History Main / HighClassGlass

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Bartley Asprius, loyal general to [[SacrificialLion Clovis la Britannia]], and later, his brother [[TheWhitePrince Schneizel]], [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120222193751/codegeass/images/3/31/BartleyAsprius.jpg wears a tinted one (combined with an ear piercing)]] in his appearances. There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene in one episode that shows him being transported to the homeland in disgrace and under arrest (for his apparent disloyalty) where he is wearing a standard Britannian prisoner's straightjacket... and his usual monocle.

* In Creator/MelBrooks' ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'', Transsylvanian police Inspector Kemp is evidently so attached to his monocle he continues to wear it even though the eye in question is also covered with a patch.

** ''Literature/FoundationSeries''' "Literature/TheMule"": The warlord of Kalgan wore a monocle along with his "fur-lined scarlet robe and high-crowned hat", until he met the Mule, who [[EmotionControl forced him into service as his loyal viceroy]]. As viceroy, he has no need for such displays of opulance.

** Canas wears a monocle. Considering he's your Dark magic user, it's probably to make him appear more harmless as opposed to high-class.

** ComicBook/GentlemanGhost is completely invisible aside from his monocle, [[LightIsNotGood sparkling white attire]] and [[NiceHat Top Hat]].

* Kaitou Kid from ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' and ''Manga/MagicKaito''. The monocle (and top hat) practically define the character, harkening back to Literature/ArseneLupin and the whole GentlemanThief bit. Also, the monocle has a tendency to do the ScaryShinyGlasses thing when Kid's being disturbing.

* Thomas Chesterchire from the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'' takes this trope [[UpToEleven up to eleven]] by wearing not one but two monocles, which he wears, according to his character bio, for "twice the class." Being a member of the [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats Toppat Clan,]] he of course also wears a top hat, and has a [[SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish British accent.]] Truly a classy individual.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Grounder begins wearing one after he temporarly becomes smart.

* Heinrich von Marzipan, Numbuh Five's ArchEnemy on ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''. It's part of the "Franchise/IndianaJones Nazi Villains" parody (which is in itself odd, as Indiana never encountered any monocled villains, Nazi or otherwise.

* Thomas Chesterchire from the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'' takes this trope [[UpToEleven up to eleven]] by wearing not one but two monocles, which he wears, according to his character bio, for "twice the class." Being a member of the [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats Toppat Clan,]] he of course also wears a top hat, and has a [[SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish British accent.]]

** The Gromble's DrillSergeantNasty former mentor Balook in "The Master Monster" also sported a monocle. It makes him appear intelligent and studious, as a wizened old teacher should.

* Long Patrol hares officers in ''Literature/Redwall'' often have a monocle, usually indicates the commanding officer of the group who usually MajorlyAwesome, ColonelBadass or TheBrigadier.

Largely obsolete today (it disappeared sometime during TheGreatDepression of the 1930s, when being conspicuously wealthy was a quick way to get yourself despised), the monocle is a corrective lens applied to only one eye. In this sense it is no different from eyeglasses. But while eyeglasses have never been anything more than a medical appliance (with the possible exception of the pince-nez), the monocle has been a status symbol virtually since its invention.

They are never seen on the faces of the working class. Instead, they are the exclusive province of [[BlueBlood titled nobility]], [[OfficerAndAGentleman high ranking military officers]], upper-level businessmen, academics, etc. They are also exclusively worn by men -- though lesbians in the early 20th century sometimes used them for a [[{{Bifauxnen}} subtly masculine edge]]. Monocles were available to the lower classes, but proper manufacture and fitting made them very expensive. Cheaper versions were of poor quality and very uncomfortable to wear; people needing a corrective lens in only one eye who could not or would not get a monocle would generally opt for a full pair of glasses with a flat pane of glass as the "lens" for the eye not needing correction. This is generally how it is done today (except when the person just [[TakeAThirdOption goes for contacts]]).

* So does the Mayor of Townsville on ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''.
* Fearless Leader in ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle''.
* Often used in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' in flagrant parodies of rich white people. At one point on the former, when the rich white couple gasps dramatically at some display of boorish lower-class behavior and the man's monocle falls off and breaks, he laments "That's my third monocle this week. I simply MUST stop being so horrified."

* EvilUncle Darius Dun from ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Ninja Turtles Fast Forward]]'' wears one of these unironically, despite the series' 2105 setting.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': the most logical of Blitzwing's [[SplitPersonality Split Personalities]] has a big eye that looks more like a monocle than a MadEye. Icy Blitzwing is modeled on Colonel Klink noted above, just like Hothead Blitzwing is modeled on Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger. We're not sure about Random.

* Invoked by Space Ghost in the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' episode "Snatch" when he hears about unidentified (space) creatures violating their airspace.
-->'''Space Ghost:''' (''beat'') Bring me my monocle. I want to look rich!
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':
** [[BigBad Anti-Cosmo]] wears one. Notably, it's shown in one episode that he actually does need it to see.
** Jorgen wears one when he's turned into an action movie villain in one episode.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Grounder begins wearing one after he temporarly becomes smart.
* Archibald Asparagus of ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'' fame wears a monocle seemingly to emphasize the fact he's a culture-obsessed Brit. Fun fact: before the introduction of the Maya software at Big Idea, Archie's monocle had no glass in it.
* Beezy on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' wears a monocle during a brief gag involving him and Jimmy looking smart.
* Jeebie, the furry cyclopian brother of Milton the Monster, wears a monocle when reading. His ward, Professor Weirdo, mentions he's soon getting a contact lens (singular).

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{TUGS}}'', the railway tugboat was called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Top Hat]]. Despite hating dirty jobs, he and the garbage barge, [[MeaningfulName Lord Stinker]], get a CMOA in "High Tide" when the railway bridge over the canal collapses.
-->'''Top Hat:''' It's worked, Stinker! You're a smelly old genius! Nothing less!

* Baroness Paula von Gunther wears a monocle in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Scorn of the Star Sapphire!"
* Heinrich von Marzipan, Numbuh Five's ArchEnemy on ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''. It's part of the "Franchise/IndianaJones Nazi Villains" parody (which is in itself odd, as Indiana never encountered any monocled villains, Nazi or otherwise.
* In one episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/SecretSquirrel Super Secret Secret Squirrel]],'' the posh, villainous Chameleon (an [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin anthropomorphic chameleon]]) wears a monocle as a visual shorthand for how snobby and "uppercrust" he is.
* A couple of characters in [[{{Creator/Nickelodeon}} Nickelodeon]]'s ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' wore monocles as a means of visually telling the audience something about them:
** Ickis' FalseFriend Chimera in "Cement Heads" wore one. His monocle seems to be intended to make him come across as posh and upper class, as well as intelligent.
** The Gromble's DrillSergeantNasty former mentor Balook in "The Master Monster" also sported a monocle. It makes him appear intelligent and studious, as a wizened old teacher should.

* At one point in the animated adaptation of ''ComicBook/FatherChristmas'' by Raymond Briggs, Santa (here reimagined as a grumpy working-class Northerner) dons a monocle along with a very nice suit for an evening at the roulette tables in Vegas while on vacation, and promptly loses his shirt. He pulls off the look quite well considering it's a cheap plastic novelty out of a Christmas cracker.