Posts Tagged ‘plastic frames’

Going for Gold

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

With the popularity of plastic frames over the past couple of years, simplicity has fallen a little by the wayside. In the fight to find stand out specs, colour and pattern and bling have graced our faces via our frames. If however you’re the shrinking violet type, then you may want something a little quieter and softer. This season’s new gold may be just what you’re looking for…..

Back in the good old days, a gold coloured frame had some gold content, and it could be rolled gold, or plated. Nowadays we have cheaper, more versatile alternatives, as gold only came in one shade, and could tarnish as the plating wore off. You can now get different shades of gold colour – from rich yellow tones to cooler pale alternatives. You may need to experiment a little to find the right shade for you. If you wear gold jewellery make sure you’re wearing it when you try your frames on, you don’t want a clash that makes either the frames or your precious jewellery look fake.

As well as colour variations there are textures too. Satin gold, cool and slightly matte, is flattering on many skin tones, and can be subtle and understated compared to harsh shiny gold. Go for the latter if you want to make more of a statement. Many frames use an interesting mix of shiny and matte to highlight shapes and play down boring details like the bridge!

Etched, inlaid, or engraved patterns add light and shade without colour. A smattering of crystals or details like pearls can also add feminine detail. Interesting shapes are also brought into focus by the simplicity of gold, so have a play with new angles and contours.

If you’re a bit bolder, gold works really well in retro styles, such as big droopy Aviators and deep chunky metals. Go for brash and bright yellow gold with these shapes, for that cool Seventies disco vibe. Add a green tint if you want to complete the look, then embrace your inner diva and celebrate gorgeous gold!!

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Anatomy Lesson

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Wearing specs can be a curse as well as a blessing – ok it’s a nice simple solution that corrects your sight, but can’t they be annoying at times! How many of us speccy four eyes have almost dropped the dinner when we open the oven door, or crashed into a display walking into a warm shop on a cold day. If life is permanently in soft focus for you due to misting up, have a look at your anatomy…..

It’s a fact of life that chubby cherubic cheeks or even Kate Moss razor sharp cheekbones are not always a good thing if you wear specs. If your glasses sit close to the face and air cannot get behind them, then they will mist up at the slightest increase in temperature. This is especially a problem with plastic frames, as the moulded bridge sits right on the face with not as much air space behind it as a metal frame.

If you also happen to have a petite little nose with a flat bridge, your problem is compounded! So besides switching to contact lenses, what can you do? The first step is to make sure that your frame is a shallow as possible. So when you come to pick your new pair, look for a wide front that still looks big enough for you, but one where the depth from eyebrow to lower edge is as small as possible. Even varifocal lenses can go into small and shallow frames nowadays, so if you are a varifocal wearer don’t panic!

The shallow frame may be enough to solve the problem, if you have a nicely projecting bridge to your nose. If however you do have a flatter bridge, then you will need a metal frame. The nose pads lift the frame away from the cheeks, to allow a good flow of air behind the lenses. Thinner material lenses will also help if your lens power is strong, as this will decrease the weight and allow the frame to sit up higher. Don’t just put up with the problem – a funky trendy pair of shallow specs for spring will lift the fog for you!

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Get your Groove On!

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Making your glasses for you is not as simple as just popping slivers of plastic into your frame and sending it off to you. The perfect pair of glasses blends our expertise with your needs to give you specs which are comfortable, visually correct, and look great too. For the majority of powers putting your glasses together is very straightforward, but if you have a more complicated prescription then some combinations of lens and frame may cause difficulties. Let’s take a look at how they are constructed and what this may mean to you

The vast majority of frames have a rim which tightly holds the lens in place as the lens sits within a groove in the frame rim. With plastic frames we heat the frame which then expands so the lens can be snapped into place. It then shrinks back as it cools to keep the lens in place. Metal frames come apart with a tiny joint at the edge, and we then screw it back up to make it secure. If you are very short sighted then plastic frames may conceal your lenses more than a thin metal rim, and will give the lens edges some protection.

Semi-rimless frames have a nylon cord which sits in a groove around the lens edge. This makes the frame light and flexible, but if you are very long sighted and your lens edges are thin then they may chip easily. If you were to put pressure on the frame – sit on it for example! A lens may pop out, but will easily fit back in. If you’re very short sighted then your thick lens edges may be very visible as there is no frame to disguise it.

Playboy 5006 Semi Rimless from The Internet Glasses Company

Playboy 5006 Semi Rimless from The Internet Glasses Company

Rimless mounts hold lenses in place without them fitting into a rim, but we have to drill through the lenses and then hold them in place with screws or glued bolts. This makes the specs light but very vulnerable to damage, and they are not suitable for high powers whether you are long or short sighted.

If your prescription is strong them you may need to confirm your choice with your optician – we will always advise you if we feel your frame choice does not match your lens power.

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Blowing Hot & Cold

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

As the nights draw in and we gaze out at the frosty sky hoping for a glimpse of Father Christmas, we’re suddenly exposed to extremes of temperature throughout our day. Chilly and blustery outdoors, hot and steamy in – if you’re lucky! As you unwind your scarf and unwrap those layers, make sure you think of what the weather is doing to your specs too.

