horn-rimmed

Thick dark frames

Horn-rimmed describes eyeglasses with frames made from horn, tortoiseshell, or materials that imitate their appearance—typically dark, sturdy, and slightly mottled in pattern.

The style became iconic in mid-twentieth-century America, associated with intellectuals, journalists, and later with retro fashion.

His horn-rimmed glasses gave him a scholarly look.

The term almost always modifies glasses, spectacles, or eyeglasses.

eyewear

spectacles

Corrective eyewear worn daily

glassesCorrective eyewear or tumblers
framesRigid enclosing structures
tortoiseshellMottled brown-yellow shell material

bifocals · lenses · prescription · eyeglasses · specs · monocle · pince-nez · lorgnette · trifocals · optician

intellectual

professor

Senior university teacher

scholarLearned, studious person
librarianCollection manager at reading hall
academicRelating to education or theory

bookish · studious · nerdy · brainy · erudite · learned · literary · doctoral · professorial · bespectacled

retro

vintage

Quality from past eras

midcenturyAround the 1950s
1950sDecade after WWII
1960sDecade after the fifties

old-fashioned · classic · throwback · nostalgic · preppy · collegiate · traditional · old-school · heritage · period

style

frames

Rigid enclosing structures

boldCourageous and daring
statementExpressed claim or fact
chunkyThick and lumpy

oversized · angular · rectangular · square · round · wayfarers · browline · designer · fashionable · trendy

horn-rimmed

spectacles

professor

vintage

frames

horn-rimmed

Opposites

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