SARAH PALIN Style : Everybody wants her GLASSES !
Coverage of Sarah Palin has boosted sales of items she wears:
You cant look at Sarah Palin without marveling at how beautiful her eyeglasses are, and how perfectly they set the tone of serious, yet stylish. Her nomination for vice president has set off a genuine rush to optical businesses by women who want her glasses.
Sarah Palins glasses are custom made, but based on the Kawasaki 704 series, and the color is 34 gray. The Sarah Palin frame — minus the lenses — starts at a suggested $375. Depending on the type of lenses you have installed, the total package can run to $700.
The Alaska governor’s signature rimless eyeglasses are on back order, Amy Hahn, the vice president of Italee Optics Inc., the brand’s U.S. distributor, told the Wall Street Journal.
Demand for the $375 frames designed by Kazuo Kawasaki (style series 704, color 34) has quadrupled since the Republican National Convention last week. To fulfill orders, Italee Optics Inc. is now manufacturing the glasses around the clock. “The next day, our phone started ringing off the hook,” Hahn explained. “Now we’re doing everything we can to keep up.”
Meanwhile, sales of the red peep-toe 3 1/2-inch heels by Naughty Monkey that Palin wore jumped 50% on Amazon.com.
“The age bracket we target is a little younger. It’s a very edgy, very hip, very street brand,” Jay Randhawa, the brand director of the brand’s parent company told the WSJ. The pumps, Randhawa added, were originally designed for 20-something club-goers like Paris Hilton.
Hoping to capitalize on interest in Palin, WigSalon.com is highlighting their selection of Palin-esque wigs. “Obviously we’re going to get a jump from this,” owner Joe Aronesty told the WSJ. “And it’s not even close to Halloween.”
The glasses, created by Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki, are becoming a bipartisan must-have fashion accessory.
The company that manufacturers Palin’s eyeglasses says its phones have been ringing off the hook.
“We began hearing from our authorized dealers and they wanted to stock multiple pairs of the exact same frame and style and color that she had,” said Amy Hahn, the vice president of Italee Optics, Inc.
The Palin look is “smart, sophisticated and put together,” said one woman browsing for frames.
Lara Decanps, who works at Artsee Eyewear in New York, said women are asking, “Where did she get those glasses? They look so good on her. I want to find them.”
While Palin’s not the first famous woman to sport eyeglasses — think Sally Jesse Raphael, Tina Fey and Velma from Scooby Doo — insiders in the optical business say it’s been a while since anyone has given their industry such a shot in the arm.
The frames, which cost about $375 without lenses, are even part of the buzz at New York’s Bryant Park Fashion Week.
“Like Jackie Kennedy wore with the pillbox hat her glasses will be a revolutionary thing to wear,” said one designer.
Beyond aesthetics, Palin has practical reasons for wearing the glasses — like focusing in on her prey while out hunting moose in Alaska … and maybe even those political animals in Washington.
CNN VIDEO : [ SEPTEMBER 2008 ]
Duration : 0:1:57
Video from the very first “Style Eyes” fashion show event, brought to you by Vogue Vision and Sahar’s.
Gavin hangs out at A.J.’s fashion shoot for Visions of Canada. Lots of models and pictures.