We Got A Glimpse of the New John Galliano and Tod’s Line of Sunglasses and You Are Going to LOVE Them!

This week  Marcolin, the U.S. distributor of Tom Ford, Tod’s and DSquared2, stopped in to show us the new sunglass lines from John Galliano and Tod’s.

At first we were a little skeptical.

We’ve been searching for some new eyewear lines to add at Urban Optiques for several months now, and what we’ve seen so far (outside of Francis Klein) hasn’t particularly impressed us.

We pretty much knew what we didn’t want:  Yet another line of sunglasses from some giant corporate design center with yet another fashion designer’s name stuck on the temple with something akin to Super Glue as an afterthought.

There are tons of those brands out there, and outside of the designer logo itself, there’s really not much in terms of unique design to differentiate these eyewear lines from each other.

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Tom Ford Goes Super-Retro with the TF 5116 Eyeglass Frame

In the fashion industry, Tom Ford has built a name for himself as a designer who pushes boundaries, whether in his runway fashions at Gucci or in the racy promotional campaigns for Tom Ford Eyewear that got his advertising banned in Italy.

So it’s a bit surprising to see the former lead-designer at Gucci and now award-winning director of the critically-acclaimed movie “A Single Man” introduce so many retro-inspired eyeglasses into the current Tom Ford Eyewear collection.

Or maybe not.

Vintage-inspired fashion continues to be a major theme in spring and fall collections from Chanel, Lanvin, YSL and Dior, and Ford himself just finished directing a period-piece, so retro and vintage style eyewear is probably top of mind for Tom Ford.

Which brings us to our designer eyeglass of the week: The Tom Ford TF 5116.

This is another one of those Tom Ford eyeglasses that is screaming for the right face shape and attitude.

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The FT-5117 Women’s Eyeglass from Tom Ford Brings the Sexy Back in this Little, Sophisticated, Retro-Inspired Spectacle

One of the trends over the past year that we can’t get enough of is retro-inspired fashion and eyewear.

From cats-eye glasses, to heavier men’s frames with horned-rims, to the return of ’40s, ’50s and early-’60s-inspired oval shapes in women’s eyewear, retro continues to be extremely hot.

The great thing about retro-inspired eyewear and fashion is that their shapes, cuts and colors tend to be classical and enduring.

There’s a reason why vintage or vintage-inspired eyewear never really completely goes out of style: It works on a lot of different faces and can easily be matched to complement or contrast against a person’s own personal style.

One of our favorite retro-inspired women’s eyeglass frames is the FT-5117 from Tom Ford Eyewear.

Tom Ford doesn’t name his eyeglass models, choosing instead to use numbers versus words, so we usually end up developing nicknames around the shop to refer to different numbered models.  So the the Tom Ford FT 5117 is affectionately known around Urban Optiques as “that sexy librarian frame.”

Which pretty much describes this unique, half-moon acetate frame that’s meant to sit down just a tad on the bridge of your nose (or all the way down for that really smart, flirtatious-I’m-looking-over-my-reading-glasses-at-you-vibe.)

This frame feels like it’s straight out of a Mad Men episode:  Fuzzy sweaters, pencil skirts and all.

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Forget about flowers and chocolate, if you really want to make her heart flutter this Valentines Day say “Be Mine” with the gift of one of these seven hot sunglasses from Urban Optiques.

Guys, a Valentines Day Gift Tip: Next to shoes and handbags, there is only one other accessory that a woman can’t have to many of …  Sunglasses.

So while flowers are beautiful and chocolate is delicious, sunglasses are eternal.

Well, maybe not eternal, but they have a longer shelf life than roses or Godivas.

So if you’re scratching your head over what to buy your sweetie this Valentines Day, Urban Optiques is going to take the guesswork out of picking out the perfect Valentine’s Day gift by recommending seven sunglasses that are sure to please even the most discriminating woman.

All of these sunglasses are currently in-stock at Urban Optiques. In some cases, we have certain models in other colors, so please call for more information. We stock more than 100 designer fashion and couture sunglasses, so if you don’t see the perfect Valentine’s shade here, there’s a good chance we’ll have it.

And ff your sweetheart is particularly picky, gift certificates are also available.

Chrome Hearts “Queenie”

If the “Queenie” sunglass from Chrome Hearts is good enough for bored hotel heiresses like Paris Hilton, it’s sure to be perfect for your fashion-conscious sweetheart.

All jesting aside, this is a really fabulous, big sunglass with a unique square-ish frame that works on just about every face shape.  So if her sunglass collection is filled with giant round sunglasses, she’ll love the “Queenie” because it’s still big and dramatic, but breaks the mold in terms of shape.

In other words, it’s a sunglass that her girlfriends won’t have.  BIG points for you.

We have the Queenie from Chrome Hearts in “Cherry Stripe.”

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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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