Pop in an old movie from the 50s or 60s—or even about the 50s and 60s— and scope out someone wearing a pair of glasses, and there’s a very good chance you’ll find that they’re wearing Art Craft Optical’s Clubman frame. Although Shuron invented the browline, and others replicated it, it was Art Craft that managed to find the most ubiquity; indeed, even today, sojourns to an antique store in search of vintage browlines will most likely net you Clubmans before other manufacturers’ frames. In the world of postwar eyeglasses, it was a feat that few—if any—other manufacturers have been able to replicate since, save perhaps Ray-Ban in the 1980s with their Wayfarer, Aviator, and Clubmasters. While particular frame styles have certainly defined eras, rare is the specific frame that proves to be so versatile that it, in and of itself, achieves a universal appeal.
    
Ladies and gentleman, allow me to present to you the Marc Ecko Snake Eyes.

Image Credit: ClearVision

When I first saw the frame in my rep’s trunk over a year ago, I have to admit, I didn’t give it a second thought. I deal with a primarily rural/suburban, sartorially conservative patient base who, in 2013, had just begun to embrace the zyl frames that had been in vogue for several years by that point. The idea of any of them going for a frame that seemed to shout “MODERN” so loudly, so boldly, was unthinkable; it’d be a waste of the dispensary’s money to stick it up on the board. Flash forward to late 2013; a frame trade resulted in our office receiving a large number of Marc Ecko frames, chosen from among the most popular models by our rep. To my surprise, the Snake Eyes was amongst those frames. As I tagged it, I gave the frame a second assessment. All right, it was a cool looking frame, sitting there on my desk—a nifty fusion of the traditional browline with the attitude and aesthetics of the 2010s. Still, though, there are lots of things that look cool in theory—yellow suits, white bucks, those little Alpine hats they sell at Oktoberfest—they take on a whole other life once you’ve actually put them on your body. There was a world of difference between the idea of the Snake Eyes frame and the frame itself in practice. It’d sit on the board for a few months, be largely ignored, probably laughed at by the same people who think all round frames are Harry Potter glasses, and then end up stuck with a return authorization six months later.

I could not have been more wrong.

It was less than three weeks before the first Snake Eyes sold. I don’t think that it’s a HIPPAA violation to say that, to my surprise, it was an auto parts salesman who purchased the frame. He’d just been diagnosed with the onset of presbyopia, and, after a lifetime of refusing to wear glasses to correct a mild astigmatism, was ready to embrace his first PAL for convenience sake. I’ll admit my bias when I say I fully expected him to go for something wire rimmed; I’d noticed him looking at some aviators while he was waiting to be pretested. Sure enough, when the time came to look at frames, he and his wife drifted towards our titanium frames. He tried a few on. They didn’t look bad. Then, his wife suggested, “Why don’t you try something different? Just to see how it looks.”

Being a tall, larger proportioned gentleman, the Marc Ecko frames were the first on the chopping block for trying something “Different.” Knowing it was a crap shoot, I went ahead and pulled down the Snake Eyes. Why not? They certainly were “Different.”

He put them on.

He liked them.

To my surprise, actually seeing the frames on someone, they didn’t look half bad. In fact, they looked great. To my even greater surprise, both the patient and his wife thought so, too.

“They’re plastic on top like people are wearing now,” the patient’s wife said, “but they’re thinner on the bottom, so they don’t look so bulky.”

He bought them.

That was only the beginning.

To my astonishment, the Snake Eyes became the go-to frame for our dispensary when men came in asking for something bolder than wire rims but not as bold as full zyls; like the police officer, this desire is usually expressed as wanting “something different.” The frame has proven popular across the socioeconomic spectrum; it’s been purchased by blue collar guys and white collar guys. We sold a pair to a rancher. We sold a pair to a medical supplies salesman. We sold a pair to an oil executive. I’d sold one or two of the same frame before in my career as an optician, but suddenly, I had to continually order multiples of the same frame to keep up with demand. From both fashion and function standpoints, it’s almost the perfect frame: Coming in two sizes—a 55 and 57 eye—it fits almost any man’s head well, especially the larger proportioned head of the modern American male. The generous B measurement coupled with adjustable nosepads makes it ideal for a progressive (despite the low brow, pupil centration is still aesthetically pleasing on most men’s faces), or for SV users who want a little more periphery. The frame comes in three color variations—black and silver, tortoise and gunmetal, and olive and bronze-- which permits patients to find the best look for their complexion. Patients who were concerned that the Snake Eyes might be too overpowering have flocked to the Scrambler—or, as we’re taken to calling it in our office, the Snake Eyes Junior.

Image Credit: ClearVision

Essentially the same design, but in a shorter, more oval shape, the Scrambler has taken off with our smaller proportioned men as well as our female patients. Like the Snake Eyes, it holds a PAL well, and also comes in a variety of colors—replacing the olive with a nifty blue/black tortoise combination that’s proven favored by female patients.

My experiences may not be representative, and inquiries to ClearVision regarding the national success of the Snake Eyes were not returned in time for this article to make it to print. However, as already stated, this is the frame that’s encouraged many of our less adventurous, more cautious patients to come out of their shells, so to speak, and try something more exciting; perhaps, then, if your dispensary isn’t already carrying this frame, it’s worth checking out.


Preston Fassel was born in Houston, Texas and grew up between St. Charles, Missouri and Broken Arrow, OK.

In 2009, Preston graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Liberal Arts. In 2011, he graduated Cum Laude from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor’s of Science.

Preston currently works as an Optician in the Houston area. His interest in the history of eyewear goes back to his time in high school, when he developed an interest in all things vintage.

In addition to his writing for The 20/20 Opticians Handbook and 20/20 Magazine, Preston has also been featured in Rue Morgue magazine, where he is a recurrent reviewer of horror and science-fiction DVDs. His fiction writing has been featured three times in Swirl magazine, the literary arts journal of Lone Star College and Montgomery County. An essay on the life and death of British horror actress Vanessa Howard is scheduled to appear in the Spring issue of the quarterly horror journal, Screem.

Preston lives in Conroe, Texas with his wife, Kayleigh, and his ego, Ted.