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Making a Spectacle
A Fashionable History of Glasses by Jessica Glasscock
Andrew Levine
March 06, 2025
Glasses aren’t just about seeing better—they’re about being seen.
Glasses don’t just help you see—they shape how you are seen.
In Making a Spectacle, Jessica Glasscock reveals how eyewear has been a symbol of power, rebellion, and self-expression for centuries. Whether sleek or statement-making, what you wear—like how you carry yourself—defines your presence.
Today’s newsletter is presented by GlassesUSA.com, one of the leading online eyewear retailers in the United States, offering the largest selection of styles and brands, with over 10,000 styles of glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses. Use code SLIGHTLY50 for 50% off frames and SLIGHTLY40 for 40% off designer frames.
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SMARTEST TAKEAWAYS
Frame Yourself: The Power of Choice
1️⃣ Your Look, Your Story: What you wear sends a message before you even speak. Whether it’s thick black frames, sleek wire-rims, or bold-colored lenses, eyewear has the power to reinforce (or reinvent) your identity.
2️⃣ Confidence Is a Choice: From the “nerdy” stigma of glasses in the past to today’s high-fashion status, perception is fluid. Owning your choices—whether in style or in life—transforms insecurity into confidence.
3️⃣ Reinvention Is Always Possible: Just like trends in eyewear, personal growth is a constant evolution. Your look, your mindset, your approach to life—it’s all up to you. The key is being intentional about the image you want to project.
Jessica Glasscock is a writer and costume historian. She works at the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and is on faculty at Parsons.
INSIGHTFUL EXAMPLE
From Nerdy to Iconic
In the early 20th century, glasses were a sign of weakness. By the 1950s, they were synonymous with intelligence. By the ‘80s, they screamed “power.” And by the 2000s, non-prescription glasses became a fashion choice.
From John Lennon’s round frames to Audrey Hepburn’s oversized sunglasses, history proves that glasses don’t just change how you see the world—they change how the world sees you.
BOOK FACTS
Making A Spectacle
First Published: October 26, 2021
Print length: 400 pages
Listening length: N/A
Ratings: 4.7 Amazon, 3.5 Goodreads
WORTH WATCHING
Bad Eyesight Before Glasses: What Did People Do?
GLASSES THAT ACTUALLY FIT
Find Your Perfect Frame in 60 Seconds
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Then use code SLIGHTLY50 for 50% off frames and SLIGHTLY40 for 40% off designer frames.
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