It’s the 21st century. Everything, from transport to electric appliances to space technology, has taken a quantum leap in terms of their design and functioning. And so have eyeglasses, possibly one of the most significant inventions of all time. But according to The New York Times, it is the very masculine monocle from 18th century eyewear that has been making a comeback.
Strings attached
A monocle is a corrective lens that is used to correct the vision in only one eye. The lens is encased in a wire ring that is, in turn, attached to a string connected to the wearer’s clothing.
What’s fascinating about the monocle is that it’s held up by nothing but the muscles around the eye. Hence, the string! (The eye muscles needn’t always succeed in combating gravity). This seemingly uncomfortable design is said to have originated in the early 18th century though it garnered momentum as a popular extension of a man’s outfit only in the 19th century.
The monocle is, till date, associated with arrogance and pretentiousness. This is probably because in its earliest days, it was usually worn by the British bourgeoisie trying to emulate an aristocratic lifestyle. Consequently, when one sees a monocle, we are flooded with subconscious memories of seeing of men wearing elaborate coats with exaggerated shoulder detailing, knee-length boots, pointed shoes and a top hat, in history books or the Internet.Arrogant or not, it definitely sets you apart from the crowd, in addition to offering great help in reading tiny text as it usually offers magnification. These are probably some of the reasons for the noticeable increase in the sales of monocles recently in America.
Warby Parker, an American brand of prescription eyewear, founded in 2010 has popularized its lone contender in the monocle market – the ‘Colonel’ monocle – in its advertisements. It has done so probably to portray itself as a style snob. Warby Parker may be selling just one style of monocles but there are American online retailers that offer a range of monocles and eke out a living from selling these gravity-defying wonders.
The same report of The New York Times also mentions Ray Gallagher, the owner of The MonocleShop.com, for having doubled the sales of monocles in the last five years. The implications of this statement, of course, depend on the size of initial sales; nonetheless, it does seem that monocles are increasingly becoming a coveted fashion statement. The New York Times seems to have sealed its claims in its report by quoting James Berry, the owner of Nearsights.com, an online shopping portal that specializes in monocles. Berry claims that his site witnessed a near tripling of sales to $66,000 in 2013 from $26,000 in 2012. The NYT report further states that according to Berry, most of the customers are men in their 40s and 50s who suffer from reading problems and would rather refrain from sporting the unwelcome beacon of middle age, the notorious reading glasses.
Back or not, monocles certainly seem like an interesting accessory to sport. And considering they aid in reading fine print, it perhaps won’t be long before they catch on and become a staple to help us read that early morning text message without squinting. A life lived in style never hurt anyone.
But make sure that you get a customized monocle that fits your eye well. We wouldn’t want to be the cause of a loud curse as the monocle drops into your delicious minestrone!
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