4. Oh yeah, the glasses.
I wear jean shorts almost every day and if 53 years after my death people were still referring to jean shorts as “Emily McCullar shorts,” well I’d be pretty proud of myself. Obviously this will never happen, but Buddy Holly’s signature specs are to this day nearly as famous as the man himself. Young Buddy was horrified by his 20/800 vision and was certain no one would take him seriously as a four-eyed rock n’ roller. At first he tried for a less conspicuous pair but he eventually settled on those legendary black frames, which his optometrist had to buy in Mexico, as the style was not yet popular in the States. Nerds have been (almost) cool ever since, and optically-challenged musicians like John Lennon, Elvis Costello and Rivers Cuomo have had successful music careers. On a related note, Lisa Loeb has her own eyewear collection now. So there’s that. [photo]
