how did glasses go from nerdy to cool?

➤ NEWSLETTER / ESSAYS

➤ PRODUCTION
written by Mina Le
edited by Charlee Reiff

➤ SOCIALS

➤ CONTACT

➤ SOURCES
Through the Looking Glasses by Travis Elborough (2021)
In the Blink of an Eye by Stefana Sabin (2021)
Fashion in Eyeglasses: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present Day by Richard Corson (1967)
Enough Rope by Dorothy Parker (1926)
Making a Spectacle by Jessica Glasscock (2021)
Hitchcock’s Motifs by Michael Walker (2005)
Better than Rubies: A History of Women's Education by Phyllis Stock (1978)
"Fashion Significances." Women's Wear Daily 63.101 (1941): 3.
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)

0:00 - intro
5:11 - glasses as intellectual
13:34 - glasses as ugly
22:20 - glasses as chic
35:57 - conclusion

[ionlydressthatway]

“making a spectacle” is such a good name for a book about the history of glasses

[roselynschaotichouse]

There’s also a trope in anime that those who wore glasses were usually hiding something(often something evil). When their eyes would be suddenly completely covered by a glare, you knew something crazy was about to come out.

[marianettist]

I got braces when I was 12 and I was wearing glasses as well. This combo was frequently depicted as a "loser" at that time, so I was very nervous to go to school. My friends saw that I had mickey mouse bands (?) on my braces and they got SUPER interested, then a few months later they got braces themselves. So weird because having braces was one of the most painful experiences I've ever had. That was a true girlhood awakening for me.

[keirahazlewood]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Mina Le is the pinnacle of a video essay
The research, the citation, the clarity of each point and the diversity of points, _the delivery_ and the editing
It's peak.
Every video is just perfection

[svtstreets]

imo i think it's because people nowadays want to be perceived as educated. educated is cool now. being nerdy is cool, reading is cool, liking geeky stuff is cool, and apparently now you can choose glasses that compliment your looks instead of hiding them

[thatrandomgirl]

As someone who had glasses since she was 4 I have always HATED it when a girl got a makeover and they removed her glasses. As if she wouldn't be pretty with glasses. Also I HATED it when the popular girls dressed like nerds to glorefy the glasses even though they were always mocking actual people with like wdym?!

[gracemcelhone]

Can’t believe Mirabel from Encanto wasn’t mentioned in this!! I feel like a Disney princess having glasses was a huge step forward for myopic girls everywhere :’)

[ionlydressthatway]

Something we don’t really think about these days is that poor eyesight is a type of disability (obviously to a varying degree depending on its seriousness), so glasses are a kind of disability aid, but they’re so common we don’t quite see them that way. I hope one day aids like wheelchairs, walking sticks, breathing aids, or feeding tubes might draw less attention in public, or be seen as ok features for actors/models/influencers etc. to have, even without them becoming as common as glasses are now.

[sarahwatts]

I would never put My Big Fat Greek Wedding in the same category as the rest of the transformation/makeover scenes in other rom coms. Tula makes over herself - there's no bratty girl standing over her (though I do assume she asked Nicky how to do her hair) - and it happens gradually, at a pace she's comfortable with. There's no huge sudden change; you get a sense in the montage that she's buying makeup, hair products, and new clothes gradually as she finds her style. It's less of a makeover and more of an evolution, and boy howdy am I ready to die on this one

[nevnotvada]

What’s so funny to me is that I actually found joy in wearing prescription glasses my whole life. Similarly to you, my prescription was so strong that the lenses would distort my face and make my eyes look animatedly bigger. Somehow I felt more beautiful wearing glasses than without them since getting them in the 3rd grade

[Yessicuhhh]

I had to get glasses at 18 months old (my mom cried because she thought I was going to go blind). Now I’m 34 and have round super magnified lenses and I actually kinda love it cause it gives me big blinky eyes and I think people find it kinda endearing

[isalewis]

my issue is that glasses often look really good only on people who dont or barely need them.. because if your eyesight is truly bad it will distort your face in a serious way and then those billie eilish glasses dont look so cute anymore Edit: omg she just said that WHOOPS

[nkk]

Appearance is everything now. You don’t have to read, you just have to look like you do.

[LucasLima-ousz]

Hey Mina, can I suggest a topic? How wearing polyester clothes was normalized due to fast fashion, cause I remember seeing movies in the 2000's of people (special women) despising polyester clothes, I remember a scene from a movie I don't remember the name of girl almost freaking about wearing a polyester suit.

[Arizzu_]

I had wear glasses for so long that i cannot imagine my face without glasses anymore 😂 i might not look great but i really like wearing glasses 🤓🩷

[SalmaPaz]

Glasses are also so expensive! I would love to have a collection of different frames for different occasions and looks, but I always chicken out when I think of the prices.

[zuzz_a]

my mom was so insanely bullied in school for wearing her glasses back in the 90s (she had me at 21 i'm not child lol) and i was always scared it would happen to me too when i was young so i'm so happy this shift has happened. people still tell me i should try contacts and i'm just like no i love my glasses

[valerieeirelav]

finding glasses frames that flatter you really is a gamechanger tbh, switched from rounder square-ish frames to rectangular ones and i’ve never felt better about myself

[homhom_]

As someone with a really high prescription, I mean -19 (It's straight up a disability), wearing glasses has been... a ride. Being honest with you, even tho my type of lenses distort my face, I think I look adorable, cute and pretty. But because of people and the attitude that society has around glasses, it made me feel like I was ugly. So for a long time I had a difficult time loving myself. On one hand, I felt that I was pretty, but having a ton ot people telling me and making me feel that I was undesirable was painful, an it still is, I'm working on it.

[graceparenti]

I work in libraries and I'll never forget one job interview where I wore my contacts instead of my glasses to change things up a bit and the interviewer actually commented about that saying, "I think you're the first librarian I've met who doesn't wear glasses!" I was rejected from that job so during my next interview at a different library I wore my glasses and ended up getting an offer😅