Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Looking Up

There's a point to be made, when one is a blogger who likes to post photos of new purchases, that one should ensure there's some photo of the purchase on the web, or simply take a freakin' picture.

Alas, I went yesterday to purchase new sunnies - I did this in 20 minutes, fyi - and neglected to take an in-shop photo. In truth, I can't really tell you what they look like. It sort of like when you buy a house and three days later it occurs to you that you cannot remember anything about it except that you really love the tree in the front yard and the kitchen is awesome.

No problem, thought I, I'll grab a shot from the net and impress you all.

The thing is that I somehow managed to buy vintage deadstock. And there's nary a photo of that on the web.

Let's start at the start: I cycled down to Spectacle on Queen West, having called the shop earlier to determine my options. I learned that I could hand over my current glasses and have the lenses exchanged (but that would take 5 days) OR buy a new pair of glasses, receive them, then give in my busted glasses for fixing. That option would allow for a) continuing to have sunglasses, crapped up as they are, as I am truly light-sensitive at the best of times and b) confirmation that I'll get exactly the same colour of (dipped) lens on the busted ones, when those lenses are replaced. Without the originals, they can't guarantee an exact match.

I opted to buy new glasses, waiting with the old ones till the new ones are ready, and then to get the old ones fixed. Most expensive option, check. Quel surprise.

Sidebar: Do you know that light-eyed people are more sensitive to light than dark-eyed people? They're also more prone to macular degeneration (yuck). And green eyes are the most rare colour? My eyes were blue as the sky until I turned 7, and one day they went green. It was incredibly weird, given my southern Italian and Puerto Rican roots, that I had blue eyes to begin with. But I'm surprised to learn that green eyes are less common still. Between that and my left-handedness, I feel rather recessive!

OK, back to my purchase, I tried on every pair of glasses in that store like a machine.

This left me with 4 maybes, 2 vintage deadstock (by Cutler and Gross) and 2 modern ones (by brands I can't remember).

Of the modern glasses, one pair seemed to be the most popular with people I polled (and I'm not shy peeps). The other was cool, but kind of delicate. Not my scene. The popular ones were an interesting striated acetate, but in order to get the lenses to be dark enough, I would have had to go with a polarized brown. Note to reader: When you look through polarized brown lenses, everything is yellow. It's kind of sickening. Always take the lenses outside into daylight and confirm that you're not going to be seeing the world though a nauseating filter, should you buy that pair. Other note to reader: I don't love polarized lenses, even though light-sensitive people tend to like them because they reduce horizontal glare.

Of the vintage ones, one pair was black and wide like my current ones. More glamorous, natch. They are very Audrey Hepburn / Breakfast at Tiffany's in vibe (though her glasses were actually much rounder). However, these seem rather similar to my Oliver Peoples, all things considered.

The final pair, the winner as we like to say, has a tortoise-shell acetate frame. It's not a small frame, though I have a small face, so these glasses will give lots of coverage. The frame is almost butterfly shaped, with a nose-bridge keyhole (I think?!). This pair does look vintage, but not weird. I made certain to confirm with reviewers that, in these, I am channeling a movie star, circa 1960, in Capri, rather than a 42-year old mother of a 'tween trying to look hip. I've gotta hope people are honest. Lord knows, I am.

The frames were on sale by 40 per cent. They were still pricey. If you considered that they have likely languished in a factory since 1962 when they would have sold for 10 bucks (and that would have been expensive), I paid an ungodly amount for these things. But I do love vintage. I love to imagine the former life these things might have lived. And deadstock, unlike worn-stock, is new even as it's old. The frames were refurbished beautifully by a company that's in the biz. So call me crazy.

Photos to follow in 5 to 10 business days. Yes, that's how (freakin' insanely) long it's gonna take to make the lenses. If you want fast, go with polarized. They're not dipped, the filter is embedded in the lens.

14 comments:

  1. Hello - classic "long time reader, first time commenter" here (love your work! And more particularly, your 'voice'). I just got some new sunnies earlier this year after 6 years with the old pair (prescription finally changed enough to warrant new lenses). Got them back and was very concerned to have the "nauseating" yellow-brown version of the "brown polarised lens", as my previous lenses were also brown, but 'neutral' not nauseating. Took them back as the script was wrong, and it turns out the thinner (indexed? is that the right word?) polycarbonate lenses have this yellowy brown, but the thicker ones don't, so I reverted - I now have coke-bottle sized edges (mercifully hidden by the frame's thickness) but I no longer feel like everything's yellow.

