ha-ay, you looking so fine flexible spending account

April 11, 2006 5:54 AM

A question for the female four-eyed hipsters among us. Which eyeglasses are considered cool this spring?

I'm looking to buy two pairs. What styles and brands do you love? I've got long dark hair, bangs and a round face. Bonus points for links to photos.

posted by cior to Shopping (19 answers total)

I love Jai Kudo, especially styles 1702 and 1703. I have a round face and long dark hair too.
posted by essexjan at 6:00 AM on April 11, 2006

I have a pair of Prodesign:Denmark glasses, style 1128 (what they call the "matt dark black"). I've never gotten more complements from a pair of glasses, and they seem to be holding up quite well -- they're almost two years old, and I wear them almost daily.

I got them at LensCrafters. I've been pretty impressed with their selection as of late. My next pair (from there) will be Chanel, though I'm not sure of the style, yet.
posted by penchant at 6:14 AM on April 11, 2006

The hotness is Alain Mikli.

I'm a guy but lots of people stop me on the street and ask me about my frames. I didn't, um, expect this -- they're not very wild or anything (though Mikli does have out-there frames, even non-symmetrical ones). But they're very nice. Also, it's my first time having two pairs of glasses and I like it a lot.
posted by zpousman at 6:37 AM on April 11, 2006

I got rectangle black frame glasses from the Vogue collection at Lenscrafter. How thick is your prescription?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:14 AM on April 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

ThePinkSuperhero has it...we need that info to make a proper suggestion. I personally have a horrible prescription ( ~ +7 ) so my glasses are really thick. So to compensate, I really need something that is smaller and rounder/ovaler (I don't think that is really a word). However, if you don't have a bad prescription, the geometric possibilities are only limited by your sense of good taste.
posted by mmascolino at 7:20 AM on April 11, 2006

My boyfriend is an optician at a trendy shop. Just going by what he's been wearing lately (kid you not, he's got 30+ pairs of glasses in his current script or with clear glass for when he has contacts in), plastic frames and colored frames. He has a ton of plain wire frames, but almost never wears them.

I'll ask him for specifics when I get home from work tonight, and if he knows of any styles that they're stocking up on in anticipation of a rush once summer hits.
posted by Kellydamnit at 7:28 AM on April 11, 2006

All women wearing glasses look good!
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 8:35 AM on April 11, 2006

A friend of mine recently had his thin titanium wire frames break, and so while waiting for the repair was relegated to wearing his uncool (to him) U.S. Army-issued thick plastic frame ones.

And he got compliments on them all over the place, from complete strangers.

Fashion is a strange, strange thing.
posted by beth at 8:53 AM on April 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

My wife and I both picked up frames from SEE (Note: flash, sound). Afterwards we were inundated by people asking us where we got our glasses. They have a pretty good selection of interesting frames, and aren't too pricey - the amount listed on the frame is the total you pay, for frame + standard lenses.

Don't know if they are the new hotness this year, but they are still my favorite glasses.
posted by caution live frogs at 9:00 AM on April 11, 2006

I ain't a chick but my fave glasses are made by:

Face a Face (my own glasses are the Axess optical ones--though they're *much* more subtle in person; hand colored so each pair is slightly diff than the others)

SEE (which clf mentioned) absolutely rock

Michel Henau

LA eyeworks

I also like the Miklis mentioned above but they've become pretty popular and I see them everywhere which rules 'em out for me.

I also saw a line that I forget the name of that was something like "____ and Wood", but unfortunately I forget what the blank was. They were very nice but extremely expensive.
posted by dobbs at 9:21 AM on April 11, 2006

Oops. That Face a Face interface is terrible. Here's a better look at their frames. And I was wrong before, mine are the Archi II ones but in the 621 color.
posted by dobbs at 9:40 AM on April 11, 2006

I will confirm that zpousman is uberstylish in his Alain Miklis. My most recent pair are Prodesign:Denmark (can't find the style on the site, but they're a "horn brown" that doesn't look fake) and I've never received so many compliments, plus they hide the thick prescription nicely. I was also considering Jai Kudo and Face a Face, just to second some other brands that have been mentioned.
posted by hsoltz at 9:45 AM on April 11, 2006

Well, I'm not all that stylish, but I just got a new pair with these Jones NY frames in navy blue and have gotten a ton of compliments on them so far.
posted by catfood at 11:29 AM on April 11, 2006

I wear a pair of wire cats-eye frames from Theo Castafiori. His newest lines are pretty far out, but he does some really interesting shapes in the T.O. line that are surprisingly flattering.

If you are ever in New York, I have a woman who excels at picking great frames for you (email in profile). I never would have guessed these frames might look good on me, but she is brilliant at this, I get lots of compliments on them (sorry no picture).
posted by AuntLisa at 11:30 AM on April 11, 2006

I have a round face, and I think rectangular lenses are the best for that - they break up the circular sort of appearance. I didn't find cat's eye's worked that well for that sort of thing, plus, I thought they were a little over the top.

I have these Prodesign Denmark frames (in the pink) and I get lots of compliments on them as well.
posted by mckenney at 12:55 PM on April 11, 2006

I just bought these DKNY frames (black) from Lenscrafters and love them. I think the thinness works for my roundish face.

Lens thickness was not an issue because I have a really weak prescription, but from what I understand Lenscrafters has different grades of lenses which can keep even the heaviest prescription lenses fashionably thin. I reckon the fancier lenses are a lot more expensive, though.
posted by killjoy at 1:25 PM on April 11, 2006

I have thick black plastic Prada frames from two years ago and I *always* get compliments on them. I'm a little embarassed to be wearing Prada (I do college radio for pete's sake!) but I love them.
posted by radioamy at 1:51 PM on April 11, 2006

If I had a couple of hundred dollars to buy glasses (*sigh* I'm stuck with my $20 Wal-mart optical frames from about 5 years ago for now...), I would get some from Anne et Valentin.
posted by ruby.aftermath at 4:17 PM on April 11, 2006

I wore wire or thick black plastic frames for years, but I've been wearing these purple glasses and I have to say that I think I look better than I ever have in glasses. Something about having a vibrant color on my face that seems to brighten up my complexion, or something. Look through the Lenscrafters Spring Catalog. I can't link directly to the pretty picture in the catalog, but I especially love these Prada frames-purple outside, teal inside.
posted by Juliet Banana at 5:30 PM on April 11, 2006