In the 1950s, James Dean wore a horn-rimmed acetate frame called the ARNEL, made by Tart Optical of Brooklyn. It was discontinued shortly after he was. The frame became one of those small artifacts that quietly outlasts the person who wore it. Referenced, copied, never quite reproduced.
In 1979, a small Manhattan operation called Shady Character, working out of dead-stock Tart Optical molds, brought the frame back. They named it the Arnie. They put it at the center of an unauthorized James Dean Eyewear Collection. The Dean Foundation sued. Production stopped. The remaining inventory was restamped Rebel, after Rebel Without A Cause, and quietly moved out the door. Those original Arnies became some of the most elusive frames of the decade.
Forty-five years later, Shady Character and the James Dean Foundation are back at the same table. The rights have been formally acquired from the Estate. The lawyers are pleased. The frame is finally legal.
Forty-five years on, the frame that got sued is the frame that got licensed.
A faithful reissue, finally on paper.
The Arnie is a keyhole-wellington hybrid in the round-edged, faintly bookish proportions Dean favored on screen and off. The front studs carry the same double-diamond detail as the original 1950s ARNEL. A small, easily missed signature that, once you've noticed it, you'll find yourself looking for on every other pair of glasses you see.
The frame is hand-made in Japan from Takiron cellulose acetate: cotton-oil-based, the way it used to be made, before the industry mostly switched to cheaper plastics. The clip-on is titanium, plated in 16K gold, fitted with Shima Optics sun lenses, laser-etched with the James Dean signature.
Each frame is individually numbered out of three hundred and fifty.
Sizes & materials.
- Sizes
- 44 □ 22 · 44 □ 24 · 46 □ 22 · 46 □ 24
Temple length 145 mm across all sizes - Colors
- Black with blue clip · Indiana Brown with green clip
- Frame
- Takiron cellulose acetate (cotton-oil-based), hand-finished in Japan
- Hardware
- Titanium clip-on, plated in 16K gold
- Lenses
- Shima Optics, laser-etched with James Dean signature
- Edition
- Each frame numbered, 350 total. Rx-ready.
Everything included.
- Arnie acetate frame, individually numbered
- Titanium 16K gold-plated clip-on with James Dean etched lenses
- Hard frame case
- Clip-on case
- Cotton tote bag
- A1 art print, one of three editions, assigned at random
- Hardcover booklet
- Brass-trimmed keychain
- Microfibre cleaning cloth
- Numbered collector's card
A small edition, deliberately so.
The number is the number. There will be no second run.
In stock, in New York.
The Box Set is on display now at all three Visionary Optics shops. Walk in to try the Arnie on, sit with the box, and decide for yourself.
Upper East Side
Visionary Optics
Chelsea
Visionary Optics
Carroll Gardens
Visionary Optics
Stocked across all three of our shops, while supply lasts.