Saturday 2 April 2011

Vintage glasses

I have an opticians appointment tomorrow, so today I popped into specsavers to have a quick browse. Like any vintage obsessed specs wearer, I'm always looking for vintage styled, but flattering, eyewear. But for me, as I have to wear my glasses all the time, they can't be too OTT as I want my look to be flexible.

In addition, I have the complication of, because I like to play with lots of different era's, it's quite hard to pick just one pair of vintage styled glasses as, for example, a 1950s styled pair may look out of place worn with a full 1920s outfit. Not that anyone else would notice, but I would know. There are of course lots of '2 for 1' offers out there, but unfortunately my eyesight is so bad that the main cost for me is in the lenses, so this is not a cheap option for me.

There are a few specialist providers of vintage frames out there. For example, Dead Men's Spex lists their original vintage frames by period: http://www.deadmensspex.com/default/ (I've not used this company myself so this is not a recommendation, but I do enjoy browsing their website!).

I am lazy though and just want something convenient on the high street.

So, browsing in Specsavers today (since that's my usual opticians), it was nice to see quite a few vintage styled frames. Even in their cheapo £25 range, there were a few interesting wire framed and slightly 1950s/60s style looks.

What got me more excited though was the Gok Wan range: http://www.specsavers.co.uk/gok-wan/?gclid=COiyhsra_acCFQoa4QodrEyZrA

These are the ones that really caught my attention - dramatically geeky 1920's style round frames: http://www.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/designer-glasses/gok-wan-19/ I just love them, but I tried tham on and - they're just not flattering! It would take a very brave person to pull these off. Maybe if I only wore them for reading, I might give them a go, but sadly they're not something to wear all the time.

These are a slightly more accessible 'geek chic' pair, I think: http://www.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/designer-glasses/gok-wan-18/

However, I think I'm more tempted by these rather funky 1950s style ones: http://www.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/designer-glasses/gok-wan-04/

Admittedly, at a starting price of £99 for the frames, buying original vintage frames may be a far cheaper option, although I'm not keen on buying glasses I can't try on first. Specs are too big and important an investment for me not to try before I buy. I will update on what I choose after my appointment tomorrow!

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Meanwhile my blogging is somewhat limited at the moment by the fact that I've filled my computer with too many photographs and family films!! I literally don't have enough memory left to load up or edit any more pictures, which is making it rather hard to get my backlog of blog entries posted.

Luckily, I think my hubbies picked up on my rather heavy hints that I'd like some extra storage for my birthday, so this should all be resolved in the next couple of weeks, but in the mean time, it may be a little quiet round here...

3 comments:

  1. I love the 50s style ones. I need new glasses too, and also have a strong prescription so I feel your pain! x

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  2. I like the Gok Wan 04 ones. What a shame they didn't give them funky names. x

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  3. I have gone for the 1950s style ones (04) - along with some more contemporary style ones for work. Will post photos wearing them when I get them in a week or so :)

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