Oliver Peoples Open a London Store: glasses with attitude

Oliver Peoples have become one of my favourite eyewear brands in the last few years. The combination of contemporary yet vintage styling and genuine robustness put them at the top of my list. I've tried a few makes recently and too many, while stylish, are let down by a feeling of flimsiness which, while it may be misleading, doesn't inspire confidence. Glasses are inevitably going to be sat on or dropped on the floor during their life, and we need them to last, whether they are optical or sunglasses.

Oliver Peoples recently opened their first store in the UK recently just near Sloane Square in London. I went there to have my eyes tested and to be fitted for a new pair of glasses. The store is well-designed, displaying an impressively wide and stylish range of frames for optical and sunglasses.

Oliver Peoples Sheldrakes

Oliver Peoples started in California in 1987 and were inspired by a collection of vintage eyewear. That inspiration remains at the heart of the brand. Basing designs on well-tried classics, brought up to date, is a winning formula.

I tried a pair of clear acrylic frames. In the past I've tended towards tortoiseshell, but I felt that colourless glasses would suit grey hair better and give a more stylish but muted appearance. I selected their Sheldrake model, based on a style worn by Andy Warhol. As ever, they are comfortable, robust and subtly styled. So much do I like them that my contact lenses have been less frequently used of late.

My thanks to Ellen, their optometrist and store manager whose enthusiasm for the product and professionalism were outstanding. I'd recommend the store not only for the range of frames available, but for the excellent optometry service that supports you in your choice of glasses, whether prescription or not. The store is at 151 Sloane St, Belgravia, London SW1X 9BX, telephone 020 7730 0085. Please mention Grey Fox if you contact them. For more from me about Oliver Peoples click here.

My glasses were provided by Oliver Peoples but I received no financial compensation for this feature. 

Made-to-measure eyewear services: Grey Fox tries two different approaches from Atelier Eyewear & Scarlett of Soho

The last year has seen a rise in the number of online services offering made-to-measure eyewear; both as sun or optical glasses. I've tried a couple of these and have been impressed by the level of service and the quality of the products.

[PS: Scarlett & Soho are offering Grey Fox Blog readers a generous pre-Christmas discount; see below.]

Atelier Eyewear

Offer both optical and sunglasses. I tried it for the sunglasses and was taken through a choice of some 15 frames, 30 colours and 7 frames options. 

Atelier Eyewear sunglasses

There are frames shapes to suit all tastes and face-types. The process is interesting and engaging. You upload a photo of your face (an easy process using the camera on your computer or device) and select from the wide choice available. Measurements are taken and, after 4 to 5 weeks, the glasses arrive, nicely-packed and well-presented. Each pair is customised to fit your face shape and the frame can be engraved with your name, making it unique to you. 

The short wait is well worth it; the fit and design were exactly as I hoped for. The materials are high quality, the glasses are robust and yet not too heavy, an excellent combination of comfort, design and style. Sunglasses like mine cost around £265 including lenses and shipping. Given that the customer effectively designs his own glasses, giving a near-bespoke and high-quality product, this is a reasonable price. 

Much support and help is available, so you're not left on your own to sort out exactly what you need. This is reassuring if you are wanting frames fitted with prescription lenses. It's good to wear quality eyewear that is unique and not worn be everyone else. Visit Atelier Eyewear [Note I have removed this link as there is a malware warning and the company seems to have disappeared October 2015] to try out the service.

Scarlett & Soho

Scarlett & Soho also offer either sun or optical eyewear, but their approach is slightly different. You browse their website, choose four frames which are sent to you so that you can try them out at home over the next five days. You then return the frames in a pre-paid box that fits postboxes, making the process very easy indeed.

Scarlett & Soho optical glasses

Again, much help is offered to ensure you select the correct fit of frames and prescription of lenses. If you don't have your prescription to hand, they will obtain it from your usual optometrist. Prices are good; from about £97 including prescription (£147 for sunglasses with prescription lenses). I obtained a pair of reading glasses to enable me to read more easily while wearing contact lenses. 

The quality and comfort of the frames are very high. The materials are good quality and robust. Visit Scarlett & Soho to find out more.

NOTE: Scarlett & Soho are offering Grey Fox Blog readers a pre-Christmas 2014 discount of 20% using the code GFB20 at the checkout.

Summary

I enjoyed using both services. Atelier Eyewear offer a wider choice and greater degree of customisation at an understandably higher cost. Scarlett & Soho offer a good choice and lower prices, but slightly less exclusivity and choice. I was happy to use both. You pays your money and takes your choice.

Hackett - genuine horn-rimmed specs reviving the retro style

Horn-rimmed glasses, made originally either from horn or tortoiseshell, became popular in the early twentieth century. They're now usually reproduced in plastic, but Hackett have designed these genuine buffalo and rams' horn spectacles frames for release in January 2015. I couldn't resist them and am grateful to Hackett for allowing us a preview.

Carefully crafted from real horn, each piece is chosen to ensure a good balance of colour and grain within the natural material. Riveted hinges are used, mitred joints meet seamlessly with fronts and temples are sculpted to allow natural give and comfort. There are four styles in six colours, from light tan and browns to deep rich blacks and greys.

Close inspection shows those interesting little variations that you get from the hand-crafting of natural materials - and no two are the same - these are clearly not plastic reproductions. For more information, contact Hackett.

I wear vintage-style tortoiseshell-effect specs myself and reckon that the retro feel suits both the younger and older man, looking good either with sunglasses or optical prescription lenses. What do you think? What styles of glasses so you prefer?

Finlay & Co - handcrafted wooden sunglasses

Finlay & Co has only been around since 2012, but has already made quite an impact. Its hand-crafted wooden-framed sunglasses have been seen on the likes of Jenson Button and Pixie Lott and was used by Patrick Grant for his E. Tautz SS15 collection at the last London Collections: Men. 

I visited their HQ recently and tried on some of their designs. Light and comfortable, the frames are made by hand, so no two are the same, each showing the individuality that a hand-made object acquires. The designs range from extrovert to more classic, so there will be something for everyone - from the younger to the older man or woman looking for a stylish and unique pair of sunglasses.

It's good to see a British design brand doing so well. While the frames are made outside the UK, those worn at the E. Tautz show were made in Scotland. Will we see a British-made range in the Finlay & Co collection one day?

Prices are from £105, competing very well indeed with other designer brands. See Finlay & Co for more information and for stockists and details of their bespoke service. 

Making the frames in Scotland for E Tautz

Oliver Peoples sunglasses and frames - classic styles and high quality

I had a close look at Olivers Peoples optical designs recently. The business was founded in 1986 when two brothers opened an optical boutique on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Much of their stock was from an old collection of American-made eyewear which they had found, comprising thousands of vintage frames from the 1940s to 60s.

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird

This vintage feel now dominates the Oliver Peoples collection at a time when older styles of glasses frames has taken over from the futuristic and geometric styles that appeared in the 80s. As such the styles suit young and older men alike - and that, for me, is what makes the range so successful. Look at the image of Gregory Peck above, it could have been snapped today, so classic have become our tastes in menswear and accessories.

The vintage Gregory Peck look from Oliver Peoples

The quality is superb with solid-feeling frames and lenses and strong hinges. They're also very comfortable; important when posing seriously all day.

Grey Fox seriously enjoying his Oliver Peoples Sir Finlay Suns

A selection of styles from Olivers Peoples

For more information see the Oliver Peoples website, where you can find information about stockists in your area.