    Hope you enjoy your new frames when they arrive!

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    1. Hi Lauren, thanks for your comment! What an interesting piece of information! I found the brown non-polarized lenses (I don't know if they are called indexed, hmmm) did not have the yellow tone. They were actually brown-tinted. I really hope I enjoy them too. It's weird to go from grey lenses to something different but you can't gain if you don't change. I'll keep you posted.

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  2. Can't wait to see them! My husband (who is extremely photosensitive) adores his polarized lenses---but then he also spends a lot of time on the water, and they reduce water-glare lots and lots.

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    1. I've heard, for the water-lovers, the polarized lenses are terrific. I was on the water last weekend with my glasses, before the canoe debacle, and I did note the striations associated with horizontal glare, but I'm on the water like once a year for 3 hours.

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  3. My dad is left-handed and green-eyed too. I'm thinking I read somewhere that green is a dominant color, but based on personal experience I haven't noticed that to be the case.

    I personally prefer the amber colored lenses, to me they give the least amount of color distortion, though they may not give the darkest shading.

    I can't picture the glasses from your description (I'm horrible at visualizing), so I can't wait to see them!

    P.S. I always choose the most expensive item in the store--if it's the most expensive option, I'll inadvertently choose it. :-(

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    1. Oooh, we're the coolest :-) I'm fascinated by the unique preferences of lens colour and tint. I suppose that's why they have a zillion options! I described the glasses badly, if at all, so I'm not surprised you can't imagine them. But they will be here soon enough (I suppose). FYI, this pair was by no means the most expensive pair, even if it hadn't been on sale. I looked at frames (not for purchase on my budget) that were 600 bucks before the lenses. That would have brought the finished glasses to over a grand. Insane.

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  4. So, green as in an almost-contact-lens-cosmetic green? Mine are green, but sometimes they are grey-blue. Ish. Hard to characterize and I always worry my passport will get challenged . . .
    And I'm curious, do these new (and expensive) sunglasses (and the, also expensive, repairs to their predecessors) mean a commitment to stay out of dangerous canoes? ;-)

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    1. Yes! I do think that the contact lens people are trying to steal my shade! (But I don't think they pull it off :-)) I don't see many people with eyes the colour of mine - they don't have any grey or brown nor do they ever look blue, IMO, though sometimes if I wear a blue top people get confused. Mind you, my eyes are big, as are my irises, so I think it gives more area for the colour to show through. Probably increases my light sensitivity also.

      You can be assured, glasses or no, I'm unlikely to get into an unpowered boat again any time soon.

      I wonder how much the security people look at eyes for colour. Because people can wear coloured contacts and because eyes do seem to change shade according to clothing (in some people that is very pronounced).

      I have a friend whose eyes are deep amber yellow. No joke. They're like cat eyes.

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  5. I have blue peepers, so sunglasses are a must! I also don't really like polarized lenses.

    At least you got them on sale, even if it was expensive. You'll like them and get your money's worth.

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    1. We're so the same! :-) I will get my money's worth. My last pair cost a bomb but I wore them for 4 years, constantly.

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  6. Glasses prices are always a shock to me. I just ordered some new regular glasses and what with the indexed lenses (a must when you have a strong prescription) and progressive bi-focals they are supper expensive. My current glasses are held together with very stylish purple duct tape where the temple meets the lens holder. The surprising thing to me is that the tape has been there for about a month and very few people have noticed it. Does that say something about people not looking at me??? (Some may have just not said anything, but I have pointed it out to a few and they had not seen it before then.)
    By the way, my eyes are also green, but they are a gray-green with amber flecks in the middle. I have only met one other person with eyes the same color.
    I hope you enjoy your new shades.

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    1. Victoria, I can't believe that no one's noticed! Hilarious. Is it Duck tape? My daughter makes crafts with that stuff like crazy. You're eyes sound very pretty!

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  7. Hurrah for being recessive! I'm a leftie with green eyes too.

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    1. Woohoo! I'm glad to know I have company. :-)

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