Linda 014

Handle with care.... These giant Piave glasses were a welcome discovery at the Waterlooplein flea market (Amsterdam) in the late 1980's. The frame was in a wonky condition but I bought it anyway because of a sweet memory from the past. Early in 1975, I met an art student who disliked her rather outdated glasses. Within a few months, we bought her a new pair by Piave and this was a large improvement in her acceptance of glasses. Fashion was changing at a dazzling speed during the early seventies. Frames got larger and larger. The heavy lenses in her purple Piave glasses were like shop windows. Her prescription was minus six and the sides of her new shop windows were almost a full centimeter thick. The giant, airy frame was not designed for such heavy lenses and as a result, the glasses were not entirely stable on her face. But the main thing was that she liked her looks in them. Thick lenses were a common sighting in the streets. Ladies with fairly strong glasses were all "in the same boat". It took over a decade before index lenses became available. Ironically, this innovation coincided with the end of the large frames. The change was quite abrupt and within a few months, Dutch opticians were only selling rather dull, tiny retro frames. The only positive side was that many large glasses could be bought at the flea market for coppers and brass. Coming across these Piave glasses was a special moment. Aside from its color, the frame was identical to the pair used by the art student. Linda is not shy or conservative so she needed no encouragement from my side to give the Piave pair a try. Needless to say, she kept the large hat on. Giant glasses simply call for a giant hat....