SPECTACULAR EYES
Eyeglass wearers used
to have it easy. There
were a few frames in a
few colors. Now, there
are numerous choices
to fit every face.
BY MICHAEL WEISS
28
STYLE
pectacle," wrote Aristotle,
"though an attraction, is
the least artistic of all the
parts."
The ancient Greek may
have known his stuff
when it came to drama,
but when it comes to
modern spectacles — the kind worn on
the face — his words seem rather
shortsighted.
"The world of eyeglasses has com-
pletely changed in the last four or five
years," says Bill Seski of D.O.C. Optique.
Whereas glasses once served a strictly
utilitarian purpose, today's eyeglasses
are as much a part of a fashionable war-
drobe as jewelry.
"Traditionally, eyeglasses were a pros-
thetic, a crutch,"says Seski. "But when
was the last time you saw a fashionable
crutch?"
Clockwise from top left: Robert
La Roche flip-up sunglasses
from Roland Optics; Maud
Frizon square frame from D.O.C.
Optique; Oliver Peoples vintage
eyewear from Steven Franklin
Optics; Krizia spotted half-
glasses from Roland Optics;
Alain Mikli diamond frame with
gold lenses from D.O.C. Opti-
que. In the center: Avant-garde
design by Alain Mikli, from
Roland Optics. Photo by Glenn
Triest.
In recent years, as glasses came to
be seen more and more as an essential
part of a stylish wardrobe, the number
of options and styles mushroomed.
Wearers had to choose from a dizzying
array of frames and lenses. Heart-