In part this stems from the fact that ever since I was a little girl, I've loved the look of eyeglasses and secretly longed for a pair throughout my childhood. To my young mind they were the epitome of high fashion mixed with bookish academia, and I imagined that if I had a pair, I might (one day) look something like one of these wildly chic 1950s women.
For better or worse, I never required glasses while I was growing up, but in my mid-twenties my eyesight started to wane and so it was off to the optometrist's I went. My near sightedness was diagnosed in a flash and thus I set about picking a pair of frames.
Width wise, I don't have a very big head or face, so most of the pairs I tried on were too big for me. It's possible that some could perhaps have been adjusted to make them smaller, but I wanted to find a pair that didn't slip or slide, or simply feel too big on my face right out of the gate. When I tried on the pair (the model of which is Venus Eye Design V-12) that were to become my frames, it was love at first sight! (If you'll pardon the ophthalmological pun.)
Six years on, I'm still wearing the same frames (which you've seen me sporting in many of my vintage outfit photos, such as the ones in this post) and love them even more now then when I got them back in the early days of 2007. In the future I may add a second (or third, etc) pair, but for now, one does the job just fine, and though coloured (a plumy burgundy hue), they go with virtually everything in my wardrobe, so there's really no need to splash out on others for the time being.
That doesn't mean, however, that I don't enjoy looking at different pairs of frames, be they modern or vintage, and likewise love seeing photos of yesteryear women who were also also spectacle wearers themselves. Mid-century eyeglasses were, to my mind, some the most stylish, creative, and flat out awesome the world has ever known, and even if you don't wear glasses yourself, it's hard not to swoon over them.
Over the years I've bookmarked a number of photos of vintage ladies wearing glasses (it's always inspiring to see how they opted to wear their hair and make-up), and in celebrate of my sixth anniversary of being an spectacle wearer, I thought it would fun to share some of them with you here today. All of the following ten photos are of real world misses, just like you and I, wearing glasses and looking thoroughly stylish in the process.
{This woman from 1945, with her delightfully patterned frames, is identified as Natalie Olmsted, District Recreation Supervisor (of Seattle).}
{Vibrant hand tinting injects a sense of playful whimsy into this cute photo booth snap of two women - quite possibly sisters - wearing similar hairstyles and eyeglasses.}
{A 1946 portrait of a woman named Helen Calcote wearing a neat pair of glasses that are round on the top, but more like an hexagon on the bottom. Love her darling bow bedecked dress, too!}
{While one might, today, expect safety glasses to be worn in a setting such as this - and certainly they were sometimes - it appears that this busy 1940s factory worker is sporting her day-to-day eyeglasses while on the job.}
{This woman, with her somewhat serious expression, reminds me of so many faces I've seen over the years, yet doesn't bring any one name in particular to mind. I really like her classic pearls and the subtle scalloped waviness of frames.}
{This shot of a young, stylish 1950s lady was captured by noted Life magazine photographer Yale Joel, whose reflection is visible in her lenses.}
{A look of deep concentration radiates from this mid-40s artist's piercing eyes, housed behind round frames, as she concentrates on the picture she's painting.}
{I can't decide which I like more, this 1940s lady's cute glasses, fantastic faux (rolled) bangs, or fashionable striped blouse.}
{Elegantly pretty hand tinting helps bring an extra dose of warmth and lifelikeness to this charming late 50s/early 60s portrait of a woman wearing a fabulous pair of cat's eye glasses.}
{Over the years I've encountered a small handful of photos of vintage brides wearing glasses, but certainly not all that many, so I always like to save or favourite such photos, such as this one of a radiantly happy 1950s couple on their special day, when I happen across them.}
And, as we can't forget the Hollywood set in this post either, here are a few shots of some of yesteryear's finest leading ladies making glasses look flat out stunning.
{Actress Eleanor Parker was dubbed the Woman of a Thousand faces, and here we see one of those in an especially terrific pair of bedazzled 1940s frames.}
{Rolleiflex camera in hand, a bespectacled Grace Kelly kneels down while scooting someone out of the way, to capture a photograph.}
{Though not an actress herself, Academy Award winning costume designer Edith Head - seen here in her trademark round frames - was responsible for dressing many of Tinseltown's most famous starlets during the gold age of cinema.}
{Actress Janet Leigh looking cute as a button in a charming pair of 1950s specs and a striped apron.}
{Marilyn in femininely curvy frames and Lauren Bacall looking chic behind a dark lensed pair of sunnies during the 1950s.}
Seriously, whenever I see photos like these, I find myself scratching my head and wondering who on earth ever came up with that silly saying about how no one makes passes at girls in glasses. A vintage chap would have had to have been downright bonkers not to have found all of these ladies every bit as lovely and appealing as their spectacle-less sisters. Sometimes, I think, glasses can even serve to further enhance a person's physical attractiveness (this definitely applies to both guys and dolls - I adore a sharply dressed fellow in a classic pair of specs, don't you?).
{How cute and stylish are these three 1950s office workers in their captivating, brightly coloured cat's eye frames?}
Of course one does not need to have an actual vision problem to wear glasses. Pretty much any pair of frames can have clear window glass or tinted sunglass lenses put into them, and if you find the notion of wearing glasses appealing, this is a route well worth considering.
Glasses are a fashion accessory and statement unto themselves, even if they're a medical necessity, and can really help liven up any face and outfit. Just look at the selection of 1950s "glamour glasses" below for proof that such is definitely the case.
While in theory, I could wear contact lenses instead of frames if I wanted to, I have zero desire to do so. I'm every bit as happy today about the fact that I get to wake up and put on a pair of my specs each and every morning as I was when I first got my frames six years ago.
As time rolls on, I'm suspect that other frames will come into the picture, but no matter if I own one, two or a hundred, I'll never forget my first pair and how they instantly gave me a brand new accessory (yay!) to don every day. They've become a part of me and my identity, a constant companion, and a cheerful splash of colour on the canvas of my face.
Three cheers for four eyes, as I like to say! :)
