Miliswa 035

Another fine, characteristic example of Miliswa's distinguished posing style.

Miliswa 034

Fine, relaxed posing by lovely Miliswa in giant glasses made over forty years ago.

Miliswa 033

These giant glasses from the mid 1970's have been in my collection for three decades. They were a welcome find at the inexhaustible "Waterlooplein" flea market in my native Amsterdam. The lenses are "dégradé" - like sunglasses in the upper part and normal glasses in the lower part. Judging by the wear and tear of the frame and the badly scratched lenses, the first owner of these glasses liked them a lot.

Miliswa 032

Glasses: Gan Aimh, mid 1970's
[L=R: -1.00]

Miliswa 030 - 031

The mid 1970's brought the arrival of giant frames and these remained fashionable for a full decade. The nameless pair shown here to great effect by Miliswa is no less than 67 millimeters high and the lenses are almost like shop windows. Two versions of the same photo are shown here: completely edited (below) and with a part of the reflection in the lenses kept (above), See for yourself which version you like best.

Miliswa 029

Glasses: Gan Aimh, 1980's
[L: -2.25; c-1.25 h / R: -2.50; c-1.00 h]

Miliswa 028

After many decades I'm still puzzled by the factors at stake when it comes to the axis of cylinders. In my vast collection of over 2000 vintage pairs, the majority of glasses with cylinders in the lenses have a flattening effect on the image of the eyes. The axis is what I call "vertical" (close to 0 or 180 degrees), meaning that this direction has more negative power. By contrast, these "Julia" glasses have cylinders with a "horizontal" axis (around 90 degrees) and the effect is that the image of Miliswa's eyes is more rounded than it is without glasses. Aesthetically speaking, I tend to find the horizontal axis more flattering than the vertical axis.