Posts Tagged ‘eyewear’

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Fashion Forward

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

Following our British Optical trade fair in April, new styles of frames are filtering onto the market after their launch at the show. This is an exciting few months for new fashions, as we see exhibition samples reaching our shelves. Nothing stands still in fashion, and our designers aim to compliment clothing and accessories with inspiring eyewear.

Rimless are still a steady niche product for some, and styles have been updated with coloured plastic and metal sides, and edgy new shapes that echo standard frame styles. Sharp rectangles for men, deeper shapes, and even round eyes are creeping back in for Summer/Fall 2011. Go a bit bigger than your previous model for up to date style with no boundaries!

Geek shapes are the norm rather than the trendy exception now, and they are bang on trend with new colours and materials. Now produced in sheet cut metals and skinny plastics rather than just chunky acetates you can go retro and traditional or fresh and funky within this look. Layered lime with purple, pink and red, a far cry from the Ronnie barker solid black plastics!

Metal frames, once simple and plain, are given the make-over treatment with deeper shapes, chunky rims, and wide plastic sides bearing every kind of decoration you can imagine! Dior are using engraved and touchy-feely texture, Fendi some rather chic wood grain pattern, Gucci a swirling mix of colours fading into one another. Prints are popular too, with inspiration form nature – butterflies, flowers and abstract patterns – and techno-geometry.

So whatever your personal choice, you can stick to your signature look while bringing things smartly up to date this season. Rimless, plastic, metal or a combination of all three, the choice is endless and very fashion forward!

Varifocal Glasses

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Square Eyes!

Friday, May 20th, 2011

The trend for bigger and deeper frames has created a huge shift in fashion eye wear this year. Most of the new collections for late 2011 to 2012 are moving away from the shallow rectangular shape we’ve all been wearing the last few years, to a more wearable deeper proportion. Round is creeping in, but for the present, it’s seriously hip to be square…….

Square means a deep frame with an angular eye shape, which is flattering, funky, and actually pretty practical! Finally we can see to go downstairs again, as a little more lens means a lot more sight. This is an evolution onwards and upwards from the traditional Dr Who geek shape, which is based on the old NHS plastic frame – and it is time to move on as that frame was discontinued by the NHS in 1988!

This is a trend that transcends age, gender and budget. For men, women, young and old, in the right colour and finish it suits everyone. Bigger and bolder is better in this case, and is another nail in the coffin of the metal frame fashion story. Where a year or two ago our biggest sellers were always metal, they are now a rare breed! Plastic is less likely to break, more comfortable thanks to the moulded bridge, and have less bits to fall off or go wrong!

Bring your eyewear bang up to date with this shape and bright colour combinations. In line with the colour block trend for clothes, we’re lusting after hot colour combos like clashing lime fronts and pink sides, tortoise brown and purple, turquoise and orange. So for a practical fashion fix find the mix that flatters your complexion and enjoy going wild by being square!

Varifocal Glasses

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Styles to Watch

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

We’ve had a glorious spring and summer seems to be fast approaching, always the perfect time for a new look in eyewear as well as in our wardrobes. The chunky, heavy weight look of winter can be mothballed for a few months, so what have we got to look forward to in the lightweight look of summer specs styles?

Retro shapes are moving a step forward from square and geeky to round and preppie. We’re talking bold shapes in warm shades of tortoise or ice cold crystal. This is a soft and romantic look for girls, very Women in Love! For boys it’s cool and a refreshing change from angular styles which have been in for to long now.

Colours are everywhere, with hot shades in bright blue, zingy orange and even yellow hitting the fashion pages again. This Studio 54 craze runs through every clothes range, from Top Shop to Halston this year, so seventies inspired crazy shades and frames were bound to follow. There’s more white and cream than we’ve seen for some time too. This suits summer fabrics and styles to complement your wardrobe, but will carry you through to winter – cream eye wear with black winter wear is tres chic!

Logos and details are simpler this year, with visible pins and structural components taking over from twiddly bling as decoration. This is neat and sharp, and less girly than eyewear from the past couple of years. For boys a subtle dash of inlaid metal or laminate is favoured rather than pattern or engraving.

We’re also moving away from a whole eyewear proportion – for years frames have mostly been wide and shallow. We’re now going to the other extreme, with deep frames that are narrower at the temple. Not a look for chubby cheeks or those with high prescription lenses! You’ll be better with neat little round eyes.

