Chanel 137 - 138

Encore.... Two versions of lovely Chanel posing in a nameless pair of blended myodisc glasses used by the same lady who later became the first owner of the Flair glasses.

Chanel is the 85th Lady behind Crystal Veil. We are discussing a second photo shoot which will take place within a few weeks. Probably in Germany. A word of praise for the model will follow.

Chanel 135 - 136

Two versions of beautiful Chanel posing in blended myodisc glasses by Flair, Rx -14.

Chanel 133 - 134

Two versions of the same portrait. Chanel posing in splendid Formlenti glasses by Christian Olivier.

Chanel 132

Fine posing by lovely Chanel in blue cat eye glasses by Zenni, Rx -12 (see also Chanel 072).

Chanel 130 - 131

Here are a few more pictures of Chanel posing in strong glasses. Here are the green bamboo cat eye glasses from picture 071. Rx around minus twelve.

Chanel 129

A nice natural quality of Chanel is the touch of asymmetry in her face. Here she shows the rounder aspect. Some young models don't like the idea of asymmetry but it is in fact an asset. Time to leave the forest and return to the carport for a few more pictures in strong glasses....

Chanel 128

Excellent posing by beautiful Chanel in the Femina glasses.

Chanel 127

Minus 3.25 is just enough to produce subtle power rings that enhance the liveliness of the portrait. It has always remained a mystery to me why brands and opticians chains use plano lenses or even empty frames for their models. Perfect imperfection is so much more attractive and "real life"!

Chanel 126

The lenses in the Femina glasses are just a touch below the model's own prescription.

Chanel 125

The Femina glasses were featured in five previous photo shoots, with Margriet (165), Daisy (143), Iris (016), Anna (042) and Merle (001, 099, 125, 138, 145, 149).

Chanel 124

These are the "Femina" glasses that were shown in the previews. A welcome find in Germany, eight years ago.

Chanel 123

Lovely Chanel's note of adieu to the Donna glasses.

Chanel 122

Chanel is the seventh model posing in the Donna glasses, being preceded by Brigitta 043, Margriet 027 (first weblog), Daisy 113, Emilia 189, Sohaila 048 (second weblog) and Mia (third weblog).

Chanel 121

The Donna glasses were used to great effect during the catwalk at the opening of my first exhibition with "Ladies behind crystal veil" in 2009. The model in question was Brigitta and she was among the very first models who did a photo shoot for me. 

Chanel 120

The Donna glasses have been in my collection since the turn of the Millennium. The frame has a nice touch of the cat eye style and the combination of pink and blue is great.

Chanel 119

These striking "Donna" glasses were used for a preview photo in the alley, just after measuring Chanel's PD and the Rx of her own glasses. She liked this frame so why not take some more pictures during the real photo shoot?

Chanel 118

Chanel has a fine taste for frames. The intense look in her eyes is second to none.

Chanel 117

These are Chanel's own glasses, thrown in for a bit of contrast with all the vintage pairs.

Chanel 116

Glasses: Gan Aimh, made in 2017
[L: -3.75; c-0.50 h / R: -3.75]

Chanel 115

Another fine portrait of beautiful Chanel to mark the end of this series in Menrad glasses from the 1970's. Be prepared for a time machine....

Chanel 114

Another gust of wind, another fine pose....

Chanel 113

Generally speaking, the frames of the 1970's were more robust than the frames of the 1980's. Chanel prefers thin frames but she kindly made an exception for this Menrad pair as the attractive honey colour softens the solid design.

Chanel 112

An example of hide and seek to avoid excessive sunlight and an overdose of glare in the lenses. The reversed "C" curve is what sets this Menrad pair apart. Whoever the first owner of these glasses was, she must have liked them very much. Both lenses and frame showed a lot of wear and tear and it took me quite a while before they were presentable to models. Nowadays I use a small ultra cleaning machine to do the work.

Chanel 111

Another attractive "en profil" capture of lovely Chanel with the wind in her hair.

Chanel 110

Menrad from Germany made many frames and my collection hosts about a dozen examples. They were trend followers, catering for clients with a rather conservative taste. The pair shown here by Chanel is the proverbial exception. My impression is that the very first drop temple glasses were beginning to emerge on the market. A clever Menrad designer thought about another way to reach the attractive "en profil" effect without destabilizing the glasses. Never mind the gust of wind....

Chanel 109

Glasses: Menrad, mid / late 1970's
[L: -3.50; c-1.00 h / R: -4.50; c-0.50 o]

Chanel 108

Chanel in Wonderland.... Isn't it great that glasses made when her mother was a baby can give a beautiful young model perfect eyesight and splendid looks?

Chanel 107

"Smoking kills. Stop now". Chanel is not a smoker so she did not need the warning sign on the packet. I forgot to bring a book to the forest for this series. Here Chanel is testing the effect of bifocal lenses. The first owner of the Rodenstock glasses was probably a lady in her early fifties. Nowadays the excessive use of devices like the smartphone by young people can lead to myopia but also to presbyopia if the device is held too close to the eyes. Here Chanel is holding the packet at the proper distance for reading. 

Chanel 106

Selecting the most suitable glasses for a new model always goes in two steps. The preliminary selection is my task and I always bring a wide array of styles. The second step is mainly done by the model. A gentleman should always give a lady a choice but I always give a bit of advice. Generally speaking, models with perfect eyesight are interested in trying out as many styles as possible. This makes sense. Everything is new to them. By contrast, models who wear prescription glasses on a daily basis have already developed an outspoken taste for frames that suit them best. The problem is often the limited variation in frames offered by opticians. This is not their fault. It's simply a matter of what is promoted by the brands and this is heavily influenced by trends in fashion. The generation of Chanel has seen little else than the black hipster glasses that swept away the retro style of the 1990's and 2000's. It's always nice to hear the reactions of young models when they get the chance to make the acquaintance of the styles that were popular during the 1970's and 1980's. Chanel discovered that rounded frames really suit her face. She also clearly prefers thin frames over massive frames. This Rodenstock pair is not thin but the soft red and transparent frame does not dominate her face at all. This is Chanel with glasses, not glasses with Chanel. The black hipster style did not suit all faces. During the past year, it seems like thin, rounded metal frames are becoming the new trend. During her photo shoot, Chanel said that she will be looking for large, thin metal frames when it's time for new glasses.

Chanel 105

It is my standard policy to select glasses which give a new model at least fairly good eyesight during the first half of her photo shoot. Sometimes gets even better than "fairly good", depending on the model's prescription. Substantial astigmatism tends to limit the options offered by my vast collection. No such problem here. Chanel has a simple, straightforward prescription and these Rodenstock glasses gave her perfect eyesight.

Chanel 104

Fine "pensive mood" posing by Chanel, weighing the pros and cons of bifocals. Chanel is the fifth model posing in these glasses. For comparison: Farishta 240 (first weblog), Daisy 067 (second weblog), Kimberley 103 and Nefeli 044 (third weblog). Daisy and Nefeli had the same prescription as Chanel.

Chanel 103

These splendid bifocals were a buy at the "Waterlooplein" flea market, about thirty years ago. They belong to the "Exclusiv" series made by Rodenstock from Germany.

Chanel 102

Glasses: Rodenstock E 513, made circa 1980
[L: -3.50; c-0.50 o / R: -4.00; c-0.25 v / bif add 2.00]