Monday 30 November 2009

Andy Wolf Eyewear: handmade in Austria and made with care

Andy Wolf Eyewear - Photo: Christian Leitner
Andy Wolf Eyewear - Photo: Christian Leitner

Andy Wolf Eyewear is handmade in the small Styrian town of Hartberg, Austria. These photos were taken at Vienna Fashion Week and show how acetate spectacles should look - beautiful. And here's a little detail of how they're made...



Photos: Christian Leitner

Sunday 29 November 2009

Ferrari F27S folding sunglasses - detailtastic vintage 1980s

Ferrari F27 folding sunglasses, courtesy Chris Metzler
Ferrari F27 folding sunglasses, courtesy Chris Metzler
Ferrari F27 folding sunglasses, courtesy Chris Metzler

Tell me that a car brand has a line of sunglasses and I will probably be pretty sceptical. And tell me that the said car brand is Ferrari, I would probably roll my eyes and expect the resulting product to be predictable, profit-driven, brand-licensed tosh. I'd be very wrong though in this case.

These vintage 1980s Ferrari F27S folding sunglasses, which Chris Metzler featured on his terrific blog Great Vintage Sunglasses yesterday, had me up on my hind legs like a frisky stallion. Visit Great Vintage Sunglasses for more detail. I too love the horse detail behind the fold!

Photos: Chris Metzler.



Thursday 26 November 2009

Histoire de Voir: from studded sunglasses to stylish sophistication

Histoire de Voir leather eyewear


Histoire de Voir leather eyewear
Stephane Sarnin has been making leather eyewear by hand in Paris for 15 years.
Histoire de Voir has since inspired numerous other collections to bring leather into the glasses making mix.
And as he demonstrates with these five frames, the resulting look can range from smart and sophisticated (left) to rock chick (top).
Find Histoir de Voir in your opticians, and you know you've found an optician worthy of your custom.

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Addicted to Kirk Originals? Might as well face it



Kirk Originals' latest collection of sunglasses - Vector - is terrific and, as is frequently the case from Kirks, it ignores some of the more obvious trends and includes an element of quirkiness.

The asymmetry of the Kirk Heroes collection is back, but it's not just the colour that changes, it's texture and pattern - a barcode to be precise. Great shapes, and great images.

I always thought Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love video could not be improved, but I was wrong. A pair of Vector sunnies for each of the musicians...? I think so.

Photos, from top: Alana, Blake and Nicole.


Tuesday 24 November 2009

A crafty piece of sunglass engineering from Paul Frank

Paul Frank sunglasses: the Crafty Engineer, as worn by Riccardo Rossi of The SunBaum Vision produce some of the most cutting-edge, quality sunglasses including the Crafty Engineer, above, from Paul Frank. These are worn by Riccardo Rossi of Italian band The Sun.

Photo: Valeria Zanini.

Monday 23 November 2009

RAEN Optics 2010 sunglasses: Flowers by surfer Alex Knost

RAEN & Alex Knost: Flowers sunglasses
RAEN & Alex Knost: Flowers sunglassesRAEN Optics has teamed up with surfer Alex Knost for the first instalment of its 2010 colection.

I love the round shape, the keyhole nose, the transparent colours.

Not available until March 2010...


Friday 20 November 2009

Elvis Costello wears some very good glasses but who are they by?

Elvis Costello wear some very good glasses but who are they by?

It's been a while since I've done a "unidentified" post, partly because I'm always a bit anxious it will make me look a bit silly and people will tut, sigh, shake their head and think "this Eye Wear Glasses man doesn't know his temple tip from his nosepad".

I've a few ideas but thought I'd open it up to the peepers peeps.. any ideas? - comment below

Mark emailed me because he wants to buy the same glasses as eyecon Elvis Costello.

Am going to the dentist tomorrow for root canal work! (And I would rather be anywhere else but here...)

Photo: Contactmusic.com

Thursday 19 November 2009

Derapage Eyewear: watch glasses assembly close-up - no hands!

Found another glasses blog today, Optical Ruminations by Jules Clarke, and his most recent post features this video of the Tornado, by Derapage Eyewear, an Italian collection. All made from chemically cut surgical grade stainless steel:


Tuesday 17 November 2009

Monday 16 November 2009

Mercura NYC sunglasses - sculptured eyewear art

Mercura NYC sunglasses - Photo: Curtis Eberhardt
Mercura NYC sunglasses - Photo: Curtis EberhardtUsually when I write about good glasses, a thick slice of it is around good design - functional, aesthetic, technical, combining infuences, whatever.

What I like about Mercura NYC, from Rachel Cohen-Lunning and Merrilee Lichtenstein Cohen at the Hotel Chelsea, is that it goes beyond all that. It's bigger, more profound, it's art and I love it. Next time I'm in Manhattan, I know where I'm going. More on Mercura here and an inconceivable amount on Facebook...

Since the 1970s Rachel and Merrilee have designed fantasy jewelry, metal dresses, metal bustiers, headdresses, crowns, cigarette holders and more. Oh, and eyewear...

Photos: Curtis Eberhardt

Sunday 15 November 2009

ic! berlin glasses and shades - something for the weekend?

