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Not sure if you should wear that Tommy Bahama shirt out tonight? The magnificent bastard is here to help. Go ahead. Ask away.

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channel: eyewear
  • Warby Parker Huxley via Warby Parker, $95.00

    Warby Parker Huxley

    via Warby Parker. $95.00.

    Tip the MB: Warby Parker Eyewear

    Check out Warby Parker eyewear. http://www.warbyparker.com/. They have vintage styles for cheap. Seems MB to me.
    --James


    Cool frames plus prescription lenses for $95. Plus free shipping and returns. And for each pair they sell they donate a pair to someone who needs a pair. Definitely worth a try.

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    3.12.10

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  • Ask the MB: Retro Eyewear

    Ask the MB: Retro Eyewear

    Q: Does your 2009 endorsement of retro frames still hold for 2010, because I am looking into buying a pair by Oliver Peoples.
    --Max


    A: Eyewear is the most personal of accessories, so buy what you like. But yes, we're still on the retro frames bandwagon (glasses and especially sunglasses) and always will be, simply because they almost always offer superior styling and value. In fact, the only pair of glasses made this century seen 'round the office are these $49 Criss nylon frames, typically issued to penitentiary inmates because they cannot easily be weaponized. But for those of us on the outside they're both super light and surprisingly stylish.

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    2.1.10

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  • Ask the MB: <em>GQ</em>'s Jim Moore

    Ask the MB: GQ's Jim Moore

    Q: Around a month ago I watched GQ Rules: How to dress better in 15 days. What caught my attention was Jim Moore's tie and collar buttons. Is it MB to tie your tie a bit loose just like Jim Moore? Also, I know you are not supposed to wear a tie with a shirt with button collars. What do you guys think? I uploaded a picture here http://i34.tinypic.com/4h3w3m.jpg of Jim Moore just in case you guys haven't watched it yet.
    --Franco


    A: First, it's certainly OK to wear a tie with a button-down collar. Second, this is Jim Moore's version of artful dishevelment and it's definitely endorsable (though the tie width and knot size is not). Finally, one thing we don't get about Jim Moore's look is the eyewear. We're pretty sure he got those at our high school algebra teacher's garage sale.

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    11.16.09

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  • Ask the MB: Brad Pitt Glasses

    Ask the MB: Brad Pitt Glasses

    Q: I really like the glasses Brad Pitt wears in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and was wondering if you knew where to get a pair of similar looking specs.
    --Michael


    A: Pitt's character is wearing an old P3 wire frame (a.k.a. Marshwood). It was at peak popularity in the 1930s and 40s. All the big american frame companies had a version during that time (American Optical, Artcraft, Bausch & Lomb, Shuron), so you will easily be able to find them on eBay or your local antique store. Besides Benjamin Button, Lennon and Truman are among past prominent wearers of this style.

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    6.30.09

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  • Separated at Birth? Tom Daschle and Sally Jesse Rafael

    Separated at Birth? Tom Daschle and Sally Jesse Rafael

    Tom Daschle has bigger problems than not paying his taxes: Looking like Sally Jesse Rafael.

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    2.2.09

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  • There was enough interest in a recent MB eyewear post that we thought it would be fun to turn it into a contest. See if you can identify the 9 MBs above. Send your entry to editor@magnificentbastard.com, and don't forget to answer the tiebreaker question: Besides being dead, what do they all have in common?

    Winner to receive $100 towards any vintage pair or any frame/sunglass of choice from the original design section including from the "upcoming styles" section at the official MB eyewear outfitter: allynscura.com.

    Answers:

    The correct answers were provided by Nicholas Swisher, and he even got the tiebreaker question right (they are all born under the sign of Aquarius), and noted the disputed birthdate of Humphrey Bogart. Well done, sir. Enjoy your new eyewear.

    Top: James Dean, Paul Newman, Juan Garcia Esquivel
    Middle: Humphrey Bogart, S. J. Perelman, Clark Gable
    Bottom: Jack Benny, James Joyce, William S. Burroughs

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    1.27.09

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  • Q: What's your take on glasses? I'm nearsighted and I wear contacts most of the time, but occasionally I do like to wear my glasses (for the sake of the "look"). Do you have any recommendations on things like frame (metal/plastic), shape (round, oval, square), color (black, brown, etc...), rimless or rimmed, and size? Or should I just stick to contacts?
    --4Eyes


    A: We strongly endorse eyeglasses. They are a great way to accessorize stylishly, or to achieve "the look" as you say. This "look" may even end up defining you, as they have for many MBs throughout history. As far as material and shape and rims, experiment and see what you like and don't like. We almost always end up with vintage eyewear, which you can find at antique stores or our favorite (and we reckon the best) online dealer for new old stock: allyn scura. Tell Scott (the owner) we sent you.

    See if you can identify these MBs before looking at the answers below.

    Top Row: Salvador Allende, Arthur Ashe, William S. Burroughs, Michael Caine
    Middle Row: Elvis Costello, Sammy Davis Jr., James Dean, Johnny Depp
    Bottom Row: J. William Fulbright, Mahatma Gandhi, Philip Johnson, Le Corbusier

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    1.12.09

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  • Not a Total Disaster

    Not a Total Disaster

    She's clearly not a candidate for either bare midriff or jeans tucked into boots. However, Britney Spears makes a strong case for the potential IQ-increasing power of appropriate eyewear. In her case, those frames represent about a 20-point swing.

    (magnificentbastard.com's sunglass/eyeglass coverage expanding soon.)

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    9.20.07

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