Whatever your choice, try before you buy and experiment – this is one fashion where even if you remember them first time around you’re still ok to try them again!

Varifocal Glasses

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Casual Style

Saturday, March 12th, 2011

A more relaxed attitude to fashion seems to be on the way in for spring, with subtle nude make up, beach style wavy hair, and lots of denim and chambray filling the style pages. This is a chilled out look, demanding a laid back approach to accessories, so less bling, more beads looks like the mantra this year!

This is echoed in what we’re seeing in the new trend in eyewear – less ornate detail, a nice change if you want less sparkle and glitz for day wear. Those of us revelling in the Big-Fat-Gypsy-Wedding look will always want to indulge our girly side, but there are times when you want to calm things down a little! Diamante, lavish filigree and galaxies of crystals will always have a place in our hearts, but even we admit there are occasions when it may be a little OTT!

The trend for all shades of denim, even that Eighties throw back double denim – demands understated eyewear to match. Plastic frames in unisex shapes, layered in tortoiseshell and a dash of colour are useful – strict secretary chic for work, not too dressy for leisure time. Metals in soft colours with patterned wide sides are a perfect choice if you find plastics too heavy. The trend for patterns is very feminine; you’ll find everything from paisley swirls to garlands of roses inlaid in frame sides. Stripes are big fashion news, and subtle colour graduations and chunky contrasting stripes are two groovy looks to add a psychedelic dash to your denim!

Tortoiseshell is a nice change from black as we head for the (hopefully) sunnier months, and for blondes, lime and bright blue are a nice alternative. These are good as an accent lining or detail if you don’t want to go the whole hog with colour. Teal and brown is re-appearing as a popular colour combination this year. It really is time to embrace your stone washed fashion history and enjoy a laid back summer of love this year!

Varifocal Glasses

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Eye Wear Resolutions

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

The holiday season is fraught with potential crisis in every area of our lives, and optics is no exception. This is the time of year when the emergency calls don’t stop…..I’ve run out of contact lenses, I’ve sat on my glasses, I’ve thrown my glasses away, I’ve drunk my contact lenses (!) so let’s take a deep breath, say goodbye to 2010 and start some best new behaviour for the New Year:- and these resolutions are easier to keep than going to the gym or quitting smoking!

Resolution 1 – Keep a Back up!!

Whether you are short or long sighted, need a touch of help for reading or are as blind as a bat, you’ll probably agree that your glasses are at worst a nuisance, at best a vital part of your life that you cannot manage without. So make sure you have a back up pair! That spare you refer to – a manky old pair of taped together frames with out of date, scratched lenses that you hated when you got them at age 16 – is probably not going to help much if you’re without specs and need them for a few days. Could you legally drive in your spare specs? Would you wear them on a hot date or to an important meeting? In 99% of cases, NO!! So get online, get ordering, and pick up a groovy and stylish extra pair, don’t think of them as spare, wear them in rotation with your present specs. You’ll look cool, keep both pairs for longer, and always bask in the smug assurance that your Jack Duckworths (RIP Jack) will never have to see the light of day again!

Resolution 2 – Learn to love your glasses!

They may be a medically prescribed necessity that you see as a sign you’re getting older or that you associate with child hood trauma, but let’s face it, wearing specs to give you perfect sight is not the end of the world. So if you’re got them – flaunt them! Pick a funky new pair that you love, by a chic designer or in an amazing colour that you adore. An accessory that you have to purchase- what a shopping opportunity! Experiment with new styles, play with fashion, shape and hue, it could change your whole look for 2011.

Resolution 3 – Try something new!

Embrace your eyewear and use it to dig you out of a style rut. If eyes are the windows to your soul, make sure the surrounding window dressing is fab-u-lous! Frames are bigger and bolder this year, with less bling and more chunky but simple styling. Don’t get left behind in the eye fashion stakes. Hopefully you haven’t got the same hair style and clothes as you had five years ago (and if you have – hit the sales right this minute!!) so don’t neglect your specs. Boys do make passes at girls that wear glasses, but only if they don’t look like their great-grandma!

So chuck out that gym pass, and crack open a post-New Year bottle of bubbly – finally some resolutions you can stick with!

Varifocal Glasses

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Sixty is the New Thirty?!

