Abstract: A detachable temple comprises an ear stem portion distal from a lens frame and a lens frame portion or member proximal the frame. The temple is configured so that the two pieces can be separated without disassembling a hinged joint between the lens frame and temple. The ear stem and lens frame portions are latched in a telescoping arrangement by means of a spring biased element that may be a spring-biased ball or barb fitting into a hole. The hole may be on an inward facing portion of the temple so as to conceal the mechanism from view. An advantage of the invention is that it provides an eyewear system in which one of a plurality of temples may be selected for use with a frame in order either to provide a choice of style and appearance or to fit the eyewear to a wearer's head.