Identity Crisis Is Over!

Pinhole photograph of Brother One Feather’s Van in Santa Barbara, California.
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Long time no blog… I’ll try to catch up this week and post a few! I spent the last few weeks having an identity crisis, so this blog is a farewell to the pointy glasses I wore for the last 7 years.  A few weeks ago, at dinner with a friend, my glasses fogged up after walking into the restaurant and I grabbed a napkin to wipe them dry.  It was that moment that I noticed a crack in the arm by the screw. I teared up and knew I had to start looking for a replacement pair.

After dinner we went to 4 glasses shops and I tried on 100′s of pairs of glasses.  With every pair I wanted to burst into tears. Korea doesn’t have cateye glasses.  One of the shop owners even called them “Euro Glasses”.  I found 2 possible candidates that night and went home to sleep on it. The next day I went back, received the best eye exam ever and decided on a pair of rectangle lavender frames.  I’m not sure what I was thinking, I was so sad and decided to buy something totally different and lavender it was…

I couldn’t think straight.  I couldn’t see straight.  I should have never bought those frames at such a vulnerable time.  Wearing them for the next 4 days I realized that they just weren’t me. Then I stopped wearing them all together and went through the next 2 weeks seeing the world a little fuzzy… non stop headaches, blurry faces… I kept telling myself, my pinhole photographs are blurry so I’m finally seeing the world through a pinhole camera.

After work I would go home, put on my glasses and sigh relief, for clear vision is truly marvelous. By the end of last week I knew I had to find a pair of glasses.  I set out for Seoul on Saturday and was determined to find MYSELF.  I know there is more to me than a pair of glasses, but after 7 years of wearing the same pair, they really did become a part of me. I would get recognized everywhere I went and the 7 years of compliments were warm fuzzies for my ego.  I would put them on and I would feel like myself.  I knew who I was when I wore my glasses.  Rarely did I meet a person with similar frames. They were the perfect shape for my face and the perfect accessory to all my outfits.  Vintage hats and my glasses went together like peanut butter and nutella.

Every year I would go look for another pair of glasses.  Two years ago, I even purchased a pair, the credit card transaction was complete and a pair of sparkly purple Prada frames were about to be mine.  The feeling that went through my body after I signed the credit card slip was too much and I freaked out and had him refund my money and cancel the order.  I got new lenses put in my cateyes and was so relieved that I didn’t make that mistake.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. I went to drop off film in Sinsa-dong and decided to check out the neighborhood. Art galleries, vintage boutiques, fancy dress shops, coffee shops and fashionistas outlined the streets!  I was in heaven. The perfect neighborhood.  I had a feeling that I would find a splendid boutique selling unique frames. AND I DID! Yni, was filled with sexy, whimsical, and wild frames. I tried on almost every pair but wasn’t satisfied, UNTIL I was walking out the door and spotted a pair in the window case. I walked back in, tried them on and it was love at first sight!

I loved my cateyes but will admit for the past 12 years I have been looking for a pair of ‘Weezer Style’ frames like some I had in high school.  I was never successful because they usually are too small for my face.  BUT these, these were perfect.  Heavy black square frames, with equal parts of artsy goodness, sass, mystery and sexy librarian bookworm. These Japanese frames are now the perfect accessory to all my outfits.  They give me back my edge.  They make me want to take pinhole photographs.  They make me want to sit in coffee shops reading books and art magazines.  They make me feel smart and sassy.  They make me feel good.

The feelings of being insecure and lost these past few weeks have finally subsided, the identity crisis is over and life can go on.  Pointy cat eye glasses, I adored you these past 7 years and those years will always be remember with happiness!!!  I will always be looking for the next pair of perfect cateye frames, but for now, for now I am thrilled with these fantastic new frames.