Buying Vintage Eyewear on Etsy
KB’s car-free thrift store shopping post yesterday reminded me of something I always forget. You can shop vintage on Etsy.com! Well, the shopping is car-free, but the shipping isn’t. Still, vintage on Etsy goes beyond crafts and supplies. One of my favorite vintage items to search for are eye glasses. Just search for the words: vintage eye glasses. You will get lots of weird stuff, but in the mix you will find all the granny specs that you are looking for.
Take a few minutes to wade through the listings and you will find a really nice assortment ranging from $10 to about $40. Take them with you to your eye appointment, get your own lenses added and you will be so green! Not to mention you get super cute specs without paying $300 for designer frames.
I bought this pair last month for just $10. They were purchased from a retired ophthalmologist who found them in his closet. They were sample glasses that were never used and dated from the 60’s or 70’s.
Here is another pair that I found this morning for $35:
I am thinking about picking these up because they remind me of my great grandma:
And lastly, the Chigal shop seems to always have vintage eyewear:
Ok, enough shopping for me today. I promise I will be back tomorrow to show you something that I am actually making!
Tina Seamonster rarely sleeps. She blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:18 am
sweet! did i tell you in my former life i was an optician? i have happy memories of making glasses — i think it’s truly an art form. choosing the perfect frame, taking the measurements, making the lenses, adjusting the fit — so awesomely hands-on.
nice find, tina.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:37 am
debbie, as a former optician, is it ok to recycle glasses like this? i sometimes find that vintage glasses are a little small, like people used to have smaller faces or something. haha. but anyway, even if they don’t work for your prescription, you could get them made into sunglasses.
April 24th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
well, the problem with any used eyewear is that the materials break down with time. if they’ve been worn, the oils from the skin can be acidic and corrode the frame, which can not only be unattractive, but can make the plastic brittle. when plastic is brittle it snaps pretty easily, and that’s always a risk when you’re trying to put new lenses in. if the frame is vintage but in new (never worn) condition, then that’s a pretty sweet score!
and yes, i think lots of vintage frames are tiny! i’m guessing it had to do with making production easy, so they only made one or two sizes. i have a wide face, so i always have a hard time finding glasses i like that fit. good thing i didn’t have to do it 40 or 50 years ago!