Collectible Eyeglasses
Dorothy Parker once remarked that "men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses", but today good-looking eyewear has become a must-have fashion accessory. In fact, since the 16th century at least, eyeglasses have been designed to be seen as well as to aid in seeing. Collectible Eyeglasses shows the full range of eyewear from opera glasses to extreme sports goggles - and shows how quickly the merely practical became stylish and, now, a trendy fashion collectible! The book is divided into sections on antique glasses, sunglasses, classics and contemporary designs as well as everyday frames and a very special section on unusual designs and whimsical frames. Over four hundred annotated color photographs, accompanied by an informative introduction and a list of useful websites and addresses offer both collectors and lovers of vintage fashion an entirely new way of seeing... and being seen!
Eyeglass Retrospective: Where Fashion Meets Science
This book provides an overview for identifying and dating vintage eyewear for the growing numbers of collectors. Explore ways in which eyeglass design has developed to reflect both popular fashion and scientific investigation.The designs of frames and lenses were changed as more comfortable and practical styles were invented. In the mid-twentieth century, eyeglass makers carefully sought high profile entertainers to wear their designs in order to promote their companies. Advertising worked its magic and the general public came to prefer the advertised designs. Examples of eyewear from the sevententh century to the present are shown in over 600 color photos and explained in an engaging text. Bifocals, monocles, pince-nez, fanciful and safety styles of eyeglasses and sunglasses are shown along with some price estimates.
Eyeglasses (Chic Simple): Face to Face
Eyewear: Gli Occhiali
Amazon Customer Review: I purchased this book as a gift for a fellow costumer friend. Now I want a copy for myself! As far as I know, there is no other resource that focuses exclusively on, or even devotes any space to such a comprehensive and detailed representation of period eyewear. The photographs are beautiful, and the details of the specimens are fascinating. I learned things I never knew about glasses before.
Now I'm tempted to pick up the other titles in this series, especially the ones on hats and footwear. If you're a costumer or reenactor, this is an excellent (and affordable!) resource to have in your library.
Specs Appeal: Extravagant 1950s & 1960s Eyewear
Spectacles & Sunglasses
Spectacles and sunglasses are the most popular fashion accessories of our time. This book provides a comprehensive account of the design of spectacles in their many guises and of the historical developments that influenced them. A detailed history of spectacles is presented through a brief synopsis and more than 500 photos. Spectacles and Sunglasses devotes considerable attention to 20th century designs: a period that witnessed the creation of innumerable outlandish and extravagant spectacles. Jackie Kennedy's and Audrey Hepburn's sunglasses; the frames worn by Buddy Holly, Nana Mouskouri and Yves Saint Laurent; and the famous models by Pierre Cardin, Courreges, Ray-Ban and Christian Dior may all be found in this book. A wide range of contemporary innovative designs is also represented.
The Meaning of Sunglasses: And a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable
Miuccia Prada said, “Everyone who is smart says they hate fashion. . . . I have asked many super-serious people, ‘Then why is fashion so popular?’ Nobody can answer that question.” Now the author of the popular Guardian column Ask Hadley does just that in The Meaning of Sunglasses, examining the joys, silliness, and occasional insanity of our love affair with fashion. From (B) Botox— “when fashion meets Logan’s Run”—to the joys of (V) vanity, Hadley Freeman has written an encyclopedia of lightly philosophical and instructional mini-essays to gladden the heart of everyone with a slight-to-obsessive interest in the fashion world.