| |
| |
| Fashion
Frames Practice Of The Year - 2008 Winner! |
| |
 Having
been short listed for the 2008 Fashion Frames Practice of the Year
Award, an annual award given by the industry’s trade journal
Optician and open to all opticians’ practices in the UK, we
are really pleased to announce WE WON !
So it’s
official, we are the UK’s premier stockists of fashionable frames
and sunglasses.
The award ceremony was on Saturday 19 April at a dazzling masked ball
held at the swanky Hilton in Park Lane, London. We joined finalists
from all categories waiting anxiously for the results to be announced
by Ardal O’Hanlon, star of TV’s Father Ted and My Hero.
In our category we were up against four other finalists. When it was
time for the results to be read, the tension was nail-biting and it
seemed like an age before the winner was announced. But when it was,
those nerves turned to sheer elation – we’d won!
We were all ecstatic and once the news actually sank in and the initial
shock faded, we were on cloud nine for the rest of the evening.
We have been truly bowled over by the goodwill and best wishes expressed
by our customers, both before and after the announcement. We’d
like to extend sincere thanks to everyone who wished us good luck
and has since sent their congratulations. Thank you! |
| Posted: April 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
| Frames:
choosing the right style to suit your face |
| |
 Have
you ever wondered why some people look fantastic in their eyewear,
whilst others look awkward and unsuited?
Selecting frames can be a challenging exercise, not to mention laborious.
With such a wide range to choose from, where do you start? Get it
right, and you will find your spectacles or sunglasses will complement
the shape and size of your face, adding balance to your features and
making you look attractive. Choose the wrong style however, and you
could end up with a clumsy look that is far from flattering.
Here are some guidelines to help you in your quest for choosing the
perfect eyeglass frames to suit your face:
The Eyes
Always try and make sure that your eyes are approximately centred
within the lenses, no matter what the frame shape. This helps open
up the eyes and minimises the appearance of close set eyes and squints.
The Brow Line
The top of the frame should not be prominent above or below the brow
line. Choose a chunkier, more solid frame to balance thicker eyebrows.
The Lenses
Careful lens selection is as important as choosing the right frames
and some lenses can change the overall appearance of the eyewear.
Thin & light lenses with an anti-reflective coating are considered
to offer the most appealing look. They make the lenses seem more invisible,
thus drawing greater attention to the eyes themselves.
Skin & Hair Colouring
Generally the colours of clothes that best suit you are also the colours
you should aim for when choosing a frame. You can be bold or subtle
as long as the colour complements. If you’re not sure what colours
you think do suit you, it’s worth having a professional Colour
Analysis Consultation. These trained experts can work with you to
select the correct palette for your whole wardrobe.
The Face Shape
Ideally, your frames should subtly balance your face shape. The frame
choice ultimately depends on whether you have a round, oval, triangle,
diamond, square or oblong shaped face. Tempted as you may be, never
choose a frame that matches the shape of your face because all that
will do is exaggerate the feature.
Always remember that balance is the name of the game and you should
use your eyewear to enhance your look, rather than spoil it. Here
are some brief guidelines for choosing the right frames to suit your
face shape, but don’t forget to take the rest of the points
above into consideration too when making your final selection:
- Round faces
Try to lengthen your face by selecting wide, rectangular shaped frames
that fall low on the cheekbones.
- Oval faces
Choose frames that stretch slightly further than the broadest part
of your face.
- Oblong faces
Embellished and colourful frames can help broaden an oblong shaped
face, and a round shape shortens the length of the face, balancing
the features perfectly.
- Square faces
Angular or oval styles can make a square face look more rounded and
above eye-level hinges can help to lengthen the face.
- Diamond-shaped faces
Choose frames designed with understated curves that don’t reach
past your cheekbones. Square shaped frames are a good option, as well
as those combining a flat top and curved bottom.
- Triangle faces
A cat’s eye shape can really flatter a female triangular
face and men could benefit from selecting square frames. Rimless
bottoms and high temples, and anything that sweeps upwards and
out towards the top corners, will generally balance this shape.
Taking all these points into consideration could make a real difference
to your overall look. Whether you are choosing frames for everyday
wear or special occasions, as work wear or sunglasses, stick by these
guidelines and you’ll find your features will appear more balanced
and your eyewear will enhance your look just as well as any outfit
or fashion accessory. |
| Posted: April 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
| Chanel
Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2008 Paris Fashion Show |
| |
 As
a premiere Chanel stockist, The Eye Academy were privileged to be
invited recently to attend an exclusive preview of Chanel's Haute
Couture Spring 2008 collection. Invites to the shows are very hard
to come by and are usually limited to fashion press, major buyers
and celebrities.
The event was held in February during Paris Fashion Week at the historic
Grand Palais, just off the Champs de Elysee. The show was mesmerizing
with a revolving circular catwalk set around a towering 75 foot fiberglass
statue of the famous Chanel cardigan jacket. The models entered the
runway through a flap in the jacket.
