Sandra 055

Cat eye frames disappeared from the Dutch optician's shops in 1964, making way for a new trend with small, compact frames. The change took a year or two so it was more gradual than more recent changes in eyewear fashion. The transition period brought some frames that still had an echo of the cat eye look. Here Sandra shows us a fine example made by a well known German company called Metzler. The style suits the model's face perfectly. Sandra had to put the glasses on with great care as the frame is broken but she managed quite well. The glasses look familiar to many people in the Netherlands. A famous Dutch writer called Annie M.G.Schmidt (1911 - 1985) used identical glasses for many, many years and several of her book covers show a picture of her wearing these Metzler glasses. I bought this pair at the "Waterlooplein" flea market during the 1980's. The frame was quite popular in its time so my find was probably first bought by a different lady who had about the same prescription as Annie. Be that as it may, these glasses are nicknamed "the Annie M.G. Schmidt glasses" ever since I bought them.