What do Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, and Sarah Palin Have in Common?

All of a sudden in the fashion world, eyewear has become a phenomenon. Cool new shops with in-house eye-labs specializing in vintage and funky eyewear are opening up in art districts across the nation. Gone are the days of being limited to to the drab selection offered at your local shop; in 2010 creative optical entrepreneurs are scouring the globe in search of the oldest, coolest, and funkiest frames on Earth to offer to their city’s more Bohemian inhabitants. Everything from quirky 200 year old frameless lenses in the style worn by Thomas Edison to authentic 1960’s horn-rimmed glasses are being re-purposed and recycled. Celebrities have noticed the new trend and are following suit.

Are they coming back?

Justin Timberlake’s New Look

On the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show, Justin Timberlake revealed that his cool new specs, thick black framed “nerd glasses”, are more than a fashion statement. He’s nearsighted and suffers from myopia, he said. On the show he claimed he’s embraced his new look, and took off his glasses half-way and told the host, “That’s just ridiculous…I can see you [host Jimmy Kimmel] but I can’t see any of them [people in the audience].” He also said “I’ve embraced it [his myopia]. Obviously I’ve made a commitment with these glasses. I’m good.”

Justin Timberlake on Jimmy Kimmel

Jay-Z is another celebrity now sporting the “1950’s newspaper reporter” look with thickly rimmed black glasses. Shortly after Kanye West started wearing thick, black rimmed glasses, Jay-Z was spotted at the Presidential Inauguration and Notorious premier with Clark Kent style frames.

What are they looking at?

Tina Fey and Sarah Palin

Bringing sexy back to the bespeckled woman

Tina Fey and Sarah Palin have both emerged over the past two years not just as prominent women but prominent, fashionable women whose wear sexy and smart spectacles that give a nod to the librarians of yesteryear. Lorne Michaels, the producer of Saturday Night Live, noticed the resemblance between Fey and Palin and persuaded Fey to come on the show to do an impersonation of Palin. The skit included Amy Poehler as Hilary Clinton teasing Fey (who was playing Palin) about her “Tina Fey glasses”. Within just four days the video of the impersonations had gone viral online and been viewed by over 6 million people.

All we can say is — keep it up! If you haven’t tried a pair of specs yourself, now’s the time to give it a shot. Don’t actually wear glasses? You can get prescription-less frames at places like Urban Outfitters for cheap, or you can order fashion frames online.

Related posts:

1. Glasses: The New “It” Accessory, Thanks to Celebrity Appeal
2. Glasses at the Oscars!
3. The Frame Game: Choosing the Best Base for Your Specs