By day, Arian Fartash is a hard-working private-practice OD splitting her time between Orange County, CA, and San Francisco. But when work is over, she becomes the GlamOptometrist, an ECP superhero determined to show the world that eyewear is not just a tool for vision, but a fashion and lifestyle statement.
“Many people feel insecure about needing to wear glasses, but my super power abolishes their insecurities and creates a platform where people feel cool and confident,” explains this vanquisher of boring, who uses her wildly popular Instagram account (@glamoptometrist) to give nearly 11,000 followers the ideas, advice and encouragement they need to transform their eyecare choices from drab to fab.
“With the content I post, I want people to start a conversation. I want them to feel OK asking questions, to try new eyewear they wouldn’t normally feel comfortable wearing, and to realize that optometry isn’t just nerdy, it can be modern, forward-thinking, and fashionable,” she says.
But it’s not just eyewear fashion the GlamOptometrist brings to the masses: her goal is to make optometry more approachable and understandable.
“I’ve had so many people contact me through my Instagram account asking questions about other areas of optometry,” says Fartash. “I had one follower ask me about a pain he was getting in his eyes. When I asked him questions over chat, it turned out to be dry eyes from computer vision syndrome. I suggested he start using some preservative-free artificial tears about four times a day for relief and to step away from his work frequently. A few weeks later he wrote me back to thank me because his eyes no longer felt like they had sand in them.”
Eyewear fashion champion, optometry advisor to the multitudes, the GlamOptometrist is always just a swipe of a finger away.
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This article originally appeared in the January 2017 edition of INVISION.
