"for eyes"

when i was younger, i dreaded the day when the local nurses came to visit my elementary school and we had to line up for visual and hearing tests. i knew that one day i was not going to do as well as i had done in the past. it was inevitable. everyone on my dad's side of the family wore glasses and had terrible vision. we're talking like, 500+ nearsightedness. i remember this girl in my class, who suggested i memorize the eye chart. they use the same one every year, she said, thats what i do. and i've watched her as she confidently walked into the room and re-emerged 5 minutes later, her face beaming because she'd aced it. another year of squinting at the chalkboard and copying notes off the kid next to her. but at least she didnt have to wear glasses.

i remember the first pair of glasses i got. they were a pastel pink and purple frame. and with my asian yellowy-olive skin tone... it looked terrible. but pink was my favorite color then. a couple of years later they had to be replaced with an expensive titanium frame because i had developed an allergy to the metal that my previous glasses were made of. pink and purple pastel frames + a painfully red rash that was crusty and sometimes ooozed on the side of my face... it was no wonder all the boys avoided me in school!

as someone who grew up wearing glasses, i remember how much i hated wearing them, and how glad i was when my parents gave me permission to get contacts before i started high school. for 4 years, i didnt bother getting my glasses prescription updated. i was never going to wear them again anyway. not even when one day, my last pair of contacts had ripped and were irritating to wear. i put them in, blinked back the tears, until after 3rd period, my eye was red, i took it out, and decided to walk around with only one contact in.

it must have been during the beginning of college when i started warming up to the idea of wearing glasses. i got a pair of fake ones, with clear lenses, which i wore to class sometimes, to appear more "intelligent." it was ok to wear glasses, because... i dont know, librarian chic was in or something.

and now, i love it when celebrities are photographed wearing glasses. with their beautiful and perfect features, they can wear the ugliest nerdiest frames and still look so damn cute. and as the new york times recently declared, "glasses are having a fashion moment."


i am currently in love with chloe sevigny's eyeglasses. i actually went to fabulous franny's this past weekend to check them out. i didnt buy the pair she's shown wearing, but i did get a pair of vintage frames (which im wearing in the picture above) i think i may have to go back.