How to look like an Architect

Picture yourself at a party; Dressed in impeccable clothing and don't forget your signature black framed glasses. These amazing fitting specs fit your face perfectly. Inevitably, you strike up a conversation with a stranger. You exchange names, ask each other what you do for a living, and the other (drunk or sober) states, "Let me guess.... You're an architect."

Ah, those spectacles. Back in grade school, you were ridiculed as “Four Eyes”, “nerd”, “Ugly”, “Speckys”, anndd let's stop. You won’t admit it, but those elementary taunts still haunt you ‘til this day. Then you send a little prayer to the goddess above because you’re wise enough to know that trends change. Eye wear is now something that’s hot (If you can rock it well).
It can literally change your image--even your occupation


Not only do specs make you look intelligent, but they’re also a statement that says something in the lines of “muthafucka I work hard”, to “I got the steeez and confidence to work these shades”.
So what is it about those architects and their signature frames? Father of modernism, Swiss born Le Corbusier, “ made owlish black spectacles a signature, thereby giving generations of followers permission to adopt a similarly geeky look. " He made it safe to make a statement through eyewear," said Mayer Rus, the design editor of House & Garden magazine.

It was a domino effect. Le Corbusier inspired Philip Johnson to “design a similarly rounded pair of glasses for himself in 1934, which he had manufactured by Cartier. Ken Smith, the landscape architect, has adopted a contemporary version of Mr. Johnson's black-rimmed orbs — the perfectly rigorous complement to his black-on-black attire.”

And we all know that architects only wear black right? Like Le Corbusier, architects today are often remarkably loyal to their chosen eyewear style. For architects, signature glasses are a conscious attempt to trademark their buildings and their faces as well. So ubiquitous architects are with their image that now ordinary people try to mimick their style. Customers don’t ask, “Make me look like a surgeon!” They ask specicially for that architect look.

After all, spectacles are all about design. 1) They are geometric shape. 2) They are a natural style choice. 3) they revolve on structure and form.

Architects want to be known for their design, just as much as they are known for their eyewear. Robert Marc, an infamous New York eye wear designer and retailer, often hears customers pleading, “Make me a pair of glasses just like Daniel Libeskind”.

Trends shift, and name callings are no longer damaging to ones soul. A well-designed specs will add to your image. To those with perfect 20/20, don't worry too much. The accessory is just a fashion statement.