Glasses are not commonly seen on the political stage. Most people who have bad eyesight and are in the public eye favor contact lenses.
But Sarah Palin has changed that and it¡¯s apparently given a boost to the optical business.
Got to have those glasses!
When Sen. John McCain selected Alaska Gov. Palin as his running mate last week, two things were immediately obvious: She¡¯s a woman and she wears glasses. Not just for reading tiny type, but all the time.
Now USA TODAY reports that a lot of glasses-wearers have decided they like Palin¡¯s look and want to copy it.
So here¡¯s what you need to know: The rimless frames were designed by Kazuo Kawasaki, a Japanese industrial designer. They are distributed in the United States by Italee. The company has Palin¡¯s style prominently displayed on its Web site (704 series, color 34 gray).
The frames are sold at at a lot of optical stores, USA TODAY reports. (Sorry, I don¡¯t know if Tucson stories carry the brand.) But the Palin look will not be easy ¨C or cheap ¨C to duplicate. The shape of the strongly rectangular lenses was custom-made for Palin by an optics dealer in Chugiak, Alaska. The frame ¡ª without lenses ¡ª starts at a $375. Depending on the type of lenses, the glasses could cost up to $700.
Bart VanderVelde, the national sales manager at Italee, said few celebrities in glasses have set off this kind of frenzy.
Come Nov. 4, the frames will either be unbelievably hot or forgotten, depending on whether the McCain-Palin team wins or loses.