Friday, December 17th, 2010

As the baby boomer generation grows older they’re showing no sign of growing up, and increasingly the line between fashions and eye wear choices of the young and old is more and more blurred (!) Unlike with clothing, specs don’t really have an age specific look anyway, with everyone from Anne Robinson to Chris Evans wearing geek plastics and funky finishes and shapes. So if you’re already Botoxing your blemishes and disguising your grey, what do you do with your eyewear to enhance your youthful looks and attitude?

The obvious first point is to avoid any specs that tell the world you are presbyopic, a change to vision that occurs when you are over forty. This is when the arms get too short and you need help for reading, so don’t delay! As soon as you find yourself pushing menus further away and squinting to thread a needle, get an eye exam and get some varifocals. No visible line, nothing to show you have a reading prescription in the lens, and you pretend you’re not a day over 39!! You can wear them all day every day, and no squinting means fewer crow’s feet into the bargain!

If you have a sprinkling of silver in your hair, avoid all frames with shiny metal, which will twinkle like tinsel and enhance your own, unwanted, natural highlights. Go for matt metal or preferably plastic, which will enhance your original hair colour. Bold plastics are seen as more youthful, and to detract years bling is seen as a bit more ageing than cool, geometric trims and detailing.

Frame shapes should be uplifting; as anything with a droop will enhance anything you’re got that’s drooping! Shapes that lift at the temple will lift your temples too, and detract from softening jaw lines. The retro cat’s eye look is perfect for sexy pizzazz – (and a tip – men love that strict secretary look, you have been warned!) If you have to wear varifocals, don’t assume that you need deep frames, as we did in the past. They’ll now fit into even the shallowest frame, so don’t let your lenses restrict you. Your mature years should mean you’re comfortable with your own style nowadays, so don’t let anything stop you – including your age – from looking stylish, sexy, and far less than sixty in your spex!

Prescription Glasses

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Ski Safe

Monday, December 13th, 2010

If you are a keen skier and you’re busily preparing your Christmas list, you might be wondering what new and exciting equipment you need for the upcoming season. If it’s time to update your eyewear for the slopes, here are a few tips to help you make the right choice for you.

If you’re a keen skier, with several trips during the season, you’ll probably get your money’s worth out of investing in ski goggles. These give you physical protection and will have suitable lenses to protect long term eye health. You must try before you buy – the correct fit is crucial. Go for the best you can afford, and make sure they are a snug fit over the nose and that they cradle the face to protect your eye orbit. The best will have a padded inner layer which absorbs sweat and impact, in case you have a bit of a spill!

If you need a prescription, there are goggles with inserts that can be glazed with your lenses. These are then relatively cheap to replace when your sight changes. Due to the large and curved nature of goggle lenses, it’s very tricky to glaze the goggle itself with your lenses, so if you don’t like the look of inserts, now may be the time to try contact lenses, which you wear under ordinary goggles. Disposable daily wear contacts are an excellent part-time option for times such as holidays.

If you are only an occasional skier, you can make do with ordinary sunglasses, if you choose wisely. Find a large wrap around plastic frame, which will be warmer on the skin and doesn’t have sharp metal nose pad arms that may dig into your nose in the event of an accident! You need as much coverage as you can manage without the frame resting on your cheek bones.

The main essential to look for, whatever your choice of eyewear, is 100% UV protection, over all types of UV rays. The UV layer is colourless, so don’t assume that very dark lenses are all fully protective. You can’t tell by looking, so check the labels carefully. Obviously good quality manufacturers like Oakley and Rayban all conform to EU specifications, but if you’re not sure of the brand, investigate fully before purchasing.

Then take to the slopes knowing you look good and your eyes are fully protected – although double vision after the après ski is difficult to avoid!

Prescription Glasses

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Going Glam to Geek

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

My eyewear has always been a thing of beauty, with enough bling, sparkle, glitter and glam to make Elton envious.  The more diamante, colour, embedded precious metals and stones the better, and no frame was too fancy. On a trip to the city in the summer, I did however start to feel a little over dressed in my Prada with added pizzazz – black plastic, encrusted with square cut crystals – as I noticed the eyewear of skinny bright young things around me. Where were the details? Where were the outrageous sides studded with shimmer? Everyone was in cool, chic, and above all, plain frames.

I studied this phenomenon, and then turned to the trusty pages of Vogue to look at the eye wear ads. In tune with austerity measures and classic tailoring for clothes, specs were heading the same way. Stripped down, with bold rectangular shapes and colour doing the talking. With a trip to the West end coming up in November, I got online and got ordering, Vogue clutched in my hand for guidance. Get me to the Geek!

