Face à Face majors in blue with Jodie and Madam

Striking blues, inspired by the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech, feature in these new designs from French frame masters Face à Face. Above is a chunky feminine sunglass named Madam, while top is Jodie, a brow-focused cat's eye frame with some stunning 3D-patterned acetate.

Face à Face is one of my favourite makes, with both me and Mrs EWG frequently wearing their frames. Here's Beck, below on Christmas Day on the beach in Suffolk, wearing Face à Face Ebony, originally featured here a couple of years ago.

CW Dixey's Chartwell 01 glasses as worn by Tony (and Churchill)

After the weekend's Diamond Jubilee celebrations here in London, the next anniversary is that of the Normandy landings, this day in 1944.

Fittingly, here's my father-in-law Tony, who lives in Normandy and is a keen reader of all books Second World War. So I was particularly pleased to find him in a pair of Chartwell 01s, by CW Dixey & Son, a faithful replica of Sir Winston Churchill's famous round frames.

More on CW Dixey, which has been making glasses since 1777, can be found in my post last September...

ID please: Lily wears black chunky frames at LFW

We have done one of our unidentified frame posts for a while. Vanja in Croatia spotted this picture of model Lily Zhi on Vanessa Jackman's blog and, understandably, wants to know who they are by. Answers on a postcard please (or email, Twitter, Facebook etc...)

With thanks to Vanessa Jackman for her photo and blogpost

Willems Wonderglasses: a pizza perfection

This is of course a family website, so anyone of a sensitive disposition should  simply enjoy the campaign image above from Willems Wonderglasses and this frame from its titanium collection, Charlotte. But for those who want to know where to buy the perfect pizza, we present this little takeaway....

Lindberg's horn and titanium frame wins top tech prize at Silmo

Lindberg has a strong history of innovation so it's great to see it get the recognition it deserves with a Silmo d'Or in Paris. I had a good look at these Horn glasses in Paris and can confirm that the way the horn front fixes to the titanium sides is indeed clever stuff. And as these images testify, the join is far from clumsy. From the top: Lindberg 1801, 1802 and 1803.

Colors of Birch glasses: the Titanic eyewear collection in full

Colors of Birch has launched its full Titanic collection, as previewed in my 3D printing post here last week.

The other thing I haven't mentioned in relation to 3D printing is of course its potential for bespoke glasses, designed to fit and suit an individual face perfectly!

Top to bottom: Aristocrate, Emigrant, Sir, Sos, Champagne and Monocle.

3D printing for glasses: Colors of Birch brings first-of-their-kind shapes to eyewear

EXCLUSIVE

*Clears throat* Everybody, can I have your attention please?! Take a look at these frames. Welcome Colors of Birch to the world of eyewear.

And what a brave new world it becomes. Pekka Salokannel, a Finnish designer has come up with his first eyewear collection: Titanic. This is, I think, the first professional 3D-printedeyewear collection, a truly seminal moment.

3D printing is a manufacturing technology where an object is created by laying down successive layers of material, in this case Nylon. The collection comprises five and half frames (including one monocle!), designed in Finland and made in the Netherlands.

Obviously the temples are amazing, but those hinges are pretty exciting too, are they not? Forget those things you wear to the cinema; this is 3D eyewear!

Colors of Birch is launched on 3 October at the Finnoir exhibition in Paris. Hope to bring you more images soon.

More Silmo d'Or: Lyz glasses by Vue DC

This frame, like yesterday's Silmo d'Or nomination, is almost Daliesque too. Lyz from Vue DC

Introducing Shauns Shades: buy one, give sight

These classy sunglasses are by a new brand, Shauns Shades, which has a generous business model  whereby for every pair purchased, one of the 285 million people in the world with sight problems will receive a pair of glasses, as part of its “buy one, give sight” mission.

California-based Scottish designer Shaun Paterson explains: "My vision has never caused me any issue in any way. Like many others, I use a simple lens to correct for my natural vision problems. However, if like many millions of those in need, I had been born in an area with no access to eye health care and glasses, I would be legally blind."

Note the signature Braille "S" on the frame front. The shades feature Carl Zeiss lenses and are available with free shipping in the US and the UK. Price start at £115 or $160.

