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Jan 23, 2024

Eyeglass chains back in style as Gen

It’s no secret that Gen Z is making waves in the fashion industry nowadays, with new trends and the return of old ones. These stylish fashionistas have brought back cargo pants, perms, and, now,

It’s no secret that Gen Z is making waves in the fashion industry nowadays, with new trends and the return of old ones. These stylish fashionistas have brought back cargo pants, perms, and, now, eyeglasses straps, all with a modern twist.

Eyeglass stores and jewelry businesses across metro Detroit are seeing a blast from the past with the return of eyeglass straps, also commonly referred to as chains or cords. A popular trend dating to the Victorian era, eyeglass straps were considered practical, despite making men and women look like grandparents.

These days, eyeglass straps have a more stylish and trendy look, with a diverse range of options from which to choose. While still practical, customers have shifted away from the older, bulkier feel, and moved toward unique and fashionable straps, thanks to social media and modern culture.

TikTok, a social platform for short-form videos, has plenty of users dedicated to eyeglass straps, getting numerous interactions, likes and comments.

Bry Rodriguez, 30, of Mesa, Arizona, is also known as TikTok user @brysheyra, and she often creates videos on the platform to promote and sell hand-designed eyeglass straps.

"I see eyeglass chains as a way to decorate your outfit and face," she said. "I'm actually really bad at social media, so I'm glad my work was able to speak for itself for years before one particular TikTok that I made blew up. I do thank the Cottagecore, Witchy, and Fairy Aesthetic for (this) return."

On social media, eyeglass straps have become much more popular, especially on TikTok. The hashtag "eyeglass chain" has nearly 6 million views, encouraging viewers to hop on the trend. Models and celebrities have also been spotted with the accessories, swaying their fans to follow in their footsteps.

Rodriguez, who has been designing and making jewelry since a young age, is often inspired by different things in her environment.

"A lot of my inspiration just comes to me naturally from anything I like or makes me happy," she said. "It can be from a movie scene, a walk in the woods, park(s), greenhouses or just from reading a book. Heck, sometimes just a friend's aesthetic inspires me."

Rodriguez said she most enjoys interacting with her customers and her ability to be as creative as she wants.

"My work brings me all different types of joys," she said. "The fact that I'm doing what I love, (I get to) be as creative as I want to be, and have everyone who wears my pieces feel like the magical being that they are. That's the most fulfilling fact to me when people just even send me a thank you message for the piece, it's a truly emotional moment to me.

Paul Rudy, 56, the CEO of De Suave Inc. and Detroit Bracelet Co., said eyeglass straps have come a long way over the years while remaining convenient and useful.

“Obviously, you don’t want to lose your expensive glasses and you want them around when you need them. And, of course, you don’t want to look like an old lady, so ours are fun,” he said. “One was for old ladies and now these are for anybody who wants to wear them.”

Rodriguez shared a similar perspective, saying it was primarily viewed as an item "your grandma would wear" in prior times.

She continued, "Today, I believe they can be worn as a jewelry piece that compliments your outfit, and you don't feel self-conscious for wearing glasses."

At De Suave Inc. and Detroit Bracelet Co., all eyeglass straps are hand-made and uniquely crafted using glass beads, gemstones and various types of leather. Typically, each strap is labor intensive and takes anywhere from a couple of minutes to a half hour to make, Rudy said.

Rudy added individuals often pick out straps as a fashion accessory to match their outfits and they can be used for all types of glasses, including reading lenses and sunglasses.

De Suave Inc. makes all sorts of eyeglass straps, from simple, classic looks to handwoven to colorful beading. Some of the most popular choices include classic leather, sunburst, bubble gum and Park Avenue.

Rudy said a couple of eyeglass straps are also named after friends and family. The Suzanne strap is named after his late mom, and the Joan version is named after one of his employees. Joan "keeps them in line," joked Rudy's nephew Antony Stern Texaj, 24, who helps with sales.

Rodriguez said eyeglass straps are a great accessory to "brighten up your face" and they often don't take long to craft.

"What's more time-consuming is finding the perfect beads, pieces and colors," she said. "Thinking of the design and finding the right colors or beads can take weeks, sometimes months."

Rodriguez uses a large range of items to craft the straps, including crystals, natural stone, ceramics and metals. She said she likes using the crystal beads because "of how imperfect and different they can be."

Rudy said he has glasses straps that are a great fit for anyone, and numerous styles are trendy.

“Back then, you would design for a season, and then after that season, trends were more, ‘OK, this season is this, this season was not that,’ where today, it’s everything. For the most part, everything is in style," he said.

Additionally, both men and women often purchase eyeglass straps but often pick out completely different styles.

“It depends on the style. We have a lot of men that buy braided leather or regular leather, so we sell a lot to them, they don’t want to lose their glasses,” Rudy said. “I (also) have a lot of young girls that come and buy them — ‘Oh these are adorable.’ ‘These are cute.’ — where before they would never wear them.”

He said men prefer simpler styles. “Men don’t want beads. They’ll take natural, woven, more conservative colors."

De Suave Inc. prides itself on its durability, as the eyeglass straps don’t often break, said Rudy. He mentioned his favorite thing is “seeing someone years later with the same chord on that never broke” as customers often love them and choose to buy more.

“They don’t break,” Rudy said. “We double thread them, we use the best of everything, where most people say, ‘oh, I bought one of those and it broke in a month.’ ”

Rudy, who designs all of the straps, said he knows his style and can pick them out of a crowd. Recently, he saw one of his own designs in Port Austin.

“I saw a lady this weekend in Port Austin. She bought two cords. She had one on and I said. ‘Hey how long have you had that?’ And she said, ‘At least a couple of years,' " he said. “We definitely go the extra step to make sure it’s the best."

Rudy, who started designing jewelry when he was 20, began his career at a show in New York. In addition to De Suave Inc. and Detroit Bracelet Co., his products are distributed to other retailers such as Amazon and Etsy. They also regularly sell at Eastern Market on the weekends. Prices fluctuate from just a few dollars to larger amounts depending on the quality of the product.