美副總統候選人佩林無框眼鏡引領時尚

US vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin's fashion sense is winning applause in an unexpected quarter -- in Japan, where the maker of her rimless glasses is enjoying a sudden boost in business.

The Alaska governor's designer specs have become a hot topic on the US campaign trail, with some speculating that the 44-year-old former beauty queen is trying to show her seriousness.

But whatever her reason, Masunaga Optical Manufacturing Co. Ltd. is pleased with the media interest. The company makes Palin's MP-704 glasses, designed out of titanium by Kazuo Kawasaki.

"Few politicians, especially women, go out with glasses. We're happy to see her wear the glasses," a company spokeswoman said.

"We have already seen a positive effect," she added, saying orders and inquiries from retailers and customers were increasing.

Masunaga Optical sells 6,000 to 7,000 frames of the MP-704 model globally a year, she said, while declining to say how many orders it received since Palin was picked by Republican White House candidate John McCain.

The frames sell for 33,600 yen (310 dollars) in Japan. Lens prices vary greatly, depending on the user's needs and preferences.

"The brand's concept is 'smart and high technology,' removing any unnecessary decoration with the sides of the glasses directly jointed into the lens," the spokeswoman said.

Masunaga Optical was established in 1905 in the central prefecture of Fukui, some 300 kilometres west of Tokyo.

Palin's glasses may fuel a rivalry in the US presidential race in Fukui, home to the city of Obama, where residents have started a campaign to support accidental namesake Barack Obama.

美國副總統候選人莎拉•佩林的時尚品味出人意料地在日本受到追捧。她所佩戴的無框眼鏡就產自那裏，現如今這款眼鏡在日本迅速流行，銷量大增。

這位阿拉斯加州州長鼻樑上的那副名牌眼鏡成爲美國總統大選中的一個熱門話題，一些人認爲這位44歲的前“選美大賽皇后”戴上眼鏡是爲了讓自己顯得嚴肅莊重。

不過無論是什麼原因，媒體的關注可是讓日本增永眼鏡公司嚐到了甜頭。該公司生產的佩林所戴的那款MP-704鈦材眼鏡是由（日本著名工業設計師）川崎和男設計的。

增永眼鏡公司的一位女發言人說：“很少有政界人士在公共場合戴眼鏡，尤其是女性。很高興看到佩林戴上我們生產的眼鏡。”

“我們已經看到‘佩林效應’。”她說，最近公司接到的這款眼鏡的訂單和顧客的問詢都在增加。

據這位發言人介紹，增永眼鏡公司的MP-704鏡框每年在全球的銷量爲六千至七千副。不過她拒絕透露公司在佩林被麥凱恩選爲競選副手後接到的訂單數目。

這款鏡框在日本的售價爲33600（310美元）日元。眼鏡的價格會隨着顧客的需求和喜好出現較大波動。

這位發言人說：“這個品牌的鏡框講究‘時尚和高科技’，鏡片兩側直接固定在鏡架上，沒有任何多餘的裝飾。”

增永眼鏡公司於1905年在日本中部的福井縣成立，福井縣地處東京以西約300公里。

佩林的眼鏡可能會在福井引發一場“美國總統選舉大戰”，地處福井轄區的Obama（小濱）小城恰好與（美國總統民主黨候選人）奧巴馬同名，這裏的人們已開始爲奧巴馬加油助陣。