Remember these old fashioned display cards in dime stores, drug stores, and variety stores? They existed for everything: sunglasses, pens, lighters, all sorts of things. I used to love them and I still do. I often keep my eyes out for them.
So, while composing this post, I HAD to head over to Etsy to see what display cards they had. Guess what just found (and bought). Yup. It's a sickness, I tell ya....
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I call it something like "Retail Therapy." Except in my case, it's "Optical Therapy." Yup, I've been on the lookout for new glasses again--my way of pampering myself after a somewhat stressful couple of years (been at least that long, I think, since my last new pair).
I bopped over to my favorite Optician, Focal Point in Newton, and had a good look-see. The people are wonderful at Focal Point-- professional and good natured-- because I not only buy frames from them, I also often bring frames to them that I find someplace else. Then I have them fit the lenses. For example, I might spy something at other Opticians I pass along the way in my travels, or I often find frames on Etsy, which has become a great source for Vintage Eyewear at very reasonable prices. Frames can be very expensive; one has to figure out ways to satisfy an obsession without breaking the bank.
How many pairs of glasses can one gal have? As it turns out, in my case, quite a few. Some women love designer pocketbooks. Others like shoes. I like glasses. LOTS OF THEM. And in different colors and styles.
More to come. But, for now, here are frames that are handmade and one of a kind.
Next up? All about Glitter Glasses....
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Vintage, Plastic Bunnies with Glamorous Glasses, that's what! There is always something especially charming about animals in clothing. And it is even more charming if they are animals in clothing, wearing glasses.
Doesn't get much sweeter than these eyeglass wearing bunnies holding bunnies. With bubushkas, no less. Poor Mrs.Bunny--lost her specs.
This one might be praying for a new pair of glasses to replace the worn ones...
Of course, bunnies always adopt an intellectual effect while smoking a pipe. But they look even smarter smoking a pipe and wearing glasses. The ensemble is balanced nicely by overalls (one pair acid washed?) over crisp white shirts. Tres chic! Almost hipsteresque in their Oliver Peoples looking eyewear!
I need these, I really do.
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In this case chickens. Lots and lots of chicken. From an old editorial illustration I did for Pittsburgh Magazine years ago.
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Just when you thought you couldn't get enough images of eyewear in your life (or maybe I can't get enough images of eyewear in MY life) I come along and show you this.
And this.
Because if you really, really LOVED glasses, then you would just have to have this case for your iPad which is part of my Really Really Retro line of designs.
Seriously, some of my favorite designs are available at Solid Line Products and you should go on over and check them out. If glasses are not your thing, but you like retro design, then maybe you would prefer these.
And this one, called Radio Daze.
These are all from my Really Really Retro collection of images at reallyreallyretro.com .
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For fun, I decided to participate in a special fund raising event for the Town of Needham, by painting an Adirondack chair to be auctioned off in September. My theme? Glamorous Glasses of course!
Artist Rich Dunbrack who is doing our kitchen (read all about it here) and who just delivered a new book case for us (I'll be posting about it on Design Rocket later today), kindly took this picture in my driveway (thanks, Rich, for getting mostly one and only part of my second chin in the shot), before I have to deliver the chair to Salon DiCarlo, located in the center of Needham.
For fun I am wearing my new vintage frames with the funky blue prescription lenses, recently put together at Focal Point Opticians in Newton.
And--do you see what is sitting proudly in the chair? My first hard copy of GLAMOROUS GLASSES!!! The book will be released on September 1st, so when it comes time for the auction, the chair will come with a copy of the book.
Smiling and peeking at you from the bottom of the chair? Bobbie and Joanie, of course--the stars of the book!
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For fun, I decided to participate in a special fund raising event for the Town of Needham, by painting an Adirondack chair to be auctioned off in September. My theme? Glamorous Glasses of course!
Artist Rich Dunbrack who is doing our kitchen (read all about it here) and who just delivered a new book case for us (I'll be posting about it on Design Rocket later today), kindly took this picture in my driveway (thanks, Rich, for getting mostly one and only part of my second chin in the shot), before I have to deliver the chair to Salon DiCarlo, located in the center of Needham.
For fun I am wearing my new vintage frames with the funky blue prescription lenses, recently put together at Focal Point Opticians in Newton.
And--do you see what is sitting proudly in the chair? My first hard copy of GLAMOROUS GLASSES!!! The book will be released on September 1st, so when it comes time for the auction, the chair will come with a copy of the book.
Smiling and peeking at you from the bottom of the chair? Bobbie and Joanie, of course--the stars of the book!
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Here are my latest fun finds from Etsy! Sometimes I wish I had two heads so I could wear more than one pair at a time!
