On Reframing Our Approach to Eyeglasses

Frames: Jacques Marie Mage, Hat: Vintage, Coat - Kapital

As a child of the 1990s, my family would gather around the warm glow of the TV screen every Friday to watch "TGIF," a family-oriented series of sitcoms including shows such as Full House and Family Matters. It's funny how some memories stick with you while others fade away, but to this day I can still hear Steve Urkel's mosquito-like voice in my head and vividly picture his hiked-up cropped pants and gigantic glasses (ironically, this is kind of how I like to dress now). Those steeped in Family Matters lore will undoubtedly also remember "Stefan Urquelle," Steve's suave alter ego, whose transformation from uber-geek to smooth lady-killer basically amounted to standing up straight, speaking in a lower voice, and losing the suspenders and spectacles. We grew up with movies and TV shows telling us that the kid in glasses was always either the nerdy kid or an otherwise-pretty girl who just needed to put a different dress on or something and, of course, take those damn glasses off.

Did you know: Full House and Family Matters exist in the same universe?

It took me a long time to shed the perception glasses automatically make their wearer less attractive, but I've since come around to appreciate them immensely. I may be in the minority at this point, but I believe eyewear has the power to elevate one's style, just like any other accessory or article of clothing - maybe even more so. Jeff Goldblum, Michael Caine, Spike Lee, Malcolm X, to name a few, are examples of men whose style have become inextricably linked with their frames. Many haven't even worn the same glasses, necessarily, over the years either. Rather, they've managed to find different frames that lend a certain level of distinction, from subtle (i.e. Bruce Boyer's P3s) to bonkers (Elton John's everything, really). 

Jason Jules

It seems a bit strange to think that, even within general style culture, most people probably don't consider eyeglasses as something you have more than one of at a time or change from day to day. Glasses with prescription lenses aren't cheap, but I think cost is only part of the equation. A larger part of it may simply come down to the convention that says it's okay for a person to spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on footwear, outerwear for every occasion, or different hats, but keep only one pair of optical frames for years. It's not uncommon on Styleforum to find a guy with 10 pairs of Aldens but only one pair of glasses. I'm not saying that's wrong, just that I would wager it's usually fairly unconsidered. Given a store filled with an array of nice frames, most people will find multiple pairs they like. So why not have multiple?

Michael Caine

One major issue is access. The vast majority of what is available to the average consumer in physical locations like LensCrafters all comes from the same manufacturer, produced fairly cheaply and then rebranded for its respective companies (this includes most "Luxury" brands, though there are different tiers). Warby Parker have taken a considerable amount of market share in recent years, especially with their newer physical locations inviting personal try-ons, but you would be forgiven if you couldn't tell the difference between the overall feeling of "quality" from one manufacturer to the next. In person, they tend to feel, more or less, the same - thin, a bit toy-like in the hand, a little loose here and there, and vaguely plasticky.  It's even harder to differentiate over the glow of a laptop screen. These frames offer value, but it generally lies in the wide range of styles you can find on hand for the price.

Jeff Goldblum

There aren't many things that have the power to single-handedly change a person's look and personality as much as glasses do - maybe hairstyles/facial hair, or a bigass facial scar, but those things usually don't change much day to day. That can be a scary proposition to consider. In recent years, however, I've found myself really getting a lot of joy from switching up my frames from one day to the next. Part of this has to do with the fact that I've been buying better quality eyewear, but the other aspect is exploring more bold and distinctive frames. There's certainly nothing wrong with a minimal Pantoscopic 3, aka the Panto frame or P3 frame - a hundred year-old semi-circular classic shape with the hinges attached on the upper aspect of the rim, worn by every visually-impaired person on earth at some point or another who wanted a nicer pair of glasses than these. The P3 is actually one of my favorite styles. But adding a small element of distinction can be a great way to make eyewear less faceless, so to speak.

 

 

Kenji Cheung

Bruce Boyer

It's often very difficult to tell, though, what will look good on your face without actually putting them on. I find the ubiquitous "glasses style vs. face shape" guides to be not particularly helpful, in the same over-simplistic way you'll get with guides about avoiding horizontal stripes if you're overweight. In fact, the more time I've spent looking at eyewear from across a computer screen ruminating, the more I realize later I could have just saved myself a lot of time and effort by simply trying the frames on. I've spent more time than I would like to admit looking at fit pictures and thinking "I wonder how big this lady's head is." Seemingly minute details routinely change the look of a pair of frames dramatically, whether something like metal accents on an acetate frame, temple hardware, slight differences in frame thickness, or subtle differences in angles or curvature - much more so than most other articles of clothing. To that end, there's simply no substitute for trying glasses on. This is a large part of why companies like Warby Parker are so successful - they offer no-risk try-on services so you have the highest probability of success at finding a match.

A display case at Eyesite boutique, Philadelphia

Derek, from Die, Workwear! has written several articles on the topic of eyewear brands with personality and using eyewear as a style signature (that post has since been deleted, but you can read an archived version here), so I won't belabor those points any longer. Below, you'll find photos of my current collection with some thoughts on each. I'm aware that some of them share some similar qualities, but I'm reminded of a PTO article about owning an entire rack of blue oxford cloth button downs, which helps me sleep at night.

 

Eyevan 315

My first pair of higher quality glasses was from Japanese maker Eyevan 7285, purchased through a great local Philly boutique called Eyesite. Eyevan hails from the city of Sabae - a location that many consider one of the epicenters, if not the mecca, of high-level eyewear production today. Though they make both acetate and metal models, I think what they excel at is light, minimal metal frames with fine finishing and filigree work.