If your glasses are on your face, then obviously you will be aware of their temperature, but if you lay them down, make sure you think about how cold or hot they could get. A dashboard can get boiling hot in direct sun in the summer, or very cold on a frosty day. A shelf above a radiator can also get hot, and extreme heat could damage your glasses. Photochromic lenses will lose the power to react if they get very hot, and anti-reflection coatings have been known to craze across the surface. Plastic frames or frame parts such as end tips can bend and distort, and if the frame front warps the lens may fall out.

If you accidentally get a photochromic lens hot, it may work again after a while, but it will take time to go back to normal. Crazed coatings mean a whole new lens, as coatings are difficult to remove, and the process will probably damage the lens anyway. Warped frames need to be returned to the supplier, for adjustment and correct positioning of lenses.

If your specs get really cold, this can cause problems too. Rimless lenses have been known to crack if fluctuating temperature makes the lens material expand and contract. Usually they split straight across the hole where the screws are drilled through. Never leave them in the car on a chilly night!

The most annoying issue is probably specs steaming up, and as any spec wearing cook knows this can be pretty hazardous! It’s no fun to open the oven door and put yourself in danger of dropping a boiling hot dish on your foot! Make sure your specs fit properly and do not rest on your cheeks, as this will stop air flowing behind them. Keep the frame shallow and small if this is an issue for you. There are anti-fog sprays on the market, just take care not to scratch your lenses as you apply them.

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Specs Back In Time

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Nowadays when we’re choosing our new specs the choice is overwhelming. Thin, thick, plastic, metal, big, little……the list goes on. Sometimes clients tell us there’s too much to choose from – how spoilt! For once upon a time there was very little decision making involved!

In recent times the NHS was in control of our eyewear. Up until 1988 the NHS paid towards everyone’s glasses, even the frames. They provided the stunning selection of plastic frames in black, autumn leaf, crystal, blue or pink. Many a teenager was reduced to tears in the opticians when confronted with these delights! If plastic was not for you, then you could have round John Lennon frames, made of rolled gold no less, or the half moon version. Therefore all of us looked like Buddy Holly, hippies with dubious taste, or mad professors. For children there were scaled down versions, or sweet little metal frames that tied across the back of the head with elastic.

John Lennon In His Iconic Round Spectacles

John Lennon In His Iconic Round Spectacles

During the war years you could get metal frame with flat sides, to slip inside your gas mask – how clever is that?! And previous to that little round frames in tortoiseshell. Organic of course but fairly bad news for the Hawksbill Turtle, whose shell was used and he was never even acknowledged, for they were always credited to tortoises.

Hawksbill Turtles Are Much Happier Now Their Shells Aren't Used To Make Glasses

Hawksbill Turtles Are Much Happier Now Their Shells Aren't Used To Make Glasses

Or of course there was the elegance of the quizzer, lorgnette, or pince-nez. Perfect for supercilious glaring at the opera etc. The quizzer was a single lens on a handle, the lorgnette two lenses that flipped out on a spring, and the pince-nez gripped your nose with the ferocity of a cross crab. How we suffered for our sight!

In ancient history frames were made of wood, leather, bone or horn – again very organic but unfortunate for any original owners! Lenses were flat and optically not very good, so the next time you curse your specs, just be grateful you do not have to feel guilty about a Turtle as well!

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Purple Reigns!

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Although we’re baking in the summer sun (!) and it’s only August, the more fashion forward amongst us are already thinking about our winter wardrobes. With predictions of a return to shoulder pads and other wonders, let’s look at something more accessible – what are the eyewear trends for the new season?

Colour is the obvious factor to think about, and purple looks set to be the shade of the season. All shades of mauve are fabulous for glasses, and it’s a very wearable look for all skin tones, you just have to find the right density and shade for you.

In plastic frames, you can go for the deepest, blue-red purples if you have cool colouring, and they bring out the best in green or brown eyes. Purple is a perfect example of a strong colour that’s very warming with neutral shades, it brings interest to sober black or navy and is pretty against brown.

In metal frames, shades of lilac and mauve are warm and very useful if you wear a mixture of gold and silver jewellery and want something more neutral for your glasses. You can go for thinner or thicker rims to give you different density of colour, or a purple finish on a black or gunmetal base.

Purple is fab with silver trims, and therefore fab if you’ve got a few silver highlights in your hair. It’s beautiful against blue eyes and cool ash or white hair. On dark skin you need a rich tone, if you’re paler you need a softer shade, possibly mixed with some blue. The colour needs to balance you, and full on purple can be too over powering for the fairer skinned amongst us.

So think about your skin tone and pick the purple that enhances your colouring. You’ll see the world through a purple haze this winter!

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Bridging the Gap!

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

As you all know, the top of your nose is called the bridge of your nose, that bony ridge between the eyes that’s very useful for your glasses rest on! The space between your spec lenses is the bridge of your frame, the area that links the lenses. There are a few things to take note of with frame bridges, so let’s have a think about them….