Planning a trip to the islands? Then surely you would want to have some cool Plam Tree glasses on your face while you sit on the beach or pool side, sipping drinks with umbrellas and listening to steel drum music! Available here.
We have the tres cutesy pair above! Do your hair a la 1940s Betty Grable, put on some seamed stockings and get an old fashioned two piece bathing suit and or channel your inner, more risque Betty, Betty Page, you are all set to go. Available here.
Finally, you could have a custom pair of glasses made form Bamboo! Here is a great pair from TAKEMOTO, availble here.
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Back in the sixties, when I was living at home in good old Stony Point, NY, I used to spend a lot of time in Malloy's Pharmacy. It probably had something to do with my mother needing to pick up prescriptions, or maybe we were just hanging around, but I have vivid memories of being in the middle of the store staring into the costume jewlery counter.
It was there that I purchased an amber, beaded necklace for my mother, most likely for her birthday or Mother's Day. I also remember getting a necklace with a football pendant. That was in the middle of my cheerleading/majorette/collegiate taste era. I am certian I purchased several circle pins of assorted colors to wear on my "coordinated sweater which went over the matching wool skirt" outfits.
And then, there were things like this:
And this:
And this:
Watches with changeable colored bands and face rings! Tres Chic!!! If I got a set like any of the above (the one I remember, tho, from the mid 60s was not quite as fancy) I could match my circle pin to my watch set and also to my sweater/skirt outfit! That was my fashion fantasy supreme!
Well, even though I spent many hours looking it it in Malloy's, I never did get the watch set. To be fair, I never wore watches back then. And, I was also never on time, either, so there you go. Besides, before long, I wouldn't be caught dead in a circle pin, so it was no great fashion loss.
BUT--one can only imagine how my heart would have skipped a beat had I seen this set which you can find on Etsy right here:
Somewhere by 1964, I had managed to convince my mother that I needed reading glasses and I was able to finagle a pair out of her at E.J. Korvettes in Nanuet. MY FIRST GLASSES!!!! They looked almost exactly like these:
Remember Korvettes? That was another place that I killed a lot of time in. I distinctly remember standing in the record department staring at albums by the Everly Brothers and a very young Bob Dylan, all of whom seemed to me to be particularly hair challenged.
But I digress. Back to the main object of my affections: the glasses. So, can you imagine my delight if I had seen the set above with their changeable color accents on the frames?? Be still my heart.
However--and this is a BIG HOWEVER-- today you can now get glasses that allow you to fool around with your "look." The company that I am talking about and which I have a pair from is called DILEM and the temples are iterchangeable and the choices of colors and designs are great fun!
These are all the same glasses with different temples. The temples snap off and on very easily.
Are these cool or what? The temples also come in assorted solid colors. And the frames vary, as well.
If these had been around back in the day, I am sure I would have read the eye chart upside down in order to qualify for a pair...or pairs.
Now if only they could figure out a way to change the color of the frames themselves, along with the temples, I would be in eyeglass heaven for sure. I might even get matching circle pins.
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Okay. Here's the deal. I can't resist cool glasses. Sometimes I buy them brand, spanking new from my favorite optician and sometimes I buy what is called "New Old Stock" (NOS) from dealers who carry vintage frames. Since I wear progressive lenses this is a habit that can get very costly. But, since I do not wear furs and designer clothing, I often indulge myself anyway. Besides, even if I am off my diet, the glasses always still fit. Can't beat that part of it. And my presription has not changed so much that I can't wear glasses from a few years ago, to boot.
Lately I find quite a few of those NOS dealers on Etsy. And above is my latest pair purchased from VintageFiftiesEyewear , an Etsy dealer. I had them fitted with my prescription and I wear them almost every day. Today I saw the two pairs below. I find that I have always enjoyed larger, roundish frames, so I am glad they are back in fashion, not that I ever really stopped wearing them.
Yes, they are coming home to live in Needham...
These two pairs above come from the THAYER Eyewear Etsy shop.
I bought my first pair of vintage glasses around 1972. Back then I picked up the gold fittings for rimless glasses that probably dated to the 1920s or 30s. I loved them, but they have long since bitten the dust in all our moves.
Here is a pair that looks just like my old 1970s glasses, also from Thayer. They are cool in an old hippie sort of way. And, being an old hippie sort of person, they make me wax nostalgic. I can still remember the day an old girlfriend and I picked pairs out from a box full of them in an antique store on Allen Street in Buffalo, New York. Susan, how long did you wear yours....?
When you retro fit old glasses, make sure they are in good shape and can handle new lenses well. NOS is always the best way to go, but if you do buy used frames, check to make sure they are not too worn.
Happy hunting!
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