The popularity of contrived geek chic looks — thick-rimmed glasses, marching band jackets, argyle sweater vests, plaid shirts — among the fashion set might be a little silly, but it seems to be a curious side effect of the new era of geekdom.

Smarts are making a comeback in the too-cool-for-school world of fashion lovers.

Fast fashion shops such as Charlotte Russe and Forever 21 are offering up fashionable geek specs for the non-visually challenged. Saks Fifth Avenue’s online store is promoting a music video featuring the latest looks from Marc by Marc Jacobs for men and women that look oddly reminiscent of the wardrobe for the geeky 1980s TV show “Square Pegs” (trivia points for anyone who knows which “Sex and the City” star was featured in the short-lived series).

The new television series “Glee” about the triumph of dorks has already established itself as one of the coolest shows after a successful viral campaign, and geeks of all ages are being avenged and celebrated on film.

Rumer Willis, daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, plays a studious and therefore geeky sorority girl in the new horror flick “Sorority Girl,” and Sandra Bullock embodies a goofball cruciverbalist — that’s what they call people who construct crossword puzzles for those of us who are not-quite-geeky-enough — in the latest contender for most dreadful romantic comedy, “All About Steve.”

The unabashedly dorky Charlyne Yi stars in the much better geek-love story, “Paper Heart.”

President Barack Obama has been openly called a “policy geek.” MSNBC personality Rachel Maddow has been commended for her geek-appeal. Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe of “Harry Potter” fame proved that geeks can thwart evil.

This month, The New York Times declared, “We’re all gadget geeks now,” citing a recent study documenting the gotta-have-it technology fever of cell phones, high-speed Internet, high-definition television, MP3 players and video game consoles.