Better late than never I suppose.  I've been meaning to post last weekend's NBA All-Star recap all week, and believe me, this year still delivered plenty of source material.  It seems the popularity of glasses has not waned for our nation's foremost basketball stars.

Here's the best:

Kevin Durant's outfit may be suspect, but he always gets the most flattering fit on his glasses

LeBron James' polarized sunglasses also have a gradient tint, which is quite popular this season (changing from darker at top to lighter at the bottom).  Lot's of glasses being sported by his groupies in the background too,

I actually don't think Russell Westbrook's glasses are that bad here! He's getting better at using more appropriate ly sized frames

James Harden takes home the prize for best glasses style in my book -- great fit, well-proportioned shape. His beard makes a very rectangular face shape, so the more rounded frames balance things out nicely.  However picked these frames for him: job well done.

Teammates, and masters of the NBA glasses trend.  Russell has really come a long way; he even pulls off the very hard to wear clear plastic frames here!

Everyone's glasses styles were so much improved this year, I found hardly anyone that misfired on the size and fit of their glasses.  Even Carmello's difficult to wear round frames are an appropriate fit to the size of his face -- just a very hard shape for anyone to look great in.

Carmello Anthony's round sunglasses are a difficult shape for anyone to pull off.

Amanda Seyfried in red

It's that time of year again.  Flex spending time.  If you have some excess funds needing to be spent before the new year, don't forget that prescription glasses (ophthalmic or sunglasses) qualify for medical expenses. Now is a great time to get a back up pair of glasses if you wear contact lenses most of the time, or add some color to your wardrobe by investing in a fun pair of glasses if you are ready to branch out.

Zoe Saldana's Lenscrafters ad; makes me want new red glasses

Color is really my favorite part of wearing glasses, and the biggest reason that plastic (or zyl) frames continue to be all the rage.  If you are a person that tends to stick to the status quo in their fashion statements, trying out a different pair of glasses can be an easy place to start.  The great thing about glasses is that you don't need to wear makeup or jewelry or a really crazy outfit to pull interesting glasses off.  They become and instant focal point on your face, and why wouldn't you want to draw people's attention to your eyes?

These are some of my favorite Westbrook glasses.  They actually almost fit.

What to look for:

The last thing you want to wear are loud, colorful glasses that are overwhelmingly too big or too small for your face.  You are going to look like Russell Westbrook real quick if you combo color with a terrible fit.  Make sure your eyes are centered in the middle of the frame, both horizontally and vertically.  You also want to find a complimentary face shape.  Round frames look best on people with square faces, and vice versa (see my posts on how to fit glasses for more details). A trained optician will be able to determine your face shape, and make appropriate suggestions to the fit that works for you.

Try experimenting with color, and you may find that the pair of "extra" glasses that you got for a fun change will quickly become your favorite pair!

At this point, every passing basketball game brings us one step closer to a horrible finality: the end of NBA post-game fashion!  I have gotten so addicted to the post-game interview glasses display, I don't know what I am going to do with my late nights when the playoffs are over.  Not to mention, well there will be no more basketball to watch too.  Both are depressing thoughts.

But until then, let's delve into the incredible eyewear fashion of the Finals thus far:

GAME 1


Russel Westbrook's facial expression just goes so well with his ensemble in this screencap--I couldn't resist.  Honestly, these glasses fit him a bit better than usual, so I would say this is a step in the right direction.  His eyes are finally centered in the frame!
Kevin Durant looking daper in a suit, tie, and great fitting zyl frames.  These frames look stylish and appropriately sized.  I'm so used to seeing these guys wear hugely oversized frames, this almost looks small!  Dark plastics are one of the biggest wearable trends in eyewear, so if you are shopping for glasses,  I would use these frames as a good guide.

via fearthesword.com

I never suspected my most popular post on Eyedolatry all time would be a short segment on NBA players wearing glasses.  (Click here to access the post that sparked my realization of the original eyewear obsession).  Fortunately (or unfortunately in some player's cases) the trend for the NBA's top players to sport the latest eyewear fashions is rolling full steam ahead.  Here's the latest look at some of the top eyewear sported in this year's playoffs so far:

Paul Pierce


The Celtics star gave a post-game interview in these large rimmed zyl frames.  My verdict: these frames are much too large.  Look at all of the excess space between the side of Pierce's head and the outer rim of the frame.  If you see more air than face, this is a big indicator that your frames are too large.  Even when purchasing oversized frames for the "geek" eyewear trend, it is still best to get a deep frame (which will give you that oversize look) that actually fits your face for a tailored appearance. For more information on properly fitting  oversize "geek chic" frames to your face, please visit this post.

LeBron James
James has been photographed in glasses so many times, but honestly, there's a reason he is the poster-child of this trend.  He knows how to wear these glasses.  His frames fit his face; his eyes are perfectly centered in the lenses both horizontally and vertically, and there is no excessive air visible between the line of his face and the edge of the rim.  Somehow he gets it right every time!

Kevin Durant
Durant (pictured here on the right) actually does a great job with his glasses as well.  Let's ignore his less fortunately styled teammate to the left for a moment, and focus on the fit of Durant's frames.  They are sized appropriately, and  they appear to be well-centered even when we are viewing him from this angle.  The color of the frame is a little washed out, but clear and caramel colored plastics are having a major moment right now, despite being very difficult to wear.  Overall a good job.

Russell Westbrook
Let me start with this photo from Westbrook's own facebook page.  I admire his willingness to take fashion risks (and what is fashion but one risk after another anyway?) but these frames are really not helping anything.  Again, they are WAY too large, his eyes are positioned very high in the frames giving too much excess lens inferiorly, and with his round face shape, a round rimmed frame is never going to be the best choice.  (See this post for more information on better options for round faces)

Does Westbrook (or any of these NBA players) actually need glasses?  Definitely not in Westbrook's case at least.  Here is an excerpt from a "Daily Thunder" interview (courtesy http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/2012/05/15/russell-westbrook-talks-fashion-ive-been-knowing-how-to-dress-for-a-while/)

Reporter: Your wardrobe last night drew national attention. I loved the glasses. Where’d you come up with that style? 

Westbrook: I’ve been wearing glasses all season. I think last night was probably just the night they finally seen it.

Reporter: Now why no lenses in the frames? 

Westbrook: I see better without ‘em.

Reporter: So why wear ‘em at all then? Just a fashion statement? 

Westbrook: There you go. 

Reporter: Where’d you get the idea? 

Westbrook: I’ve been knowing how to dress for a while.

Well, I think that last comment has sparked quite a bit of internet debate, but I am definitely not qualified to judge overall fashion statements.  Let me stick to glasses.


Compare Westbrook's (right) to Durant's frames here.  These frames aren't terrible, but again, too round for his face.  A frame like Durant's that is slightly more rectangular in shape would be much more flattering.  Conversely, Durant's face shape is much longer and he could wear a round frame like Westbrook's more easily.  Just some nuances of the glasses world.


And to the right we have Westbrook's now infamous "Gone Fishing" ensemble.  I'm not going to give any serious critiques here because that would be positively ridiculous.  I am still a big fan of red frames in case anyone is wondering.  The point that I respect about Westbrook's glasses choices is that he is obviously just trying to have fun.  And I think any celebrity encouraging the world that glasses are fun and stylish is a great thing to do!