Sunglasses: essential for summer cool - David Clulow opticians

Like quality shoes, good sunglasses are essential to sartorial excellence. I've recently had the run of David Clulow's wide selection to try out over the summer months. I have my favourite brand, as do most sunglasses wearers, but being able to try a wider range helps a man to find the shapes best suited to his face shape. 

Ray-Ban Clubround from David Clulow. Suit Hardy Amies. Shirt Milton Green. Image Bart Pajak

If you're not sure what shape, colour and style of frame and lenses suits you best, a good supplier, like opticians David Clulow, will help by providing advice on style and fit and by showing a large range to try. You may also want to take a friend to help your selection.

Wearing Persol from David Clulow for their latest online campaign

Sunglasses, like clothes, give a man the chance to show his mood and personality. A collection of different styles, shapes and colours enables him to change as his mood alters from day to day, or according to the impression he's wanting to give. 

Part of the wide range from David Clulow. Top left clockwise: Oakley, Armani, Olivers Peoples, Prada

Is he wanting to look wise, playful, professional, mature, relaxed, cool, severe or simply to protect his eyes while playing sport? There's something for everyone and every purpose and mood. See David Clulow or call in to one of their stores to see their range of sun and optical glasses.

This is a sponsored post.

David Clulow: opticals and sunglasses - a photoshoot

David Clulow has been providing optical care and services since 1962. They've kindly asked me to work with them on a new campaign and I recently took part in a photoshoot to show how friends of the brand (no professional models) might wear the brand's products. This is a nice approach, showing how the man and woman on the street might wear their glasses.

Over the next few weeks I'll show a few of the huge range of optical and sunglasses that are supplied by David Clulow; from Olivers Peoples, Persol (that I'm wearing in the images here) and others. The breadth and variety of their offering is supported by opticians, optometrists and technicians to ensure that prescriptions, fit and style are the best. I've tried their service making a set of prescription specs, some reading glasses and sunglasses and found them to be friendly, knowledgable and efficient. 

The great thing about spectacles, optical and sunglasses, is that, like clothes, careful choice can reflect the style and personality that you want to show off on any particular day or for any particular event. You want to look studious, playful, proficient, creative, serious, flippant? You will find frames and lenses to match, helped by David Clulow's professional staff. Colour, shape and frame material all have a subtle influence on your overall look.

At present there's a trend to look back at classic designs of the fifties and sixties. For men, stars such as Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, Michael Caine and Gregory Peck provide inspiration in the search for a very contemporary look that suits all ages, face shape and personality. Modern frames reflect these styles in a very practical way, giving a timeless look using modern materials, acrylics and metals.

For more information on their latest ranges of optical service and sunglasses, see David Clulow.

Note: This is a sponsored post; As mentioned in this piece, I'm working with David Clulow to promote their services and wide range of glasses and optical services.

Kirk Originals sunglasses and opticals

Kirk Originals design their eyewear in the UK and it's made in the Jura region of France using fine Italian acetates. Relaunched last year, Kirk Originals was seen on the likes of Oasis, Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins in the early nineties. Much of the collection has a retro feel and, under new ownership, it's rediscovering its original purpose in interpreting vintage styles for modern wear.

Image Grey Fox

I wear the Genoa sunglasses above, with a smoky grey frame and charcoal lenses, £255. Optical frames are also available (as below), all in a wide range of shapes and colours.

Image Kirk Originals

The acetate frames are priced around £250 and metal styles around £290. See Kirk Originals. 

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.

Fifty Shades - Grey Fox finds sunglasses inspiration

With the sun appearing at last, thoughts turn to sunglasses. With so many retro styles around, where better to seek inspiration than in classic images of our favourite style icons wearing their favourite shades?

50 Shades is a collection of such images, collected and written by Lauren Goldstein Crowe and published by Reel Art Press. The book features such people as Clint Eastwood, Jackie Onassis, Steve McQueen, Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol, Brian Jones, Elvis Presley, Yves Saint Laurent and Grey Fox's all-time favourite crush (shh!) Debbie Harry.

Here are a few of my favourite images (all from Getty Image Archive).