Style

View the final segment of the complete Badgley Mischka Spring/Summer ‘10 Collection Preview from Amsterdam Featuring Couture Eyewear from Sama

Part III of the Badgley Mischka runway collection at the 11th Amsterdam International Fashion Week.

Not only does the collection have a fantastic soundtrack from Ra Ra Riot and gorgeous clothing, but it also features some amazing eyewear from Badgley Mischka by Sama.

Music by Ra Ra Riot

Ghost Under Rocks – Ra Ra Riot
Can You Tell – Ra Ra Riot
Can You Tell (Epochs Remix) – Ra Ra Riot

Badgley Mischka Couture Eyewear by Sama Continues to Shine in Part II of the Badgley Mischka Spring/Summer 2010 Amsterdam Runway Show

Here’s part two (of three) from the Badgley Mischka Spring/Summer 2010 Preview at the 11th Amsterdam International Fashion Week.

The final segment of the show will be posted tomorrow.

Badgley Mischka’s Spring/Summer 2010 Runway Show in Amsterdam Sizzles with a Cavalcade of Chic Sunwear

We love it when designers prominently feature their eyewear lines in their seasonal fashion collections.

It’s even better when they put their eyewear on the runways.

Which is exactly what Mark Badgley and James Mischka did during their Spring/Summer 2010 preview at the 11th Amsterdam International Fashion Week.

The spring/summer ready-to-wear collection from Badgley Mischka was stunning enough on its own.

But what really made it sizzle was Badgley Mischka’s decision to place its couture sunwear on every single model on the catwalk:

This made for one of the most conspicuous displays of sunglasses in any major collection this year (and possibly in history), which of course makes us overjoyed, since we carry both the Badgley Mischka Couture Eyewear Collection and the very sunglass models featured in Amsterdam.

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Urban Optiques launches Optiques TV — Our new YouTube Channel to help you keep up with the latest in fashion, eyewear and vision care

This afternoon the buzz around Urban Optiques was all about the video:  Specifically the launch of Optiques TV, our new YouTube Channel dedicated to keeping our clients and patients (and the world, really) in the know around eyewear trends and vision care health.

For the launch of Urban Optiques TV,  we decided to put together a fast-paced, stylized video featuring one of our favorite (and most popular) eyewear designers and manufacturers: Lafont.

The whole idea was to produce a music-video inspired short film that brought Lafont’s nearly 100 year tradition of crafting chic, dazzling French eyewear together with images of the world’s most fashionable and romantic city.

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The Lafont Venise Eyeglass Frame is the Perfect Complement to this Spring’s Runway Looks

We’ve been watching the Spring couture collections like hawks around Urban Optiques and one thing is clear: Safari-inspired fashion and wild-at-heart eyewear to match is still hot, hot, hot.

We weren’t sure if the animal-kingdom inspired looks that we saw out of Donna Karan in this Fall would make it through into the Spring 2010 collections, but they did.

Everywhere we look, animal print and textures seem to be in.

And we’re none too glad for it, since we just received in a slew of new eyewear to complement the leopard prints, reptile textures and soft, muted browns, greens and khakis that appear to be winding their way into plenty of couture collections this Spring.

Which bring us to the Lafont Vanise, which is one of our favorite frames around Urban Optiques right now.

This isn’t one of Lafont’s latest releases, but it does signal their ability to spot trends long before they happen.

This frame is sophisticated and completely gorgeous, replicating an alligator-type texture on the temples with a wild but sophisticated acetate frame that is just screaming for someone to grab it and put it on their face.

The frame retails just north of $500 dollars, but we think it’s worth it.

Even better, the Lafont Venise comes in six different frame and temple colors, which got us thinking:

Could we match the Venise up with more than one look for Spring?

So we looked at four different Spring 2010 designer runway looks from Paris and New York (from Dior, Akris, Tory Burch and Chris Benz) and matched them to a coordinating Lafont Venise eyeglass frame.

We also picked some killer shoes to match the eyewear, grabbing selections from Manolo Blahnik, Sergio Rossi, Behnar Kanan and Tanja S. London.

Turns out that that the Venise worked with each one of them flawlessly — from retro-inspired fashions to “bad girl” couture.

It’s truly rare to find a piece of designer eyewear that meshes with so many different styles, but somehow the Venise from Lafont pulls it off.

Check out the looks we put together:

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Take a Peek Inside the Lafont-Paris Eyewear Boutique!

At Urban Optiques, we love everything about the Lafont Eyewear line.

Their frame construction is impeccable, their eyeglass and sunglass designs run the gamut from conservative to wild (but always maintain that chic Parisian design aesthetic) and they are one of the few remaining European designer eyewear brands to remain independent.

Oh, did we mention they happen to have one of the coolest optical boutiques ever?

If you plan on making a trip to Paris, we highly recommend including a stop at the Lafont boutique on your itinerary along with the Louvre and, of course, shopping on  Place Vendôme.

But if a trip across the pond to France isn’t in your immediate future, check out this fantastic video that puts you right inside the original Lafont-Paris optical shop at 11 rue Vignon where it all began in 1923:

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Why We Love the Tom Ford Narcissa Sunglass …

Every now and then, a sunglass comes along that just makes you stop dead in your tracks and say “wow.”

For us, that sunglass is the Tom Ford Narcissa.

When we got our first shipment of Tom Ford sunglasses in over the summer, two of the Tom Ford sunglass models immediately jumped out at us:  The Whitney (a favorite of Angelina Jolie) and the Tom Ford Narcissa.

We had seen these sunnies in magazines and on the Internet, but nothing could prepare us for actually having a couple pairs in our eager little hands.

Tom Ford Sunglasses: Celebrity Hot

Beginning last year, we noticed Tom Ford sunglasses making (repeated) appearances on everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Jessica Biel.

In fact, aside from Ray Bans,  we haven’t seen a designer sunglass line show up on so many well-known faces in such a short period of time.  So obviously, we couldn’t wait to start carrying them in the store.

While Tom Ford Eyewear has been a little slow to catch on off the coasts (eyewear trends tend to move inward from L.A. and New York, so there is usually a lag before something gets hot in Detroit), once we started getting them in front of people, they began to sell.

Tom Ford Narcissa: One Curvy, Sexy Sunglass

What we love about the Tom Ford Narcissa (and many of the women’s sunglasses in Tom Ford’s lineup) is that they utilize simple, curvy lines to produce a very feminine, sophisticated and sexy sunglass.

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People Magazine’s 2009/2010 “Sexiest Man Alive” Isn’t Afraid of Bold Eyeglasses. We Track Down The Designer of Depp’s Retro Specs.

When you’re in the optometry and optical business, there are two things that you just develop an innate awareness for: People’s eyes and the eyeglasses and sunglasses they put over them.

It becomes almost like a second sense, and after a while you begin to take note of cool eyewear on other people in the same way that Carrie Bradshaw would notice a great pair of Manolos.

Johnny Depp in his Moscot Eyeglasses

While celebrities practically live in their sunglasses, it’s rarer to see them sporting eyeglasses. Jennifer Garner has been known to wear eyeglasses (specifically a pair of Chrome Hearts), but we tend to see fewer eyeglasses on celebrities than we see sunglasses.

But we can now add Johnny Depp to the list of actors embracing great eyewear and doing it in public. A spat of photo ops, magazine spreads and tabloid covers over the past few months have captured People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in a pair of roundish, tortoise-shell specs.

At first, I thought they may have been Tom Ford frames, since Depp is known to own a few pairs of Tom Ford sunglasses. TF has a line of bold acetate frames with a similar shape to the eyeglass frames Depp has been seen in.  But the shape, etching and details were different from the Tom Ford’s we stock in the store.

So this weekend we set out to identify the mysterious Johnny Depp eyeglass frames and with the help of Google and a high-resolution photo of Depp in his eyeglasses, we think we have a positive identification.

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These five fashion trends straight off the runway will be shaping eyewear this fall and into 2010

We’re seeing five trends in fashion this fall that we think are going to be shaping choices in both eyewear and clothing and accessories through fall and winter.

From big shoulders, to animal prints and Twenties- inspired glamour, the runways this season served up a decidedly eclectic fusion of past, present and future.

Girl Meets Boy

Donna Karan Fall 09 Collection

First, men’s-inspired shapes made a return, including built-up shoulders, tuxedo jackets and narrow fitting blazers.

While we saw early signs of an ’80s revival as far back as 2008 with the resurgence of Ray-Bans and Wayfarers, the presence of so much ’80s-inspired clothing on runways this fall suggests that the decade that brought us “Wall Street”, Madonna and Tom Cruise singing in his underwear in a pair of Ray-Bans has clearly weaved its way into this season’s styles.

For those of you who have been waiting two decades for the return of the 80’s “power suit”,  2009/2010 might finally be the year.

Big, padded shoulders have returned, as well as oversized buttons balanced with long flowing silk scarves.  On eBay we’re seeing vintage ’80s suits from the likes of Dior and YSL get snapped up, so it seems this is one fashion trend that has some legs.

For men, it’s a continuation of some of last year’s ’80s inspired clothing, including the return of solid or striped shirt with white collar, popularized by Michael Douglas’ Gorden Gecko in the 1987 movie Wall Street.  Can suspenders be far behind?

Vogue VO-2584

In terms of matching the “Girl Meets Boy” look with eyewear, you’ll do best to choose a frame with strong geometric shapes and a heavier, more robust materials.

Keep the overt bling to a minimum on these frames, and instead opt for something that incorporates more subtle, integrated embellishments like small crystals, polished metals or unusual textures into the temples.

Pulling off the “Girl Meets Boy” look demands bold, power-eyewear that is balanced with softer, feminine touches.  We like Ray-Ban Wayfarers with this look as well, since they are the quintessential ’80s eyewear.

Ray-Ban RB4140 Wayfarers

Prada PR65HS

For men, pair that solid or striped shirt with the white collar with a pair of classic round Oliver People’s eyeglass frames in gold or silver metals, or a Prada men’s aviator sunglass like the Prada PR 65HS in silver.

Or, depending on your facial structure, we love the bold sophistication of the Tom Ford men’s frame.

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See and Be Seen in Lanvin-Paris Eyewear from Urban Optiques!

We love deliveries at Urban Optiques — especially big, brown boxes from the UPS guy filled with box-upon-box of new eyeglass frames and sunglasses. We get even more excited when the box is filled with a new designer eyewear line that we haven’t previously carried.

So when we received our first shipment of Lavin-Paris eyeglasses and sunglasses this week, the office was filled with “ohhs” and “ahhs” as we unwrapped each these chic, sophisticated frames (and yes, we typically try on each of them while we do it.)

Lanvin Eyewear:  From Paris with Love

Previously unavailable in the United States, getting your hands on a pair of Lanvin eyeglasses or sunglasses meant either jumping a jet to Paris, or calling up that long-lost French pen-pal from grade school and having them ship you a pair.

Luckily, Lanvin-Paris struck a international distribution deal, so this high-quality, very fashionable eyewear line is now available in the U.S.  As soon as we had an opportunity to add Lanvin to our designer collection, we did. From our market research, Urban Optiques is one of the few Metro-Detroit eyewear boutiques to carry Lanvin-Paris eyewear.

Fantastic Eyewear from France’s Oldest Couture House: The Lanvin Story

Fashionistas will already be familiar with the Lanvin-Paris label.

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