Geek is chic: Remember those nerdy glasses your dad wore? They’re all the hype

George McFly has made a triumphant comeback.

And so has your dad, circa 1975.

From Justin Timberlake to Jay-Z to Kirsten Dunst to Kanye West, all the cool kids are wearing the big, geeky, plastic eyeglasses as a fashion accessory.

Geek is chic, according to local eyewear specialists.

“Five years ago, if I were to have all these plastic frames on the shelves, patients would’ve thought I was a shop class,” said Tim Slota, an optician at Boulder Vision Center, 1645 28th St. “Now it’s geek that everybody wants.”

From Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses-turned-eyeglasses to the ’50s browline Clubmaster glasses (think Mr. Bennet in “Heroes”), those big plastic frames — in just about every color — are all the rage.

And those with perfect vision? Well, who will ever know?

“There are actually a lot of people who come in who don’t even need glasses,” said Sarah Bernatis, sales associate at College Optical, 1310 College Ave. “They just want to wear glasses as an accessory. It may be an expensive accessory, but I’ve had people ask for non-prescription glasses before.

“It’s cool to wear glasses these days.”

Linda Gleitz, manager at College Optical, said students often says the different frames in the store resemble their dads’ old glasses.

After being in the business for 30 years, Gleitz said she was there for the craze the first time around.

“It’s a trend,” Gleitz said. “This, too, shall pass. The style has gone from glasses being huge to being small and now they’re huge again.”

Gleitz and Bernatis said black, two-tone, tortoise and translucents are hip right now.

But regardless of the color — just make sure it’s geek.

“Nerdy is cool,” Bernatis said.

The specialists all agree that the thin, smaller glasses are the ones that have left the style scene.

“We don’t really love the silhouettes,” Bernatis said. “It’s like you’re wearing nothing. It’s like wearing glasses that doesn’t actually look like you’re wearing glasses. That style ages you a little bit.”

“And that is so last year,” Gleitz chimed in. “Those are so your mother’s glasses.”

Slota said he has seen some students in Boulder take geek to the highest level.

“I’ve seen guys who will actually add on the masking tape or the white tape to a new frame — they’ll add that over the bridge to go ultra geek,” Slota said.

Accessorize with a pocket protector — customers can get one with a purchase at the ultra geeky blog and Web site GeekEyewear.com, Slota said.

And if you’re too cool for school and being nerdy doesn’t strike your fancy, the specialists said (almost) any look would work.

“Boulder’s pretty eclectic,” Slota said. “They don’t follow the trend fashions as much. It’s all about what they want and what they feel good in.”