By Deirdre Carroll: Senior Editor


GOINGDOTTY POSTER
Who: Arbiters of high fashion like Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Lanvin, Oscar de la Renta and Miu Miu, as well as style bloggers and celebrity starlets the likes of Kate Winslet, Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Connelly have all been seen going a little dotty lately.

What: We started seeing this month’s trend hit the runways all the way back in September 2009 during the Spring/Summer 2010 shows. Come March of this year, a trend that began as a slow burn is now a full blown conflagration. Polka dots are everywhere, including eyewear, and similar to candy, this outlandish print can sometimes make you feel a little… nutty. But just like a sugar rush, it’s easy to feel cheerful when wearing polka dots. Therefore, summer is the perfect time to get bespeckled and we’ve rounded up some sweetly spotted styles to kick off the season.

Wear: (clockwise from top left) If what your looking for is “wearable” polka dots than the semi-rimless Morgenthal Frederics G10 is the way to go; genuine horn hand-painted in a spotty tort pattern gives polka dots a decidedly upscale feel. Betsey Johnson likes spots, be they cheetah or polka, so it isn’t surprising that in her eyewear collection with Legacie she has a whole capsule collection devoted to them, shown here, the Ombre Dots (style BJ0116) optical style. Polka dots are inherently feminine, so it’s easy to see why a women’s brand like Jee Vice would find a place for them in its collection; in this case, they’re voluptuously placed on the interior of the saucy Fatale ophthalmic style in red. Long known for their ‘in-your-face’ eyewear styles, l.a. eyeworks has turned this already high-impact print on its ear by overlaying a perforated metal sheet on a contrasting acetate frame for a dot “print” with depth. From runway to sun way, Marc Jacobs puts his money where his mouth is with the dotty printed MJ367/S sunglasses from Safilo.

Why: This recent explosion of polka dots proves they can be sweet without the figurative toothache. While the simple spots are typically associated with wholesome fare such as itsy bitsy bikinis and toddler petticoats, thanks to high fashion designers the print has been re-energized and feels fresh again. Luckily, a perennially favorite print and an iconic classic, today’s polka dot eyewear can be assured of a long style life. ■

dcarroll@jobson.com