Clare 022

In my schooldays it was my wish to become an optician so I often checked their shop windows to see if there were any new trends. One day in 1966, a local optician showed a big surprise - a series of wooden glasses. He had five different frames, some of which looked highly impractical but was a fascinating sight. One of the wooden frames had a very special design - hardly any vertical space for the lenses, like mail box slots. Only one of the five wooden frames had a mainstream design, in the popular style of the popular Maya glasses by Rodenstock. Unfortunately, the wooden frames were a commercial failure and I never saw anyone sporting wooden glasses in the streets. Eventually the optician removed the five frames from his shop window. About fifteen years ago, a friendly optician allowed me to go through his donation boxes. Lo and behold, out came a pair of wooden glasses. I recognized them straightaway. It was identical to the only of the five pairs seen in 1966 that looked practical. The find made my day. Right from the start of my photography project, the wooden glasses were liked and chosen by many models (e.g. Conny 076, Astrid 129, Caroline 025, Farishta 200, Petra 038, Connie 074, Christien 147, Douce 059, Lucy 062, Marike 021, Mother Miriam 038, Doreen 031 and Sandra 059). The glasses were also featured this year in my photo shoot with Nefeli in Athens. Here Clare joins their ranks in her own pleasant way. Nowadays, there is a minor revival of wooden glasses but it's so much nicer to show this vintage pair made half a century ago.