Making a Spectacle

A Fashionable History of Glasses

Jessica Glasscock

$49.99

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Running Press Adult
22 February 2022

Photography & photographs; Product design; History of fashion

"From 13th century Franciscan monks to Beyonce in Black is King, Making a Spectacle charts the fascinating ascension of eyeglasses, from an unsightly but useful tool to fashion's must-have accessory.

The power of glasses to convey a range of vivid messages about their wearers have made them into a billion-dollar business that appeals to cool kids and rock stars and those who want to be like them, but the fashionable history of eyeglasses was fraught with anxiety and drama. At the beginning of the 20th century, the assessment in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar was that spectacles were ""invariably disfiguring."" Invisibility was the best option, and glasses were only to be put on once the lights at the opera went dark.

While variations of that glasses-shaming sentiment appeared at regular intervals over the next 100 years or so, eyeglasses continued to evolve into an endless array of shapes, colors, purposes, and personalities. Once sunglasses took off in the 1930s, the magazine editorial made glasses a conspicuous part of the fashion narrative. Eyeglasses went to the ski slopes, the stables, the beach, the Havana hotel. Plastic innovations made a candy-colored rainbow of cat-eyes and ""starlet"" styles possible. Suddenly, everyone had the opportunity to look like Jackie O on vacation in Capri.

Making a Spectacle traces contemporary high fashion frames back to their origins: the military aviator, the glam cat eye, the nerdly Oxford, the high-tech shield, the fanciful butterfly, the lowly rimless, and other styles all make an appearance. Featuring interviews with influential designers, makers, and purveyors of glasses including Adam Selman, Kerin Rose Gold, and l.a. Eyeworks, Making a Spectacle also takes a look at today's most cutting edge eyewear, showing the reader the latest and most innovative ways to see and be seen."

By: Jessica Glasscock
Imprint: Running Press Adult
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 182mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 870g
ISBN: 9780762473441
ISBN 10: 0762473444
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 22 February 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jessica Glasscock is a lecturer in Fashion History at Parsons School of Design and worked as a researcher at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute for more than a decade.