Smithsonian.com

Image: Thomas Hawk

If the internet knows one thing, it’s that there’s nothing more simultaneously cool and uncool as a nerd. Which is one reason Google Glasses have gotten so much flack. No one wants to be seen wearing the futuristic little device. As Michael Moyer at Scientific American put it, the glasses should be worn “only if you’re a billionaire, and even then probably not a good idea.”

But what if those nerdy glasses were put into an acceptably nerdy frame? Like, say, a pair of Warby Parker frames? Well that might not be too far off, reports The New York Times:

In a sign of how acute the challenge is for Google, the company is negotiating with Warby Parker, an e-commerce start-up company that sells trendy eyeglasses, to help it design more fashionable frames, according to two people briefed on the negotiations who were not authorized to speak publicly because the partnership has not been made official. Google and Warby Parker declined to comment.

Warby Parker is known for their retro, nerd-like glasses that have swept the hipster world by storm. They actually sell a monocle. Marketplace reports on why Warby Parker is so unique, and has caught on so quickly.

Combining with Google Glasses could give Warby Parker the nerd cred it lacks, and Google Glasses the hipster cred they crave. Or it could just be a rumor. We’re just hoping that Google considers coming out with a Google Glass monocle.

More from Smithsonian.com:

Glasses Provide Subtitles For Foreign Language Conversations
Google Goggles Aim to Augment Reality