All sights on Sarah: "Palin glasses" are the new hot thing

Being a spectacle is quickly becoming the hippest new trend in Destin. The woman behind the glasses responsible for the wave of interest in designer frames is Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

“She certainly has raised the awareness of eyeglasses,” said Chris Pall, manager of Dr. Shanon Fowler’s Pearle Vision in Destin, a town squarely in the middle of the Republican stronghold that is the Florida Panhandle.

Pall said that right after John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate about a month ago, they started receiving several inquiries a day over the phone about whether they carry “Sarah Palin glasses.”

While Palin has been seen sporting different chic variations of frames, the model that caught on are Palin’s rimless titanium frames by Japanese industrial designer Kazuo Kawasaki. The Kawasaki frames are now on a four month back order.

“They are the latest trend in light-weight fashion eyewear,” Roger Samuels of The Eye Gallery said. “Twice already today ladies have asked for Sarah Palin glasses.”

The Palin frames can be mounted on any lens shape by a screwless tension system, making them an accessory that anyone can adapt to their own style or needs.

Mainstream eyewear stores in Destin do not carry Kawasaki frames, but have similar looking frames in stock, many of them more budget friendly than the $375 frames that Palin wears.

The Eye Gallery carries a similar design by Lindberg, a Danish eyewear manufacturer. The Lindberg basic version of Palin’s frames are priced at $499. If one really wants to treat themselves, they can forgo the practical titanium and try on solid gold frames accented in diamonds that will set them back about $3,000, not including the cost of lenses.

A more economical look-a-like are Silhouette’s available at Pearle Vision, starting at about $295. Whatever the price tag, glasses are getting a new found respect.

 “(Glasses are) almost like jewelry,” Samuels said. “They’re not so much medical devices anymore.”

Samuels said that Palin wears the frames well, inspiring other women who want the same look to come into the store daily to try them on.

“They are Palin’s age and up,” Samuels said. “It’s a more sophisticated look, the younger women really aren’t going for them.”

Rallying for Sarah Palin?
The organization Strong Women for a Strong America is planning to celebrate women's suffrage and to promote vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Oct. 11 at Destin Commons beginning with a 9:30 a.m. screening of the movie, "Iron Jawed Angels."