 

 

Eyevan frames from my visit to Eyesite

The model I own is not that - it's actually one of their thicker acetate and metal combination models, but the small detail craftsmanship is still evident on inspection, hidden on the temples behind a translucent layer of acetate and the subtle second rim around the optical lenses. To be honest, I don't think the acetate quality is up to the level of the glasses below, in that it's a bit too pliable in my opinion. However, I still love the look of these frames on me and they're well above the level you'll find in a common optical store. In the future, I'd like to add a slimmer metal P3-style frame into my collection, and Eyevan would probably be around the top of my list in that regard.

 

Yellows Plus 'Grant'

 

I purchased this next pair of Yellows Plus "Grant" frames on a pre-Covid 2020 babymoon in Paris. These Sabae-made Japanese frames were actually originally sunglasses, but you can always just pop the lenses out and have opticals made for most frames. I didn't know anything about YP prior to seeing them, but it should say a lot about the quality of the product when you go to a store specifically to try on frames like Jacques Marie Mage and leave with something you've never heard of. The craftsmanship is top notch, and the acetate is substantial and solid without being too overbearing. I love the frame geometry, the slight keyhole bridge, the temple detailing, and the titanium nose pads. I also have fond memories of Paris every time I wear them, so much so that I've become very attached to the tradition of buying a splurge-worthy article of clothing or accessory when we go on trips - a sashiko FSC jacket in Japan, a pair of Madova gloves in Italy, and these glasses from Paris, for example. It's a powerful way to build an emotional bond with something you wear, and a tradition I'd highly recommend to others once we're able to travel again.

My last two frames are both from Jacques Marie Mage, which I think is the best eyewear company out right now. Designer/founder Jerome Mage and his company JMM excel at every step of the process, from design to manufacture, all the way down to the packaging and marketing. Also produced in Japan, JMM use the highest quality materials and thickest 10mm acetate available, exclusive to them. Thicker doesn't necessarily mean better, but in JMM's case this helps them achieve the bold, vintage-inspired design throughout their collections that feel uniquely artistic, fairly directional, yet usually approachable. They have a cool retro vibe to them that simultaneously still feels relevant today, which I think separates them from many of the niche higher quality glasses brands that tend to lean more modern. In fact, I was a bit struck while working on this post that photographing Jacques frames feels as much like photographing a vintage car as it does a pair of frames. 

 

(Bonus points if you know this coat from the fabric)

(Answer: It's this)

Jacques Marie Mage Clyfford in Havana

 

I bought my first pair of JMM frames before the brand really took off just a few years ago. After first coming across the Sheridan model during one of Mr. Porter's online sales years ago, I went to try on some JMM models at Blink Optical, a local Philadelphia JMM retailer that happens to be one of the largest retailers of JMM in the world. The Sheridans didn't actually fit my head at all, but I also tried the Clyfford model they had in store, a mixed acetate and titanium piece named for American Abstract Expressionism pioneer Clyfford Still. These frames feature beautiful filigree titanium temples and a strong, almost architectural trapezoidal lens shape with cut-out volume details. They were priced way too high for me at the time (around $700), but I eventually found a new pair on eBay a few months later for $300. This sort of pricing would never happen now (believe me, I've tried), but it feels nice to be in early on something that later comes to resonate with a lot of people.

Jacques Marie Mage Taos Hopper in Army green

My second pair of JMMs are the Taos Hopper, a collaboration with Hopper Goods inspired by the late great actor's sunglasses from Easy Rider and the city in which he lived. The Taos embody everything that is great about Jacques Marie Mage. Audaciously proportioned and striking in silhouette, the large rounded rectangular frames enclose engraved 18k gold wire core arms that reflect the light through the army green translucent acetate. This is another example of repurposed sunglasses, which tend to be bigger, thicker, and brasher than opticals. It's only because I tried them on in person and the guys over at Blink Optical were nice enough to pop the lenses out for me that I discovered I love them as regular frames. I was also happy to finally be able to purchase these frames from Blink this time around as well. The Taos are certainly my most potentially polarizing set of eyewear, but that comes part and parcel with wearing anything that doesn't just fade into the background. One could legitimately call them a close cousin to the infamous "Birth Control Glasses," which plagued military-aged young men for generations, but I don't care. I love them. For all their imposing size and unusual color, though, I think they're remarkably wearable.

Jacket: Fine Creek Leathers, Shirt: Wallace and Barnes, Pants: RRL, Boots: Buttero

Looking to the future, I've got some ideas for frames going down the road. Something in titanium and lighter footprint is on my list as well as a lighter brown and a browline model (you may know this style as popularized by Ray Ban's Clubmaster models or any movies with NASA scientists in the 50-60s). I've worked out an informal agreement with my wife to limit new glasses purchases to a roughly annual time frame, so there's plenty of time to enjoy my current rotation.

Other brands that I admire include Lesca Lunetier (they unfortunately don't fit the bridge of my nose at all), Mykita, Matsuda, Masunaga, Dita, Jacques Durand, Native Sons, and Nackymade, to name just a few. Please do let me know your thoughts and experiences with your own eyewear - I'd love to hear them. Lastly, if you are interested in finding some new eyewear, I'd highly encourage you to check out what's available at the independent eyewear boutiques in your area, and don't be afraid to experiment. Worst thing that can happen is you look stupid for two seconds. I've looked far stupider for much longer periods of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It me. Glasses: Eyevan, Watch cap: Wallace and Barnes, Shirt: Uniqlo U, Pants: Uniqlo U, Watch: Omega, Belt: Thirteen50, Hanten: Vintage