Headlines
5 of Our Favourite Specs-Wearing Television Characters
Specs Appeal
Throughout TV history, glasses have been used to convey a character’s serious, no-nonsense nature or their status as the ostracised outsider. And who hasn’t seen the trope where the character finally remove their glasses, piquing the interest of, well, their love interest? One thing’s for sure – when a character is in glasses, it’s always a deliberate choice aligned with the show’s themes and plotlines.
If a costume designer decides that glasses make sense for a character, the next thing they consider is what glasses suit a character’s face shape — or at least, their actor’s. For instance, square frames balance out a round face, which is helpful because cameras can create the illusion of weight gain. Or, for stylish and feminine characters like Midge Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, cat-eye frames similar to Ray-Ban offerings were used to soften actress Rachel Brosnahan’s oval features, which complement her natural lines and add a vintage twist that’s perfect for a show set in the 60s. So, if you’re looking for a pair of glasses but are unsure what suits you, compare your face shape to some of TV’s most beloved glasses-wearers below…
View this post on Instagram
Jessica Day, New Girl
View this post on Instagram
Zooey Deschanel plays an elementary school teacher who moves in with three male roommates after a bad breakup. Jess’s character is described as the textbook definition of ‘adorkable’, thanks to her perky personality – even twelve years after the show’s debut. Her square glasses, which suit Deschanel’s heart-shaped face and bangs, have set the stage for self-deprecating moments: ‘I could never date a guy who wears glasses because of the clown from my dreams who wears glasses. Oh my god, that clown is me.’
Tommy Shelby, Peaky Blinders
View this post on Instagram
This British drama that took the world by storm tells the story of the eponymous criminal gang. Shelby, played by the diamond-face-shaped Cillian Murphy, dons a now-iconic pair of circular specs in the season four premiere – causing fans to scramble for their own pair to emulate the show’s distinctive visual style. This new look signified the character’s turning of a new leaf after traumatic events left the gang’s fate hanging in the balance.
Alex Vause, Orange is the New Black
View this post on Instagram
This ensemble series about female inmates in Litchfield, New York, captured the hearts of many. Still, one character – and her signature glasses – stands out: main character Piper Chapman’s love interest, Alex Vause (Laura Prepon). In one episode, Alex’s cat-eyed frames serve as a plot device. Alex loses her glasses inside a dryer, and a fellow inmate pushes and traps her inside. So Alex and Piper hatch a plot to take revenge, which leads to the season’s most major confrontation.
Leonard Hofstadter, The Big Bang Theory
View this post on Instagram
Johnny Galecki is inseparable from his beloved role in this comedy series, and for a show about nerds, his rectangular frames fit right in. In season six, the Princeton-educated physicist enters a ‘Where’s Waldo’ competition with a unique twist: to find Waldo without wearing glasses. This results in one of Leonard’s most iconic lines: ‘He’s hard to find. If he was easy to find, the books would be called, There’s Waldo!’
Walter White, Breaking Bad
View this post on Instagram
Following a dying man’s journey from chemistry teacher to drug kingpin, Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) story is hailed by many as one of the greatest ever to hit the silver screen. Aside from his signature pork pie hat, his eyewear symbolises his descent into moral oblivion. He dons pitch-black sunglasses to transform into the mercurial Heisenberg. And in the final season, he abandons his squarish-round copper frames for visibly thicker, black frames – signifying the point of no return.
Undoubtedly, we’ll continue to see how characters’ glasses serve as a window into their unique inner lives. In today’s golden age of TV, it’ll be exciting to see which four-eyed characters become icons in their own right.
