“Kuch toh hua…hey hua…” goes the jingle of a new eye wear ad. And true to that, something's really happened with regard to spectacles – a revolution of sorts. For starters, note that it's ‘eye wear' and not ‘spectacles'. The cool factor just doesn't stop with the name change. Noticed people everywhere flaunting, rather than just wearing, their designer glasses — power or powerless?
Soaring popularity
Branded ones, non-branded ones, eye wear has come back with a bang after they were declared uncool by the conact lenses. But thanks to trendier designs, colours and variety options, glasses are here to stay by the look of it, pun intended.
Most optical stores in the city have in-house designer frames, as well as the popular brands like DKNY, CK, Police and D&G. Titan Eye + astounds you with the variety it offers with its own in-house brands like Vibes, Enigma and Trim which is basically the rimless collection. There's also Cabanna collection for casual corporate wear.
One look at the shelves and the crowd flocking these stores and you know that the nerdy look is ‘in'. There are geometric frames in fuschia pinks, greens, blues, and other trendy colours. Frames with hand-crafted designs on the sides (one actually looked like a stained-glass painting) and some even studded with crystals. The more you can spend, the higher is your frame on the flaunt-meter. Compare this with the shell and plain metal frames being the only options a few years back.
Favourites
“Now sporting glasses has become more about the style rather than the need. We see a lot of youngsters going for the designer frames. Boys prefer the red and black combo ones like the Tag Huer ones that Shah Rukh sports these days, while pinks, reds and yellows are popular with the girls,” reveals Pratik Shah, Managing Director, Specsmakers Opticians.
At Specsmakers, the fashion consultants suggest frames and colours based on the profile of the customer. “A college-goer can definitely opt for something vibrant while a working professional has to take into consideration the job profile and hierarchy,” he explains.
Functionality comes as an added incentive to sport these frames. With anti-reflective coating on the lenses, these glasses are ideal for those who stare into the computer for long or drive at nights.
“I love these designer frames. When you have to wear glasses because of your power why not make that a style statement with cool frames. In fact, they have now become a part of the fashion wardrobe. I generally wear contacts, but when I think my red CK frame will match my dress that day I would happily opt for it,” says Poornima, a college-goer.
With a starting range of Rs. 1000, it may not be possible to match every shade in your wardrobe. So choosing wisely will do the trick. Go in for neutral shades or one that will go with most of the clothes in your wardrobe, giving preference to design rather than colour. If colour it is, choose something that will go with clothes you wear to parties, or general outings depending on when you prefer flaunting your frames.
So go ahead and look cool while you see better…
