"There are very few accessories that, if you were not wearing anything, if you put on
they would date you to a whole era. You could look the Thirties, the Fifties and the
Nineties just by your eyewear. It's like a pair of shoes because it is sculptural. It exists
without a face. It tells a lot about where you are architecturally or aesthetically in a
particular period in time.”—Tom Ford

Eyewear has come a long way since Superman used his glasses to personify nerdiness via
his Clark Kent disguise.

Eyeglasses nowadays go beyond utility. They have become an appendage of our
personalities.

We express our individualism, our identity through the simple and intricate assemblage
of metal, plastic and glass.

Actress Preity Zinta, tennis-ace Sania Mirza and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe make
their own unique statements with their specs.

What’s really uncanny, no two people wear eyewear the same.

Think Tina Fey and Sarah Palin – two women on opposite sides of the cultural spectrum.
Yet, each could be considered identifiable by a similar smart and sassy look. For each,
eyewear imparts separate and distinct images; one a confident leader, the other a clever
comedic actress and writer.

Eyewear not only conveys personality traits; it can be symbolic of a persona. Somebody
might be considered distinguished or intelligent, zany or creative.

From Buddy Holly to Elton John to Elvis Costello, eyewear becomes inseparable from
identity. The animated TV series the Simpsons even paid Homage to Costello during the
music icon's "guest" appearance, when Homer knocked off his glasses and the rocker
shrieked, "My Image!"

U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater wore lensless horn-rimmed spectacles after being fitted
with contact lenses. Without his trademark glasses, he looked like someone else.
Comedian Drew Carey continued to wear glasses after getting corrective laser eye
surgery. Masaharu Morimoto of Iron Chef fame wears glasses to separate his professional
persona as a chef from his stage persona.

One of the most stunning examples of how glasses magnified a persona could be viewed
through the creative lens of John Lennon. Lennon's glasses have come to symbolize his
transformation from pop idol to innovative icon.

He started wearing them for his role as Private Gripweed in the 1967 movie How I Won
the War by director Richard Lester -- who had also directed John in A Hard Day's Night
and Help! Lennon was severely nearsighted, so before shooting this film, he either wore
prescription sunglasses, contact lenses. He also squinted, which explains what looked like
an aw-shucks look in some of those old photos, but after 1967, decided to wear his
"National Health issue" glasses full time and did so until the time of his death.
 
When were eyeglasses invented, and how did this phenomenon start? The earliest
historical reference to vision magnification dates back to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in
the 8th century BC, but sometime around 1284 in Italy, Salvino D'Armate became known
as the inventor of the first wearable eyeglasses. Benjamin Franklin, who suffered from
both myopia and presbyopia, invented bifocals in 1784 to avoid having to regularly
switch between two pairs of glasses. The first lenses for correcting astigmatism were
constructed by the British astronomer George Airy in 1825.

A recent survey by Essilor of America asked more than 3,000 men and women about
their perception of eyeglasses and eye wear. The responses reflect eyewear’s
steadfastness as a fashion statement, an excellent enhancement of one's look.

As far as the Dorothy Parker adage goes, "Men seldom make passes at girls who wears
glasses," that notion has gone the way of the Edsel. Sixty percent of men strongly
disagreed with that expression while 62 percent of women deemed it untrue.

Not only does eyewear not diminish sexual attraction, said 73 percent of the respondents,
eyeglasses also do not interfere with intimate encounters, said another 68 percent.

Eyewear has evolved right along with our perceptions of what sexiness. In the '90s,
singer Lisa Loeb became a spectacled sex symbol. Meanwhile, the term "geek chic"
could be found in every magazine. Also, during that time the rock band Weezer got
immediate recognition by way of its singer, Rivers Cuomo, who became an unlikely teen
idol donning thick rims. This style statement had such an impact that musicians to this
day rock the hipster hornrims, using playful irony to create an impish mystique.

Fast forward to today, to indie sensation Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, who’s almost
synonymous with his signature oval eyeglasses.  
 
Wrote Jessica Grose of Spin magazine: “Against the blue black background, with little
lights twinkling through and glinting off his glasses, it was clear that even without the
accordion and the bass and the darling cover illustrations and the faux British accent, the
dandy stripped bare held the audience in the palm of his hand.”

There are even Web blogs dedicated to eyewear fetishes, such as the adults-only
joyofspex. Writer Veronica Van Pfetten declares her weakness for men with glasses
in her blog on the Huffington Post. The term “spexy” has been floating around
Cyberspace, and one cyber-socialite adopted the term in her missives at
http://spexylady.blogspot.com/.

From the fashion world to the optometrist’s office, eyewear has taken on so much more
than its corrective uses. Everywhere people are sporting the hottest new looks in frames –
or a virtual absence of frames: Rimless eyewear is the look of trendsetting jetsetters the
world over.

Designers are in on the action, from retail brands Bebe, Tommy Hilfiger and Brooks
Brothers, to Italian regals of fashion, Gucci, Prada, Valentino, and contemporary names
like Tom Ford, Juicy Couture and DKNY.