The specs duly arrived and I didn’t unpack them with my usual excitement. No light hitting a swathe of stars and flowers. Just a shiny tortoiseshell plastic with a subtle mottle, and teeny gold rivets at the edges. I put them on. At least I could see, and the slightly deeper shape was actually more practical and made my eyes look bigger. I added more mascara and braved the streets. And then I was very pleasantly surprised. Friends were actually impressed and very complimentary. I can see your eyes! I hated that Dame Edna thing you always did (Why did nobody say this before?!!) It makes me notice you, not the specs!

A month on, I’m loving the new look and now have it in red, purple and black too. It feels clean and fresh and makes me concentrate more on makeup, accessories and interesting additions like scarves, all of which I kept to minimum, letting my specs do the talking, or rather screaming! I flash a bit of bling for a night out, but I love this pared down daywear look. Sorry Dame Edna, you’re on your own………

Glasses Online

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Autumn Review

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

The leaves are defiantly falling and we’re well on our way to winter, with Christmas paraphernalia in the shops and the X factor contestants being whittled down! So let’s take the time to look back over autumn, and how the trends are going.

Simple, more unisex, more austere designs were the prediction for the latter end of 2010, and so far this seems to be right on trend. Girls are packing away their bling in favour of sleek and chic, and boys are eschewing last year’s pattern and detail for neat inlaid materials and colour blocks to add interest. Size really does matter this year, as the lens area has crept bigger – borne out by the number of larger lenses we have to order! But this variety is a good thing, as we move away from the one-size-has-to-fit-all trend of the past few years.

Colour echoes what’s on the clothes rails in the shops – neutrals in every shade of brown from pale cream to chocolate and tortoiseshell, and plenty of black. Colour in the choices of hot red, warm purple, and some blues. Interestingly we’re seeing more colours laminated onto clear plastic, which is perfect if you like the look but want something a little less bold and chunky. This layered effect gives you funky flashes of colour and light as you move around, and the light plays through the sheets of laminate.

There are fewer and fewer metals in every collection, as we leave them behind for softer, but brighter plastics. The moulded bridge of the plastic frame is a point in its favour, as it’s often felt to be better for all day wear, rather than the individual nose pads on plastic frame. Likewise rimless specs are falling in popularity all the time, we’re rejecting minimal for totally in your face!

To get the most out of your eyewear, change your style and your whole look will be re-vamped. Fashion can be fun and is practical when it comes to needing specs to see, so this is a trend update you can’t afford to do without!

Glasses Online

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Posts from Paris

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

We return exhausted from the streets of Paris, not thanks to shopping for a change, but from an endless display of the newest and most exciting eyewear the world has to offer. 1,000 exhibitors showed off their wares to over 45,000 visitors from all over the world. The show started on September 23rd, kicking off four fun filled days when we saw everything from frame materials using space age technology to a return to traditional wood and horn frames.

As we expected, vintage eyewear was a popular theme, with designers looking to history for fresh updates for the present. Retro shapes that echoed the familiar NHS ranges of the last century were re-worked for a new look that reminded us of the past but with fresh eyes. Luxury detailing such as beautifully worked inlays and carefully crafted sculpting took the place of ostentatious bling this year. It’s all pretty cool and stylish in a subtle way.

The vintage theme was carried through with chunky shapes, matt finishes, and the use of age old materials like wood and horn. The look is also notably unisex, with frames that easily make the transition from boy to girl eyewear. Girls are pretty lucky because anything goes for them this season, boys have to put up with having their look pinched by geeky girls who want some edgy cool!

Plastic, in the form of Acetate, was everywhere, in various degrees of density, going from solid materials to translucent finishes. Metal, fading in popularity over the past couple of years, was not fighting to make a come back, although every collection featured at least a few metals! Metal was used to add decorative features, with technical details like hinges and brow bars providing interest and function.

Then there were the quirky ideas – such as frames with details that glow in the dark – fab to find your friends when clubbing or at Halloween parties! The story was that they store light during the day and release it in the dark to let your eyes truly glow! Then there were frames made of Bamboo, space age alloys and plastics, and even people hula-hooping in specs for charity! We returned exhausted but full of inspiration and ideas for the upcoming months!

Glasses Online

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