McClintock party time: Rock Optika launch in Covent Garden

McClintock Eyewear in Covent Garden, London, is famed not only for its superior collection of handmade glasses, but also for its parties. We've frequently turned up for our fill of glasses – of wine and of the spectacular.

McClintock last week hosted the official launch of the wonderful Rock Optika collection, as made by Tom Herrington and previewed here last month, so here are few pictures from the night...

Opening picture: Rock Optika's Key Largo. Above Bertie wears a bespoke frame made by McClintock. And below are a collection of pictures taken by Julian Cox, who's rather handy with the iPhone camera, and a few by EWG.

To get more of an idea of the lovely frames in stock in McClintock, have a look here. Finally, Dr Savage performs a poem...

Brian McGinn in his own creation. Photo: Julian Cox	Séamus McClintock in Kilsgaard. Photo: Julian Cox
Dr Savage in Rock Optika. Photo: Julian Cox	Funk Eyewear. Photo: Julian Cox
Tom Herrington in his own Rock Optika. Photo: Julian Cox	Eyewear designer Lawrence Jenkin in vintage 1980s Anglo American Optical. Photo: EWG
Hydron in Funk. Photo: EWG	Sophia in Kirk Originals. Photo: EWG

Cantao Eyewear from Brazil – Fall 2011

Cantao Eyewear thanks to OVR...

Reykjavik Eyes releases latest frames for 2011

It's nearly a year since we last featured Reykjavik Eyes, the screwless, hingeless, jointless frames from designer Gunnar Gunnarson that weigh only 2.2g. Here's a sneak preview of one of the latest models for 2011, the MS4... loving the green internal finish.

Re-released Manhattan sunglasses mark 50th anniversary of Breakfast at Tiffany's

As revealed here in January, Oliver Goldsmith's Manhattan sunglasses were to be re-released to mark the 50th anniversary of Breakfast at Tiffany's.  Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly wears the shades in the 1961 film and Oliver Goldsmith has now launched an exact replica of the frame.

What's more OG has made it available in five colourways: the classic dark tortoiseshell with green lens (below), as worn in the film above, as well as black/caramel split (next down), dark wood, grape and ink.

And why not. Or rather Y-Not (bottom) another OG sunglass made available this summer - as worn by Lady Gaga.  Manhattan and Y-Not are available from the OG boutique in London or in the best opticians around the world (see stockists here).

Maek Eyewear makes it original – including collaboration with Jon Burgerman

It's great to see some originality emanating from little ole England. And Nottingham-based Maek Eyewear has a tonne of it, as is demoed herewith. The top frame is a collaboration with renowned street artist Jon Burgerman featuring his doodles on the temples and, a really impressive and bright, raw finish.

Next is a frame designed for Maek Eyewear with urban fashion brand Regenerate. And below that is Letloose and Another Level, another two sunnies from Maek that show that it truly lives up to its slogan: Maek It Original.

Garrett Leight California Optical's Fall 2011 eyewear

Garrett Leight's Fall 2011 collection – loving the big frames!

Chanel AW 2011 eyewear campaign featuring Claudia Schiffer

The Chanel eyewear campaign for autumn-winter 2011 features Claudia Schiffer...

Oliver Goldsmith glasses: additions to the retro collection for 2011

As someone who's worn an Oliver Goldsmith frame for the past year, pictures of new additions to the original collection from the 1960s are pretty exciting.

The new images coincide with a new website for Oliver Goldsmith's international retro glasses collection.

Handmade in Japan with amazingly rich acetate, these new models fit perfectly in the original collection. I love the Pelota (above and right) - it's great to see the angular shapes of the 1950s and 60s being used on men as well as women.

And the new Consul MB, with the metal bridge (top), is expertly executed, combining acetate and a titanium bridge. 1960s style with 2011 quality standards.

Hats off to Oliver Goldsmith!! We look forward to further additions in 2012!

Virginia and Zarthan from Seraphin Neoclassic glasses collection

Classic styles are all very well but if something new is added, something that brings the design into the 21st century, eyewear starts to reach another, more exciting level. We love this cat's eye from Ogi Eyewear's Seraphin Neoclassic collection. It's called Virginia (top). Also pictured is Zarthan.