poll of its readers’ top fall style picks and posted the results in their October issue. The list featured wedge shoes, Selena Gomez, chain strap bags, knit berets, and wearing black vintage frame glasses. Most of the items listed came as no surprise, but the glasses did, because the official name of the trend is “wearing glasses that make you look smart.”

The magazine makes the statement: “Can you keep a secret? You don’t need bad eyesight to rock this geek chic look.” The model is shown wearing a very cool pair of Buddy Holly-like framed specs. This look exemplifies geek chic; for the rest of you folks who don’t read Seventeen but happened to see the latest Spider-man movie, they are very much like the pair Peter Parker “inherits” from his father.

I know that lots of people, celebrities included, have been treating eyeglass frames as style items for quite some time. Most often this is done in lieu of wearing contacts or to alternate between the two, but more and more faux glasses are being worn for the sake of fashion. I may have missed it, but this is the first time I have seen faux glasses listed as an actual trend in a fashion magazine.

I find it fascinating, and as much as I love the geek chic look and the trend, I have mixed feelings. I love the fact I have worn this style of glasses for what seems like forever, but I also think it’s fascinating that people want to wear something they don’t really need. To top it off, glasses were once considered undesirable; now they make you look smart.

I never really thought about it until now, but this is just another way people express themselves with fashion. When I was a little fashionista and I found out I needed to wear glasses, it was cool with me, I don’t have to wear them all the time, but they are necessary sometimes. I later tried contacts, but choose to wear glasses. I never thought of my frames as a fashion accessory, but now that I think about it, picking them out was very much like picking out a pair of shoes or anything else that expressed my personality.

 Just a side note: I did think Peter Parker looked way hotter in his daddy’s specs, and I admit they made him look just a wee bit smarter. It was a sweet gesture and added to the drama, but I found it to be a bit suspect that he and his father had the same prescription. Oh well, it’s fashion, and the movies.