I return from a rainy trip to the shop yesterday and what do I see? A massive parcel from Berlin. Twas like Christmas had come early!

It was of course the lovely folk at ic! berlin sending me their latest pack of goodies: toffee, a calendar, a catalogue of all their specs, a DVD of quality, well-taken pics, too many to choose from. But I managed: here are four of my favourite new additions to their colossal collection of sheet metal ingenuity...

Top are Neutor and Rheingold, two of the latest additions to the main ic! berlin glasses collection.

And beneath those are Samedi and Dimanche, the newest models in Christina Muthsam's (it is her wearing them too) Très Chic! collaborative collection, both available either as prescription glasses or as shades.


ic! berlin neutor m1147 glasses
ic! berlin rheingold m1146 glasses
ic! berlin très chic samedi glasses or sunglassesic! berlin très chic dimanche glasses or sunglasses

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Mykita Lite glasses collection - majestic minimalism

So you have potentially the best hinge in the world - how do you make it better? You make it teeny-weeny.

Mykita has launched its No.1 Lite collection, which moves its original No. 1 hinge on a bit. It's smaller, simplified, comprises three pieces and - as before - no screws.

(Why are no screws good? Because you don't have to invest in a tiny screwdriver to tighten them up when the temples flop.)

The new thinner temple has a silicone tip which can be bent into shape around the ear.

As a Mykita wearer, I've always loved the shapes, but am particularly impressed by how much they manage to introduce shape and style to very minimalist designs.

Mykita Lite Britt glasses
Mykita Lite Lasse glasses
Have a better look here with Mykita's 360-degree viewer.

Oh and here's me in my Mykita Nils frame with Arthur (Master Eye Wear Glasses Junior the Younger - both of us having a bad hair week).

Monday 9 November 2009

Prada butterfly sunglasses - lepidoptometry for the 18IS


Prada butterfly sunglasses 18IS

Prada butterfly sunglasses 18IS
That was a made-up word.

Prada 18IS sunglasses have the shape a butterfly and have been a sunglass of choice for a year or two. A great shape.

Nothing more to say other than thanks to HiStyley.

Oh, and that I once received a fax addressed to Rod Moth.


Saturday 7 November 2009

Lancier sunglasses from Dita Eyewear - gulp!

Lancier LS001 by Dita Eyewear
Lancier PS003 by Dita Eyewear God! These are brilliant. Lancier makes really, really good lenses, Dita makes incredible frames, there's even a clever interchangable temple thing too, as shown in the video... And look at the bloody packaging, as previewed a few months back. V. limited edition (of course!)




Friday 6 November 2009

Bundles of books, baseball bats and beautiful sunglasses from Ksubi Eyewear...



...and bloody brilliant for a bit of alliteration.

Ksubi has released these pics of its 2010 collection, and its difficult to know which is best, the phtography or the glasses. The lead-windowed style (right and above, my description not Ksubi's) are ludicrously perfect.

Thursday 5 November 2009

Wednesday 4 November 2009

Monoqool - Danish eyewear with helter-skelter hinges

Monoqool eyewear: Belle
Monoqool eyewear: Belle
Monoqool eyewear: Belle
Monoqool eyewear: Belle

How's that for a hinge? Monoqool are a new glasses company, combining Japanese craftsmanship and technology with Danish design. It's a pretty unusual hinge, but I like it for its simplicity.

Welcome Monoqool, I'm sure we'll be hearing more on them in future.

Top is the Belle, the Helix hinge is 1.0mm stainless steel, which joins with a 0.6mm stainless steel front. And beneath that, the Lemur, made from 0.6mm beta-titanium.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Ted Lapidus vintage 1980s sunglasses - smoky!

Ted Lapidus vintage sunglasses

I love the detail on these Ted Lapidus vintage shades, which I found on Loveiwear.com, thanks to Seth Bradley: the gold edge around the lenses, the faux wood dashboard-like temples and the shade of the lens compared to the black frame.

As an ex-smoker, I can't imagine wearing them without holding a cigarette, no, a big fat cigar?

Monday 2 November 2009

A-morir by Kerin Rose - another kind of Rihanna sunglass

Sabotage sunglasses from a-morir by Kerin Rose

Sioux Lace sunglasses from a-morir by Kerin Rose
Barracuda sunglasses from a-morir by Kerin Rose - as worn by Rihanna

I mentioned to a friend that I just blogged about Rihanna's sunglasses and a conversation ensued where I said things like, "No, they're not that outrageous..."

Well the above explains the misunderstanding, this final pair "Barracuda" feature on Rihanna in the Run This Town video. They're made, along with the two above them, by a-morir by Kerin Rose, a New York accessories brand. The spikey pair, Sabotage, are $600!

Sunday 1 November 2009

55DSL Giulietta and Alfa sunglasses for 2010

55DSL sunglasses: Giulietta and Alfa

I'm liking the colours in 55DSL sunglasses for next year. She wears Giulietta, a 1970s influenced two-colour shape, while he wears two pairs of Alfa, which clearly has a more 1980s feel.

55DSL Giulietta...



55DSL sunglasses: Giulietta55DSL Alfa...
55DSL sunglasses: Alfa