Buying a Monocle

[james_timothy]



I wish I could understand, even if just for a moment, what it's like to wake up one day and think, "I need a monocle."

 

[FLMountainMan]



Most modern monocles are cheaply made and fall apart after a few intense peers.

What exactly is an "intense peer"?

 

[MikeDT]

I'm trying to think of what "special occasions" would require a monocle, period fancy dress perhaps?

Also does one require corrective lenses for just one eye or both?

 

[james_timothy]



What exactly is an "intense peer"?

Closely related to the "Intense leer".

 

[hyt123]

Warning: Audio NSFW

 

[antikantian]



What occassion would require a monocle? A live action Monopoly game? Auditioning for the role of Mr. Peanut? A showing of Der Ring des Nibelungen? I'm really, really curious about this. Sounds too good to be true.

Wait, you mean I could have legitimately worn a monocle to the last Ring cycle at the Met? That was my one (or four) chance(s)!

 

[curzon]



I'm trying to think of what "special occasions" would require a monocle...?

Lots of 'em. Running a POW camp. Scolding Schultz. Confiding in Hogan. Sucking up to General Burkhalter. Cowering before Major Hochstetter. Romancing Fräulein Hilda.

Also does one require corrective lenses for just one eye or both?

Monocle + eye patch over the other eye.



Anyone rockin' a pince-nez?

 

[erpet]



To satisfy my curiosity, I just got to try on a monocle at home through the Warby Parker free home try-on program (along with 4 normal frames). Why? Because.
Here are my reactions/questions:

• How does anyone wear one?! It only stayed in for a few seconds at a time. My face is not built for swagger.
• which eye would be the one to get? If you have an rx, it's most likely different and having only one eye isn't helpful.
• who besides a Brooklyn hipster, Sherlock Holmes cosplay freaks and evil billionaires could really rock this look?

An allegedly true story from the Kingdom of Sweden:

The King's adjutant, Admiral Anderberg and the finance minister Gunnar Sträng (a Social Democrat, man of the people) are standing in the courtyard of the royal castle in Stockholm, sometime during the 60's. Sträng tries to make conversation:

- How long does it take to learn how to carry a monocle so elegantly?

- Two generations.

 

[Brian Gallagher]

I know this is an old thread however I am passionate about the monocle and think it should come back into fashion! I know you can also get them from http://www.themonocleshop.com

 

[comrade]



Does anyone here own a monocle? I'm looking to buy one, not as part of daily wear by any means but for those special occasions that require one. I'd like it to be something that I would own for a couple years, so not cheaply made.

Don't own one. But this limited selection is the real thing, not a theatrical prop.

http://eyeglass.com/monocles.html

 

[dieworkwear]

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[AndyMG]

I'm sorry, but unless you're Patrick Moore, wearing a monocle just screams of desperate attention seeking. As has been mentioned earlier - if you're going to a fancy dress party, fair enough. If only one eye needs correction, I'm sure you can get glasses with one plain lens.

 

[msulinski]

Most modern monocles are cheaply made and fall apart after a few intense peers. If you want something you can use for serious inspections, you should probably go vintage. Once Upon A Midnight, Dearie in NY has a nice selection and the staff all wear monocles so they have good, practical advice.

So the harder you look through it, the more likely it is to fall apart? How exactly does a monocle fall apart anyway?

 

[ysc]

My gradfather wore (used?) a monocle although he eventually stopped because it became so unusual. Anyway I have a couple of his monocles, one has a sort of small metal frame projecting from the monocle itself (exactly like the one below, which google found for me) that means it stays in easily, without any effort and pops out without any effort. It feels fairly robust as well. If I was going to buy a monocle I would get one of that style, but it would be a pretty ostentatious accessory these days.



He said he was sorry when they became so unusual because they had been so practical - he didn't need prescription glasses, but did need reading glasses, wearing a monocle meant he could read or look at small details quickly when out and about. For what it is worth he wasn't some sneering waist-coated banker, he was a career army doctor and then retired to be a farmer.

 

[F. Corbera]

I'm surprised and a little disappointed that I have not posted in this thread, and now it's too late.