Until I met Dr. Vivian Sarabia, I thought that eyewear consisted simply of putting on a pair of framed glasses and that’s it.

Correction, please: It’s not just "that’s it."

"People have become aware of the fact that the frame is not just there to hold the glasses," said Vivian, the original and, I should say, the one and only Eyewear Stylist to the Stars who is being imitated but never equalled. "I’m glad that people have become conscious of how their eyeglasses should be. Eyeglasses help enhance your personality because they are the first things that other people see on your face. Have your picture taken and pose in different dresses. But if you’re wearing the same pair of glasses, iisa lang ang magiging look mo."

Yes, "styling" eyeglasses is an art in itself better left in the hands of an expert.

"There are certain styles of wearing eyeglasses," added Vivian, "and they depend on what the personality of the wearer is, and his profession. Also taken into account are his haircut, his lifestyle, his type of clothes, etc."

She should know. After all, Vivian comes from the famous Sarabia Family that has been, for more than 100 years, "styling" eyeglasses for people from all walks of life, and particularly (all Philippine) presidents (Cory Aquino among them); and celebrities in sports, politics, showbiz and business (Manny Pangilinan among them). The Sarabia Clinics have branches all over the country, with many of them bearing Vivian’s name, managed by Vivian herself together with her sons Francis Sarabia (the middle child, also an ophthalmologist like his mom), Jan Sarabia Ong (the youngest, who writes for the Supreme section of The STAR) and Bryan Sarabia (the eldest, a member of the newly-formed Camerawalls band).

You see "Eyewear by Vivian Sarabia" in the credits of almost all the TV shows (and some movies) in the country, including the newscasts 24 Oras (of GMA 7, with Mike Enriquez) and Bandila (of ABS-CBN, with Korina Sanchez), and Wowowee (with Willie Revillame). The walls of Vivian’s clinics (mostly found in SM Malls) are adorned with framed montages of stars looking at the world with a wide smile - yes, through Vivian’s glasses.

"Recently," said Vivian, "I have just ’styled’ several pairs for Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The other day, Inno Sotto called, nagpapa-’style’."

If stars like Zsa Zsa Padilla, Lucy Torres, Regine Velasquez and dozens of others (including Sarah Geronimo and Ruffa Gutierrez who are among the recently-signed endorsers) claim with pride that "Only Belo touches my skin," an even bigger number of stars/celebrities take similar pride in proclaiming to the whole world that "only Vivian Sarabia ‘frames’ my eyes."

When you drop by Vivian’s clinic for a pair (or more) of eyeglasses, you just don’t point to this pair or that, Vivian and her staff are around to help you choose the right pair.

"I have to interview the client before I tell him what type of glasses he needs," said Vivian.

So what are the other factors that Vivian considers when she "styles" eyewear specially for the stars?

"For example, si Christopher (de Leon)," explained Vivian who, during this interview, was wearing a simple-but-elegant glasses by…guess who? "He would call and say, ‘Vivs, I have a new soap (or movie) coming up. So, first thing I do is ask him to describe what his role will be. He’d say, ‘At the start, my character will be like this and then he will become like this,’ so on and so forth. If his character starts out as mabait, siempre his eyewear should also be in character, ‘yung style na pang-mabait. When his character becomes bad, then his eyewear should also reflect his badness."

Before he started work on Palos (the ABS-CBN action series), Jomari Yllana also called Vivian to be "styled." And so did Vivian’s other star-clients.

Take Mike Enriquez.

"In 24 Oras, Mike wears a suit, very formal, so he needs a certain style of glasses that add to his credibility. Dapat may integrity ang kanyang look. But when he’s hosting Imbestigador, his other show (also on GMA), he wears a jacket and he looks tough, so he wears glasses with a black frame that suits his role as an imbestigador. If you notice, Mike’s look in 24 Oras is entirely different from his look in Imbestigador."

Included in Vivian’s line-up of glasses is the Silhouette which is the only frame approved by NASA as eyewear of the astronauts. It’s so nicely-designed that it blends into the wearer’s face as if part of it. Very subtle.

"I have this little trivia," said Vivian. "Did you know that, besides wearing Silhouette-framed glasses, the astronauts now in outer space have as baon a special kind of ice-cream that is vacuum-sealed? Hindi na kailangan i-refrigerate. My clinics are giving away exactly that ice-cream as promo for every purchase of a Silhouette, starting in July."

Come to think of it, has Vivian kept tabs of the celebrities she has "framed" up?

She smiled.

"The point is, ‘Sino ang hindi ko pa nai-’style’?"

You know…

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