The monocle adds some Old World charm to a modern-day dandy's outfit. But that's about all it can do. (Photo courtesy of M.V. Jantzen/Flickr Creative Commons)

Raymond Bridge loves peanuts. Every day he spends hours browsing the grocery store’s peanut aisle, searching for the label of his favorite brand. When he arrives home, he cracks open a can of nuts and watches endless episodes of his TV idol on “Hogan’s Heroes.” That must be it. How else can we explain his sudden fascination with monocles?

And he’s not the only one. The monocle, a single-lens eyeglass once fashionable among the European upper class but whose most famous wearers today are Mr. Peanut and Col. Klink from “Hogan’s Heroes,” has experienced a recent up-tick in popularity – and no one can quite explain it.

“We’re as puzzled as anyone by the interest,” said Vision Express CEO Bryan Magrath. In December 2009, the UK-based optometry chain announced that because of “an unexpected surge in demand” it would begin selling monocles at its stores, starting with its location along London’s hip Oxford Street. “I guess it’s one of those inexplicable fashion things,” said Magrath.

Daniel Cullen, an eyewear designer and online vendor, says he’s also noticed an increase in requests and now offers a line of gold- and silver-rimmed monocles, as well as accessories like chains and leather cases. “I suppose it’s the desire for a distinctive product to now be available to the majority rather than the select few,” he said via e-mail. “And we will always support our eccentrics.”

The monocle, though, is not peculiar only to the British. Retailers across the Atlantic have taken note, too, with trendy Brooklyn eyewear maker Warby Parker reporting solid sales of “The Colonel,” a $50 monocle it advertises as “the perfect accessory for budding robber barons.”

Though the monocle has rarely been worn without irony this century, it was once considered the height of fashion and sophistication. In the late 19^th century, wealthy industrialists paid large sums to have custom-fitted monocles made of gold, silver, horn or tortoiseshell. Combined with a morning coat and top hat, the monocle became the standard uniform for the moneyed elite.

After World War I, the monocle quickly fell out of fashion because of its association with German army officers (such as Col. Klink) and has since been resigned to caricatures of super-villains, colonial aristocrats and protein-filled corporate mascots.

But unlike other retro fashion trends that have been lifted from the dustbin of history, such as suspenders or leg warmers, the monocle seems especially odd because it serves no functional purpose and may in fact cause damage if worn too often.

“It’s pretty much the same as a magnifying glass,” explained Norman Machado, a sales associate at LensCrafters. He said that while the monocle may be used to closely examine small details (or to stare snobbishly down at the masses), it is not as effective or as precise at correcting a person’s vision as regular glasses and contact lenses. “You can read with it, but you can’t see with it,” said Machado,

And while the monocles worn by aristocrats in the 1800s were custom made to sit comfortably in the eye orbit, mass produced or second-hand monocles must be held in place either by hand or by clenching the muscle around the eye.

“That gets very tiring, very quickly,” said Manju Shimul, a jeweler in midtown Manhattan who works with an advanced form of the monocle called the jeweler’s loupe. Carrying his on a gold chain around his neck that folds into a lacquered case, Shimul said, “Your eye is always working. I’ve been doing this for years, so I’m used to it, but even I have to take breaks.”

New York City ophthalmologist Charles Levy also worries that those who turn to monocles simply to make a unique fashion statement might be doing long-term damage to their eye health. “Kids with 20/20 vision are wearing glasses – and now monocles, I guess – so they can look blind,” sighed the doctor with a shake of his head. “But what they don’t realize is that your eye adjusts to that magnification and if they keep it up, one day, they’re going to be blind for real.”

Of course, monocle enthusiasts don’t see eye to eye with all the nay-sayers and believe a monocle resurgence will be soon under way.

“The monocle just needs a rapper to start wearing one; monocles were the grillz of their time,” said 18-year-old New Jersey native Calvin Carrizzo, referencing yet another inexplicable fashion trend where people capped their teeth with gold, silver, diamond or platinum as a sign of prestige. “And maybe make it so you can play your iPod on it and watch TV.”

Bridge, on the other hand, enjoys the un-trendiness of the trend. As a self-described “gentleman, scholar and bon vivant” (who moonlights as an IT consultant), he began wearing a monocle in mid-2009 precisely in hopes of adding a unique flair to his wardrobe. “In the past, I’ve done bowties, pipes, suspenders, but then they got adopted – cheapened – by the mainstream,” he said from his home in Dublin, Ireland. “But I think this will really add a touch of je ne sais quoi that no one else has, at least until someone starts blogging about it.”