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"I'm a sweet innocent girl and there is nothing wrong with my looks in these glasses, or?"

Only a man with a heart of stone would not succumb to a beautiful young woman wearing her extravagant glasses with pride....

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"Some more of this, please" was my reaction on the previous pose. And for sure, the actress Nerissa needed no further encouragement. Here she is clearly in debate with somebody who made a stupid remark about her highly unusual glasses. Moments like these are so rewarding for a photographer.

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"Hey you, don't criticize my glasses.... I love them to bits!"

Whoever the first owner of the Saphira glasses was, she would probably recognize herself in this spontaneous pose by lovely Nerissa.

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The 1970's were the decade of experimental frame design, sometimes with wild abandon. All thumb rules developed over the past two decades were thrown overboard. The Saphira glasses shown here are a great example of the new line in thinking about frame design. Who on earth would consider to wear glasses with high, narrow lenses? Even for me it was a minor shock to discover this Saphira pair at the "Waterlooplein" flea market in the 1980's. There had not been any sightings in the streets but apparently at least one Amsterdam lady had sported them for many years. Not as a whim but as a personal statement. The wear and tear of the frame testified to that. 

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Glasses: Saphira, early / mid 1970's
[L=R: -3.50]

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Nerissa is a young lady with many talents. She has reached the finals in many beauty queen contests all over the world. She is also a highly experienced model and very much in demand as an actress in popular television series. Given this background I suggested to her that we could try a mixture of modeling and acting. Nerissa was all go for it. Great!

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Life can be full of surprises. Nerissa arrived an hour and a half after the first model of the day left. There was just enough time to pack the fifty glasses selected for Tereza and unpack the fifty glasses selected for Nerissa. Only a few pairs remained on the table, including these Minerva glasses. The lenses are minus five, exactly halfway the prescriptions of both models. A touch too weak for Tereza and a touch too strong for Nerissa. But it's easier for flexible young eyes to handle stronger glasses than weaker glasses. Nerissa bridged the -1.00 gap with ease. But let's talk beer for a moment. Many Czech people love their beer, even in Prague where wine bars are far from scarce. It was a beautiful sunny day. Indian Summer. When Nerissa arrived, I asked her if she preferred tea or coffee. The 89th Lady behind crystal veil asked politely if we had a beer in the fridge. Yes, one can. Needless to say, the beer can was soon used as a requisite.