Monday, April 17, 2006
The Merits of Monocles
While an eye patch was a key player in one episode, the writers of Seinfeld never made use of its translucent cousin, the monocle. And it looks like they should have.
Geoff Boucher composed this hilarious article for the LA Times about monocles-as-fashion through the ages. He writes, "History tells us the monocle was devised in the 19th century by the British, who also invented mutton-chop sideburns and the term 'harrumph,' and all three go together quite nicely."
However, the money quote is not provided by Boucher, but by a 1961 magazine article on the personal advantages of wearing a monocle:
Geoff Boucher composed this hilarious article for the LA Times about monocles-as-fashion through the ages. He writes, "History tells us the monocle was devised in the 19th century by the British, who also invented mutton-chop sideburns and the term 'harrumph,' and all three go together quite nicely."
However, the money quote is not provided by Boucher, but by a 1961 magazine article on the personal advantages of wearing a monocle:
"By its very insertion between cheekbone and brow, the monocle gives you a new interesting face. The keystone of the new look is the sneer, due less to a state of mind than a muscle contraction necessary to screw, so to speak, the monocle in the eye socket. The social value of the sneer? Incalculable."
