Cat Power. Fun headline, right? And without a doubt, I had an equally good time entertaining (myself, at least) with trendsetting kicker headlines in the 20/20 feature on CatEye frames including Meow Meow (for Miu Miu) and Top Cat (for Converse)… but… I assure you… this virtual ROAR of a particular style is incredibly significant to your opti-world view.

Just a year ago in the 20/20 February women’s eyewear issue, we topped out with slightly more than ten frames denoting the re-emerging CatEye style with its innate ability to virtually “face-lift” any woman’s expression into a sexy and alluring eye-smile of sorts. This time around, every single one of the more than 50 frame manufacturers and vendors solicited for the shoot had a CatEye available for consideration. Granted, some were slight in that near-sleepy sly look while others were more overtly dramatic and in-your-face, but everyone was able to take a nip at cat.

And so boys… you can keep your P3s and clubmasters and Clark Kents since women have an embraceable style you men won’t be sporting any time now or in the future. And also in a dramatic statement that speaks to the metric movements usually reserved for metal versus zyl or demographics or categorical price ranges, along comes a style movement and a declaration of freedom nearly akin to the flash of women’s independence that occurred in the mid-’60s as both women’s rights AND women’s skirts rose to new heights.

You read that right. In the heyday of the advent of birth control pills and burning bras, the emergence of the miniskirt (and quite nearly a day or two later… Hot Pants) footnoted its extreme power in quite a fashionable and saleable extreme. That’s happening in optical at this very second, and it spells opportunity if you give it some thought and follow it with some savvy dispensing action. Women are looking for (demanding) something new for their faces, and as a skilled retailer you need to be ready with the proper spec-ulation.

You should also consider this yet another wake-up call in the succession of loud rings you are on the verge of hearing concerning everything opti-focal INCLUDING the eminent emergence of interactive opti-personal devices mated to eyewear options. From CatEyes to SmartGlasses, the world of OPportunity awaits you. Let’s not blow this with fear and foreboding.

James J. Spina
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]