Sama Eyewear

Mickey Rourke Wears Sama D.C. Eyeglasses in Red Eyeglasses in “The Expendables.”

This weekend, The Expendables debuts at movie theaters in Europe (it opens in the U.S. next weekend) and we’re already fielding questions at Urban Optiques about who makes Mickey Rourke’s retro-inspired eyeglasses in the movie.

Anyone who came of age in the ’80s will know that Mickey Rourke was one of the decade’s sexiest bad boy actors. Who can forget the steamy 9 1/2 Weeks that paired Rourke with Kim Basinger and had to be substantially edited to earn a mere “R-Rating” at the box office?  He had that whole quiet, tough guy swagger down pat and it more or less made Rourke an icon among both men and women.

Not an easy thing to do.

But right at his height, Rourke seemed to disappear.  He took up boxing again.  He got his face bashed in which resulted in a round of reconstructive surgery that Rourke admits didn’t go the way he had expected.  For nearly a decade, there was hardly a word about Mickey Rourke.

And then in then 2005, Mickey Rourke staged an unlikely comeback thanks to his role in Sin City. The credits continued to accumulate, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role in the 2008 film The Wrestler and his role as the villain “Whiplash” in this Spring’s blockbuster Iron Man 2.

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Urban Optiques and Sama Eyewear Featured Together in Women’s Wear Daily Accessory Edition Discussing the Trend Toward 24-karat Gold Sunglasses

We were just perusing the July 19th Edition of  Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) and were delighted to find that an interview we gave to fashion reporter Lauren Benet Stephenson at WWD a few weeks ago helped shape a full-page piece on 24-karat gold lensed eyewear in this week’s July WWD Accessories Issue.

While we’re a pretty modest group around Urban Optiques (aside from all of our flashy sunglasses), this is one of those times when it feels okay to brag a bit. After all, it’s not every day that a small, independent eyewear boutique like Urban Optiques receives this kind of exposure in the fashion industry’s premier global daily. We were also excited to see sunglasses from both Sama and Badgley Mischka featured not only in the article, but on the cover.  We love it when we can help our best partners get more exposure.

If the New York Times is where you go for world events, and the Wall Street Journal for financial news, WWD is the first place every fashion designer, retailer and industry mover-and-shaker goes to see what’s hot in the industry.  So serving as the primary, trusted retail source for this article (we’re actually the only consumer facing source in the article — everyone else quoted represents the brands and eyewear manufacturers)  is kind of a big deal for us.

We’re also particularly proud of the job that our Practice Manager, Lindsey Champine,  did working with the writer on this story. Lindsey’s quotes are golden (no pun intended), especially her response to the reporter’s question about why she believed ultra-lux eyewear products like 24-karat gold lenses continue to sell so well, even in a struggling economy.

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Be One of Only 35 People in the World To Own the New, Limited-Edition Sama Heart of Gold Regal Sunglass.

A few weeks ago, Brian Glascow at Sama Eyewear swore us to secrecy when he shared a new Heart of Gold sunglass variation that Sheila Vance and the Sama Team had been hard at work on for months.

This was going to be a very special sunglass, Brian explained, with an extremely limited run: Sama was producing only 35 of these sunglasses, and just 10 of them were going to be available to the public through Sama’s small, exclusive network of independent optical boutiques.  The remainder would be available for purchase only at the Destination: Sama Beverly Hills, Rome, St. Louis and West Hollywood Boutiques and to a small, inner circle of Sama loyalists.

That’s right: There are only 35 of these sunglasses in the world.

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NBA Basketball Star Danny Granger Seen in Badgley Mischka “Steve” Sunglasses

Our friends over at the Destination: Sama boutique in West Beverly Hills just sent us a picture they snapped of NBA basketball star Danny Granger in his new Badgley Mischka “Steve” aviator sunglasses.

The “Steve” sunglass that Danny Granger is sporting is actually a new model from Badgley Mischka Eyewear and Sama and will be released later this month.

Granger is pictured below wearing the “Steve” in gold with 24K gold lenses. We’re still waiting for confirmation from Sama on other color variations, but we do know it will also be available in Clove with special triple gradient-lenses.

If you are interested in pre-ordering the Badgley Mischka “Steve” please give us a call at 248-347-9090 or email us at: seebeseen@urbanoptiques.com and we’ll put you on the V.I.P priority list for this hot new model.

Danny Granger in Badgley Mischka “Steve” Sunglasses

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Experience First Hand The Sama Eyewear Runway Show at the Angiolucci Lunettes Boutique in Catania, Italy.  Featuring Sunglasses from the Sama, Badgley Mischka and Loree Rodkin eyeCouture Collections.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, we adore Sama Eyewear around Urban Optiques.

Why?

Well,  Sama is simply producing some of the most amazing, contemporary couture eyewear on the planet.  Forget about Chanel, D&G, Dior, Burberry and Coach.  Anyone can buy that at Sunglass Shack or Lenscrafters.  If you want something truly unique, you’ll want Sama.

If you don’t believe us, check out this great video filmed at the Angiolucci Lunettes Boutique in Catania, Italy. Not only does it feature some of Sama’s hottest sunglasses, but it also includes some great clips from Sama founder and lead designer Sheila Vance.

It speaks for itself.

The footage includes sunglasses from Sama, Badgley Mischka Eyewear and Loree Rodkin eyeCouture.

Enjoy and Grazie! to Angiolucci for sharing this with us all: