Check Out the Urban Optiques Team “Modeling” The Ultra-Lux FRED-Paris Eyewear at our FRED Cocktail Party and Trunk Show!

It’s not often that you get to wear a pair of $18,000 eyeglasses for an entire evening, but that’s exactly what we where able to do during Saturday’s FRED Cocktail Party and Trunk Show at Urban Optiques.

We snapped some random pictures of the team during the show wearing some of the most exquisite eyewear on the planet, thanks to Deborah Signorello, the National Sales Manager for Premiere Vision.

Premiere Vision is the distributor of both Tag Heuer and the FRED luxury eyewear collection, and Deborah helped us put on an amazing event last Saturday night.

It was our first show with FRED since buying the practice, but it definitely won’t be our last.

For those of you who attended, we thank you.

For those who couldn’t stop in, you missed something really special.

But there will be more chances in the future.

continue

The Gold Sunglasses Rihanna Wears in the “So Hard” Video are Badgley Mischka Perry with 24K Gold Lenses.  And Urban Optiques Has a Pair!

In early January we noticed an upsurge in people asking about the Badgley Mischka Perry sunglasses.

But not just the usual Badgley Mischka Perrys — clients kept asking whether we stocked the gold Perry with gold lenses.

At first, we couldn’t quite understand the sudden interest.

Angelina Jolie had been spotted earlier sported the gold Badgley Mischka Perry with gold mirror lenses, and that caused a minor uptick in sales, but nothing like the buzz we saw over the past two months.

And then we noticed something in Rihanna’s “So Hard” video:

Yes, those gold sunglasses on the very lovely Rihanna are Badgley Mischka Perrys.

continue

Have a Thing for Skull & Bones? Check Out the “Tommy” Sunglass from Loree Rodkin and Put Some “Edge” In Your Eyewear …

This week’s featured designer sunglass comes courtesy of super-hot L.A. jewelry designer Loree Rodkin brought to you by Sama Couture Eyewear and Urban Optiques.

It’s the “Tommy” sunglass, which features a “skull and bones” Swarovski crystals motif on the temples.

While this sunglass isn’t for everyone (you definitely have to sport the right attitude to pull this shade off), it’s one of our best-kept-secrets at Urban Optiques. We KNOW there is the right woman out there for this killer sunglass.

In case you’re not familiar with Loree Rodkin, she’s one of Los Angeles’ hottest custom jewelers. Her jewelry designs have appeared on countless celebrities of all ages and generations, including Miley Cryus, Dakota Fanning, Christina Applegate, Marcia Cross, Ashley Tisdale, Jenna Dewan and “Twilight’s” Ashley Greene.

continue

Looking for a French alternative to the Wayfarer? Check out the “Tom” Sunglass from Lanvin-Paris.

Okay, so you like the shape of the Ray-Ban Wayfarer, but would prefer to have something with a little French flair?

Check out the “Tom” sunglass from Lanvin-Paris.

We love the classic, Audrey Hepburn-Breakfast-at-Tiffany’s inspired shape of this sunglass.

While it certainly takes some styling cues from the classic Wayfarer, Lanvin put their own subtle twist on this sunglass, rounding the frame out just a touch and adding nice little accents, like the delicate striping across the tops of the frames and temples.

continue

… Or How We Took A Different Approach With Displaying Our New Lanvin-Paris Eyewear Collection

We try as much as possible to do things differently around Urban Optiques.

For example, we tend to carry a lot more in-store frame stock than most optical shops and optometrist offices (we like to have plenty of cool stuff on hand for you to try on); we don’t schedule our eye exams in 15 minute blocks like the chains (we actually believe in spending time with you to help you care for your eyes); and we don’t display our eyewear in the usual, factory-made, run-of-the-mill display cases (we use “rescued” antique furniture and cabinets.)

If you’ve been in our eyewear studio, you’ll know that displays are something that we spend a lot of time on.  Lately, we’ve been experimenting around with some different display approaches to enhance the visual experience of shopping for eyewear at Urban Optiques.

How we decided to present our new Lanvin-Paris Eyewear Collection is a great example.

Highlighting Lanvin

Since we’re the first Michigan eyewear boutique to carry the Lanvin-Paris eyewear line, we wanted to try something different with how we displayed the brand in the store.

Fashion junkies will know the Lanvin-Paris label instantly, but for the uninitiated, “Lanvin” will sound like … well … “French.”

So we wanted to try to capture and present the essence of France’s oldest couture design house for people who may be finding out about this legendary brand for the first time.  Despite its venerable roots, Lanvin isn’t as widely known in the U.S. as a brand like Prada or Chanel (although we think it should be.)  So we needed to somehow capture the spirit of this line and pass it on to our clients.

continue