Sitcoms (or situation comedies, to give them their full name) have been providing households with hearty belly-laughs since 1947 – when a programme called Pinwright’s Progress first hit the screens.
Hardly anyone has actually seen this show due to the fact the footage was recorded over 70 years ago, but from what we can gather, it told the tale of a shopkeeper and his pesky customers. Whilst it would probably be a bit stiff by modern standards, this black and white programme laid down the classic sitcom formula of recurring characters and daft hijinks still used in the age of ‘peak TV’ and endless box-set binging.
These days, sitcoms are everywhere — and do you know what else is everywhere in sitcoms? Yep, you guessed it — glasses.
Here are a few of our favourite bespectacled sitcom stars…
George Costanza -Seinfeld
At the top we’ve got Mr George Costanza. Seinfeld might be named after wise-cracking stand-up comic and devout cereal lover Jerry Seinfeld, but to a lot of people, George is the true star of the show. Alright, he’s a complete weasel, constantly lying and conniving to get ahead, but when it comes to sitcoms, the more despicable the character, the better.
He’s also a pretty sharp dresser, and whilst his Russian sable hat might be a bit much for most people, his trademark outfit of button-down plaid shirts, Nike Cortez trainers and round-framed spectacles has aged surprisingly well.
Want to master your domain? The Garrett Leight Wilson M frames are just the ticket.
Eddy – Bottom
Sophisticated probably isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think of Bottom — that classic English comedy about two hapless losers living in squalid conditions in their damp London flat — but bear with us here…
If you look past the pathetic schemes, never-ending slapstick battles and questionable meals, you’ll notice those chunky, rectangle-framed glasses that Eddy wears are a real touch of class that even Michael Caine would approve of.
On a similar tip, we’d go with the Garrett Leight Bentley. Just watch out for frying pans…
Jess – New Girl
Next up, we’ve got Jess from New Girl. This may seem like a harmless inclusion, but it turns out there’s actually a bit of controversy here. Why? Well, some eagle-eyed viewers have spotted the glasses worn by Zooey Deschanel’s character don’t actually have lenses in them at all.
This might sound a bit strange, but according to our research this is fairly common practice in the television industry as reflecting lenses can cause glare and distract from the ‘viewing experience’.
All that aside, they’re a top pair of glasses with a classic shape, not a million miles off the Garrett Leight Naples frames.
Mike – The Young Ones
Every sitcom needs a straight guy, and in The Young Ones, it’s Mike. With his baffling puns and low-end cons, he’s hardly the most normal character ever to be devised – but in relation to the rest of his housemates, he’s a bastion of sanity.
It’s maybe also worth mentioning that he’s often referred to as ‘The Cool Person’ – helped no doubt by that big ol’ pair of aviators.
Be like Mike with Jacques Marie Mage's Jagger frames.
Dwight – The Office (US)
And finally, let’s wrap this up with Dwight from the American version of The Office. Whilst this programme started out as a state-side adaption of Ricky Gervais’s breakout show, it quickly became its own thing – helped no doubt by strong individual characters like Steve Carell’s Michael Scott and Rainn Wilson as Dwight Kurt Schrute III.
Even though Dwight was based on Gareth from the English original, he’s far from a straight copy — and unlike his gaunt Slough counterpart, he lives on a 60-acre beet farm and sports a very respectable set of spectacles, complete with a seldom-seen top-bar. Very nice indeed.
For that time-honoured ‘Assistant to the Regional Manager’ style, we’d choose the TB-109-A from Thom Browne.
