Sandra 079 - 082

When the couture house of Christian Dior launched their first glasses line in 1976, it was no less than a revolution. Everything about their frames was new, bold and still consistent. They used a new material called optyl and put their logo on it, they chose bright basic colors (blue, green and red) and very outspoken frame shapes that almost seemed to ignore the facial features of the wearers. It had been the practice of frame designers to adapt the shape of the glasses to the faces of the clients but Christian Dior dictated things the other way round. Their first generation of glasses had almost straight arms that were on the short side for many clients - but nobody cared and sales went through the ceiling in no time. I was working in Switzerland in 1976 and witnessed this revolution taking place in the streets within a span of only a couple of months. Until then, Swiss ladies were always a bit conservative compared with Amsterdam ladies but that summer really turned the Swiss into trendsetters. Perhaps the price of the glasses played a role as well. They cost a small fortune but many Swiss ladies could afford them, so why not? This striking red pair was a welcome find at the "Waterlooplein" flea market (Amsterdam) during the 1980's. I like the pensive mood shown here by Sandra who knew quite well that she was posing in a very special, overwhelmingly present pair of glasses....