The Statement Glasses
Producer Erika Abrams sees the world through rose-colored — and tortoiseshell and black and gold and red — glasses.
“They aren’t an obsession,” producer Erika Abrams protests, dumping her eyeglass frame out on the table, “More of a vibe.” Purchased over the past eighteen months, there are twelve in current rotation. And that’s not including the ones she no longer wears, the sunglasses nor the ones she’s expecting in the mail.
Abrams is newly location independent, sprung from her serious title-heavy job just as the pandemic kicked in. Not the type to sit around and twiddle her thumbs, her days were quickly filled with workshops, lectures and panels. As she worried — about her children, about where to live, about what she was going to do next — she found herself channeling her creativity into shopping, Late night sprees delivered shoes, home appliances and furniture to her door. But mostly she bought — and pinned — eyeglasses.
They aren’t an entirely frivolous purchase. She actually needs glasses. “One eye is nearsighted,” she explains, “The other eye is farsighted.” The differences between the two were exacerbated by the stresses of the past year. While she originally began buying glasses a few years ago, when what she dubs “the post-40 arm exercises” began, it wasn’t until March 2020 that they became her focus.
Bespectacled celebrities inspired her initial acquisitions. There’s Zooey Deschanel, whose modified nerd glasses reflect her quirky, friendly persona, and Tina Fey, smart and funny in her 50s “cats eye” secretarial-style frames. Oprah’s collection of oversized, fashion-forward frames underline her dynamic, intelligent, entrepreneurial spirit while Iris Apfel’s large round specs mark her as an iconoclast.
Abrams’ first two pairs came from Warby Parker. “They aren’t crazy expensive,” she notes. She picked a half-dozen to try on a home and bought two — Burke, a modified rectangle with a keyhole bridge, straight dark browline and a clear lower frame, and Shea, in a green that matches her eyes.
She soon branched out, moving from safe shapes and single colors into more experimental designs: a cat-eyed Prada pair with their bottoms cut off; a “super girly” pink frame from Elizabeth & James that look like “a cat eye and a nerdy midwestern pair had a really cute baby;” and, her latest, octagon-shaped white frames with wood arms. “They’re super arty with a unique nose bridge,” she says. She currently has her eye on a yellow and tortoise frame from Katiss, Belle, a heavy-framed design in transparent champagne rose and D28, a reader, in Bullet Coffee which layers a tortoiseshell top over a buttery bottom.
“Though glasses actually take zero effort, it makes you seem like you tried,” she shares, ‘Plus they obscure the fact that I haven’t put on any make up.” She thinks most people chose generic frames because they want to blend in or wire frames, in the mistaken idea that no one will notice they’re wearing glasses.
For Abrams, a funny thing happened on the way to her budding wardrobe of optics. As she allowed herself the freedom of choosing unusual glasses, people began to see her differently as well, seeking out her innovative solutions, original ideas and thoughtful management style. Now, as she transitions into independent work and launches her new company, Scattered Good, her wardrobe of spectacles has become a trademark. They showcase her as someone who isn’t afraid to stand out. And that is a good vibe indeed.