When Republican U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain introduced his Vice President running mate to the American public, he had no idea that as well as unleashing an exciting, intelligent, vote-grabbing woman, he was also unleashing an eyewear fashion frenzy.Appearing before a U.S. television audience of almost 40 million (eclipsing Barak Obama), Sarah Palin, the first female governor of Alaska, enthralled her audience with her outstanding narrative, but also with her fashion sense … particularly her glasses.
According to Marie Claire magazine: “Style conscious voters in the U.S. are racing to get their hands on a pair of Sarah Palin’s signature rimless glasses”. Headlined ‘Sarah Palin’s glasses are style hit’, the story said opticians in America had seen a huge spike in demand for the specs Palin wore during her convention speech.
The story stated the: “frames are by Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki, and are made from titanium. They are from a collection entitled the 704 series, and her specific style is the 34 grey. Retailers are now clamouring to stock the style, as demand has continued to soar.”
Palin bought her glasses from an optician in Chugiak in Alaska, where the owner Joy Leedham helped her choose the design. Leedham says since then she has been inundated with orders, and told The Observer that she has been swamped by emails with the same enquiry, ‘Sarah Palin glasses please’.
Style conscious voters in the U.S. are racing to get their hands on a pair of Sarah Palin’s signature rimless glasses
Magazines and newspapers around the U.S. reported on the Palin specs mania, including the Chicago Sun Times which said: “Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made all kinds of political statements during her acceptance speech, but the fashion statement she made with her imported glasses is what dominated discussion among eyewear professionals.”
The North American distributor of the glasses, Italee Optics Inc., of Los Angeles, has increased its imports of the frames in response to Palin’s appearance and the fashion firestorm it ignited, a company manager said.
Judy Sulier, a certified optician at Pinnacle Eye Group in Ohio told the newspaper: “We were just talking about that. I was going to go online to pull it up and see what it would take to get it into the office, because I’m sure people will be inquiring about it.”
Cathy Ashner, an optical technician, agreed that John McCain’s choice for vice president ‘made a good fashion statement’ with her glasses during her prime-time acceptance speech. “She wears them very well. They’re very unique.”