Look, They're All Eyeing Those Palin Glasses

KUALA LUMPUR: Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham. Jennifer Aniston. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. They are fashion icons whose style and taste have been copied by millions of adoring fans worldwide. But Sarah Palin?

Unlikely as it may seem, the United States vice-presidential candidate is starting a fashion craze to rival Beckham's "pob", Aniston's "Rachel" hairstyle and Onassis' "Jackie O" sunglasses which is a must-have for every style queen.

Palin, a gun-toting, moose-hunting former beauty queen, is an unexpected fashionista.

A self-confessed "pitbull in lipstick" and "hockey mum", Palin is finding her niche in the fashion industry with her Kazuo Kawasaki rimless eyeglasses.

Thousands of women around the world are rushing to their local optician demanding for a pair of "The Palin".

Even Malaysian women cannot escape this craze and sales of this branded eyewear have seen a tremendous increase.

"There is definitely a lot of enquiries into the Kawasaki glasses since the story about her eyewear was published," Eyez Optometry Sdn Bhd owner Kevin Siew told the New Straits Times.

The majority of enquiries, Siew said, came from businesswomen who insist on the "exact model, shape and colour as Palin's".

Palin wears a Kazuo Kawasaki MP-704 in light grey.

But Palin is not the first US politician to hit the headlines with her eyewear.

Former secretary of state Colin Powell became a short-lived fashion icon with his pair of Kazuo Kawasaki's.

"Women want to imitate Palin's image because it feels good to wear something similar to those worn by a powerful person. It gives them satisfaction," Siew said.

But this "good feeling" does not come cheap. This Japanese-made frame costs from RM600 to RM1,000.

Siew said a new stock of "The Palin" will arrive by the end of this month.

He expects they will be sold out very quickly.

These spectacles are so popular that cheap knock-off models are abundant.

A random check on retail websites showed a variety of "The Palin" imitations. One website even named their product "The Governess", and available at a quarter of the price of a genuine Kawasaki.

The spectacles are flying off the shelves so fast that the manufacturer, Masunaga Optical Manufacturing Co Ltd, based in Fukui, Japan, has stopped producing other Kazuo Kawasaki models to focus on "The Palin".

A Masunaga Optical (Malaysia) Co Ltd spokesperson said the head office decided to concentrate on the Palin model to cater to the high demand.

The bulk of "The Palin" orders come from the US and, surprisingly, Taiwan and the Philippines. Masunaga exports roughly 10,000 pairs of "The Palin" to the US monthly.

Palin has also hit the headlines because her lip liner is believed to be a tattoo.

But lip liner tattooing is not new to Malaysians. Along with eyebrows and eyeliners, lip liner tattooing is one of the most popular and common cosmetic procedures in the country.

A staff of Bella Skin Care beauty salon said Malaysian women have been getting cosmetic tattoos since 20 years ago.

"The procedures aren't new. Even my mother had her eyebrows and lips done," she said.

Beautician Rose Mah does not think that there will any significant rise in lip liner tattooing because of Palin.

"Unlike eyeglasses, which you can change when you get tired of it, this is a tattoo. Plus, the procedure isn't new," Mah said.

But with weeks to go before the American presidential elections, there is still plenty of time for Palin to start a new fashion craze.

(Taken from The New Straits Times Online)