What was once seen as a sign of nerdishness has become a fashion statement. When basketball stars like LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett and Kevin Durant are sporting big, black, chunky eyeglasses for the fun of it—meaning the eyeglasses are not prescription glasses at all but frames containing plain glass lenses—eyeglass frame makers must be pleased. Market analysts point to a number of high-profile persons—Meryl Streep and Demi Moore from the Hollywood scene, Sarah Palin and Rachael Maddow—who wear eyeglasses and whose eyewear styles are seen as part of the motivation behind this growing market for fashion based eyewear. Will it be a passing fad as so many fashion statements are or a longer lasting trend as those wearing plain glass eyewear get older and start needing to put prescription lenses into their statement accessories?

Today’s market size is based on calculations made with survey results from a Vision Council of America survey and U.S. Census Bureau population statistics. It shows the number of U.S. adult residents who report having worn plain glass eyewear as a fashion statement during the period 2008 and 2011.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2011
Market size: 16.3 million people aged 18 or over
Source: Adam Tschorn, “A New Essential?” The Republic, Columbus, Indiana, May 7, 2012, available online here. Picture comes thanks to this Warby Parker website.
Original source: Vision Council of America and the U.S. Census Bureau
Posted on June 1, 2012