Firstly, the bridge is important with respect to the comfort and the successful fit of your glasses. There are different points to note with metal and plastic frames. On a metal frame, the bar that connects the lenses should not sit on the nose. If it does actually come into contact with your skin it may cause a rash and ultimately wear the surface of the metal. The bridge will have a plastic lining that fits all round the nose, or separate nose pads that provide a resting point. The pads should not ‘grip’ your nose – just sit against it. You can alter the pads by gently pressing against them to move them. They can be replaced if they discolour through wear.

Plastic frames do not usually have a separate bridge piece, the plastic is moulded to fit around the surface of the nose. If you are sensitive to the weight of specs, plastic frames may be better as the weight is spread out over a greater area. The bridge should fit snugly, but not be tight enough to leave a red mark!

The pad bridge on a metal frame will lift the frame away from your face slightly, so if you have a tendency to mist up then these may be for you! A plastic frame sits closer, so especially if it’s a deep frame, you’ll constantly be living in a fog when you go indoors on a damp day!

A simple frame feature like the bridge can make a great difference to how easy your specs are to wear, and day to day convenience. If you’re ordering new glasses have a think about your present specs, and whether a change of bridge can make life easier.

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Plastic Surgery!

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

When you see that many spec frames are made of plastic, it sounds a bit sub standard. Surely plastic  is kind of a bit, well, plasticy?! A bit cheap? But read on – plastic is an amazing frame material and  should be part of everybody’s eyewear wardrobe.

Plastic is what we wear nowadays as an alternative to metal frames. It’s kind of an evolution from the original frame materials of bone, horn, and real tortoiseshell. Bone and horn came up as beautifully polished, totally natural materials, but of course we do not use them now, as we have man made alternatives that are a little more friendly to wildlife! Shell was sourced from the Hawksbill Turtle, and was a beautifully colored, lightweight material – not so good for the poor turtle though!

Plastic now provides us with skin friendly, light weight frames in a dazzling array of colours. It can be inlaid with pattern, stones and glitter, or laminated in layers for a more subtle effect. Plastic frames have a moulded bridge, which is useful if you don’t like the feel of individual nose pads. It’s a cheap way to bring your look bang up to date, without breaking the bank. For girls and boys plastic is big news this Summer, in chunky shapes as bright as you dare. Updating your eyewear can take years off you – you may feel you’re not happy baring too much flesh or wearing younger fashions from the High Street, but any specs can be worn by anyone of any age. A little upsweep on the rims for ladies. or an up to date, angular shape for men will bring the compliments flooding in, so try a little fantastic plastic!

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Back to The Future

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Back in the good old days, when the NHS provided us with our eyewear, they had very specific ideas about styling the nation. In plastic frames, there was the ever trendy 524, the classic Dr Who shaped frame in black, blue, crystal, autumn leaf and pink. Even the toughest school bully could be reduced to tears at the threat of wearing them, and possibly the scariest adults too!

For the trendy hippies amongst you there was the classic John Lennon frame, a small metal with thin plastic rims that clipped in place. (Or not!) The joy of these was that the side arm attached to the front, so if you bashed them then the lens, the side, and the whole spec frame collapsed into a mangled pile of metal and glass.

The NHS stepped back from supplying our eye wear, and with the exception of Elvis Costello, The Proclaimers, and Harry Hill, we all moved on from our square plastic glasses. The eighties exploded in a riot of colour, huge shapes, and total lack of taste. (You only have the catch the opening credits of Ashes to Ashes to see what I mean) We also had a penchant for tints in lurid shades of pink and burgundy.

How times change – in 2009 the 524 is the epitome of geek chic – see Madonna, Lily Allen or Mark Ronson. The trend for colour is back, but this time in more subtle layers, patterns or laminates. We love detail, bling, and pattern – for boys and girls! Designer names are everywhere, and even Marc Jacobs and Paul Smith have taken some inspiration from those classic British NHS creations. Those were the good old days!

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Specs Super Heroes!

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Su Pollard has been in the news in the last couple of weeks, as attention has been brought to her individual clothes sense. We applaud those who dare to be different – and who wouldn’t wear red lace tights and a denim ra ra skirt if they had legs like Sus! Well we always admired Su for her stunning eyewear – she can do funky plastic frames like no other – well almost…..

Any glasses frame with a vaguely upswept shape can be described as a ‘Dame Edna’ another Celeb famed for her outlandish eyewear. Who could forget the frames with the Sydney Opera House across the top of them?  Who would want to remember them?!

Timmy Mallet returned to the public eye last year thanks to ‘I’m a Celebrity’. He used to rival Su for the biggest, most colourful frames around. Nothing was too outlandish for Timmy – and when we saw him in the jungle we were pleased to see he hadn’t changed…

The other iconic specs wearer we could never forget was that screen siren from Coronation Street, delicious Deirdre. While she was wowing Ken she was wowing us with her eyewear. The glasses got bigger as the plot got hotter, and many of look back fondly on our Deirdre days.

Nowadays things are positively staid with the likes of Anne Robinson sporting very stylish specs, and even Dr Who doesn’t wear anything out of this world. Thank goodness Su is back in the news!

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