The clothes themselves were inspired by seashells, according to Karl
Lagerfeld. The pinks were the pinks of shells and there were spirals,
scallops, folds, spurs and feathery detailing in both the day and
evening wear. The collection was breathtakingly beautiful.
Our front row seats afforded great views and we even got fabulous
close up shots of Karl Lagerfeld himself in the finale.
The show was preceded by a tour of "Paris Through the Eyes of
Chanel." In the evening we had dinner at the exclusive Jardins
de Tuilleries - a beautiful glass restaurant illuminated with ice
blue lights. There the CEO of Luxottica, the current Chanel Eyewear
licence holders and the Executive of Chanel gave us an inspirational
speech about the brand.
The whole event jointly organized by Luxottica and Chanel gave us
a real sense of the essence of Chanel: beauty, luxury and exclusivity.
To maintain the brand values, this year Chanel Eyewear will become
more exclusive with fewer stockists. The Eye Academy are pleased to
report that we will be one of the few remaining authorized dealers
and will continue stocking the full Chanel sunglasses and spectacle
range. |
| Posted: February 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
| Fashion
Frames Practice Of The Year - 2008 Finalists |
| |
 We
are pleased to announce that The Eye Academy has been shortlisted
for the 2008 Fashion Frames Practice of the Year award. This is an
annual award given by the industrys trade journal Optician
.
The Optician Awards are held annually to celebrate the best in optical
practice and is open to all opticians in the UK. We are one of five
national finalists and are now through to the final judging, which
will take place on 25th February. The results will be announced at
an awards ceremony on 19th April, so we'll keep you all posted. Thank
you to all those who've wished us luck and written such lovely comments
in support. |
| Posted: February 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
| Something
Different |
| |
|
|
 Many
of our customers want to stand out from the crowd and want something
a bit or even a lot different. For them we’ve been scouring
the collections at trade shows in Milan, Las Vegas and Paris.
The new ranges we’ve introduced this year include:
Bellinger
– colourful funky frames with hand carvings on the sides, for
both the young and the young at heart.
Orgreen
– respect for simple features and high quality materials, produce
cool urban styles but with warmth and character from this Danish brand.
Lafont
- Parisian elegance and opulent detailing combine to make these frames
chic and quintessentially classy.
Mykita
– Screwless frames made from 0.5mm strip cut Surgical Stainless
Steel make these German frames ultralight and the brand ubercool.
The brands have all had a fantastic reception from our customers,
so much so that we’ll be introducing even more new ranges throughout
2008 . |
| Posted: January 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
|
|
| LIMITED
EDITION- Dior Grandsalon |
| |
|
|
 Dior
have launched an exclusive limited edition sunglass for the festive
season. Encrusted with Swarovski Crystals in a beautiful flower pattern,
the visor is a real stunner.
With only 1500 available worldwide this is a seriously collectible
item.
We’re one of the few stockists in the country, and you can buy
it on our online shop or instore.
As
seen on Gwen Stefani. |
| Posted: January 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
|
|
| Frame
Trends In 2008 |
| |
|
|
For both men and women
in the coming year COLOUR is predicted to be BIG. The trade shows
were full of collections in the most vibrant colours from reds to
yellows, to greens to blue. In fact any colour even black !
Frame styles are also going slightly bigger, which is great news for
those who wear varifocals. For both young and old the message is ‘if
you’ve got it flaunt it !’ |
| Posted: January 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
|
|
| Man
Appeal |
| |
|
|
 Tag
Heuer has been a runaway favourite with both men and their wives and
partners who have to look at them !!
It arrived in the store in the summer and it’s been one of our
best selling collections. Both sunglasses and glasses exude cutting
edge styling, technology and comfort.
The clean lines give the collection both contemporary and timeless
appeal.
The range encompasses both rimless and full frames and includes a
unique wrapped sunglass model which is available as prescription. |
| Posted: January 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
|
|
| In
Brief |
| |
|
|
Lindberg,
the multiple award winning Danish brand has launched the Precious
Metals collection in its rimless range. Available in solid yellow
or white gold and complemented with either diamonds, horn or simple
plate, the collection exudes pure luxury and class. Like all Lindberg
frames, each piece is custom made by special order and can be engraved
to produce a truly personal product.
In the New Year we will be stocking exclusive pieces from the Alain
Mikli ‘Pocket Shop’ range. The Pocket Shop range is only
available to selected stockists and they represent the cream of the
Mikli collection. The bold colours, unusual lamination and distinctive
shapes allow wearers to stand out from the crowd and their exclusivity
means you can be sure you won't find too many others wearing the same
frame.
The Eye Academy were recently invited by global frame manufacturers,
Luxottica, to become one of their first Elite clients. Luxottica are
the worlds largest optical retailer & manufacturer. They own Sunglass
Hut, Rayban and produce the Chanel, Bvlgari, Prada, Burberry, Versace,
Dolce & Gabbana eyewear collections to name but a few. Their Elite
programme was launched in Lake Como and we were invited to attend,
as we are one of their prestigious accounts. Having Elite status means
that we will get exclusives on selected models and brands, such as
Tiffany which is being launched next year. |
| Posted: January 2008 |
| Back to top |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
