Larry David Glasses

A Deep Dive & Identification of the Glasses Worn by Actor & Comedian Larry David

Sources are unsure regarding the exact brand of glasses worn by Larry David. This unique style of glasses has graced his face as far back as the early 90s and he’s never deviated from this style ever since. Since there seems to be a lot of conflicting evidence as to the exact brand of glasses worn by David I decided to go on a pointless goose chase to find as much evidence as possible as to the potential brand worn by the Seinfeld star. Prepare for another Sherlock investigation as I go hunting for Larry David’s Glasses.

Before we begin let’s provide a brief overview of the style of these glasses. The first thing to note is these are what’s known as wireframe glasses constructed with a high double bridge, and flat glass lenses. The exact colorway of these glasses seems to be anywhere from a goldish color to brass. Before I start exploring options I’m still unsure if these glasses utilize a combination of metal and acetate or simply fully metal frames. 

Larry David Wears his iconic specs in this FTX Super Bowl Ad (2022)

Larry David Glasses: What We Know

Before I begin, I always like to gain all the information we currently have on the glasses in question. The first point of call was Reddit and it quickly became apparent that I’m not the only one who’s been searching for David’s glasses. Reddit, as it always is, was very useful and common from users who suggest these are a pair of Oliver Peoples ‘MP-3 Frames. After a quick search (as seen in the image) below there really is a striking resemblance between these and the glasses worn by Larry. 

But it couldn’t be that simple, right? The problem I was having, and what was echoed in the Reddit thread, was there were slight variations between the Oliver Peoples frames and the ones worn by David. David started wearing these glasses in the early 90s when he first started Seinfeld. One user on Reddit suggests that they are custom-made or modified versions of the original Oliver Peoples MP2s from the 90s. With that in mind. I went digging further. 

Larry David Glasses: GQ has us Covered

The final piece of the puzzle came from an article written by GQ in 2020 that interviewed Larry David himself. During the said interview it said the following confirms that the glasses are indeed Oliver Peoples but doesn’t directly say which model glasses they are:

‘’The tear-shaped Oliver Peoples glasses alone have now approached a Groucho Marx or John Lennon level of personal identification. David has worn them since the early 1990s. He used to own only two pairs until a suitably paranoid producer recently went on a worldwide hunt and came up with a few backups’’. – GQ 2020

With this knowledge of the brand (confirmed) and with a rough estimate of when he first started wearing them (the early 90s) I went on the hunt for any old catalogs or advertisements I could find to see If I could find the exact pair of glasses I was looking for. 

Larry David Glasses: The Final Verdict 

Overall this whole article has been quite a pointless journey just to conclude what a Reddit thread already said. It seems that Larry David has worn a pair of Oliver Peoples MP3s for around 30 years from around the time he first started filming Senifled. Although I couldn’t find any old resemblances of these when these glasses were new in media or old advertisements I’m happy to put this one to rest. 

If you’re looking for a pair of these glasses then for the 30th anniversary of these iconic specs Oliver Peoples have re-released them for a limited time. These new glasses are slightly different than the ones worn by Larry David as they also feature acetate around the lens rims. If you’re looking for an authentic vintage pair of the M3s then they do occasionally appear on auction sites like eBay but are not only uncommon but could set you back upwards of $400.00.