Dotting the Eyes

Archive for November, 2009

Barton Perreira was excitedly introduced by Europtics through it’s retail stores at the line’s inception. It is a beautifully crafted, high end line of luxury eyewear. We aren’t the only one’s who think so. Vogue just featured a pair of Barton Perreira Sunglasses on it’s most wanted Christmas list.

The Rocksteady is an iconic sun glass design perfect for both good girls and boys.Put in your request early as Santa might be in short supply.

Over the years it seems as a society we have become more and more connected to the idea of the need for protective wear when engaging in certain activities. Much like knights or warriors used to prepare for battle we prepare ourselves or our children with helmets, knee pads, wrist guards and more. The interesting thing to me is that we don’t usually think to protect the area that is often the most susceptible to injury, the eyes.

I am strongly opposed to using fear to promote anything but given the widespread lack of attention eye injuries and protective eye wear receive I want to quickly bring light to the various things that can occur and propose options such as sports goggles to eliminate this risk while engaging in various activities.

I used to work in a contact lens practice and we had a number of patients who we treated on a regular basis as a result of eye injuries. Many of these patients had to wear rigid lenses, go through numerous surgeries and were still never going to be able to achieve optimal vision. On the flip side, we saw patients with injuries that ended up just fine, however they were without optimal vision for a period of time while they healed. In the most extreme cases we had to refer patients out to an ocularist as they suffered loss of an eye due to injury and as a result required fitting for an ocular prosthetic. Not all of their injuries would have been prevented with the use of protective eye wear but a number of them could have been minimized and some all together avoided.

Common eye injuries occur as a result of three things, one irritation of the cornea by foreign bodies, one as a result of blunt force, and finally as a result of excessive exposure to bright light. By wearing sports goggles or other protective eye wear you shield the eye, sometimes even seal it. This makes it very unlikely that any foreign bodies (dust, debris, fingertips) are going to make contact with the cornea. This same protection provided by the lens often deflects any force as it comes towards the eye. This might mean a ball or an elbow or foot flying towards a person’s eye first makes contact with the goggle. The goggle deflects the harmful pressure the eye would have otherwise received. For outdoor sports(particularly snow sports), or other activities involving exposure to bright lights(laser tag) use of eye wear with protective coatings can deflect harmful rays and protect the eye from injury.

If you or your child are participating in any activity involving flying objects, body contact, or excess light exposure  protective eye wear is an essential investment.

Salt eyewear is online now. Each and every fabulous style is there to peruse and enjoy and debate over. With so many great styles, how does one choose? The sleek, simple, timeless designs coupled with top quality acetates and monel metals makes it hard to decided. My choices?

For men I love the Clif Eyeglasses in Caspain Tortoise:

The Clif is a classic rectangle reminiscent of earlier times. A bit more sleek and lightweight than many similarly shaped frames found today, the Clif offers a level of refinement. Available in black, blanched almond, honey and caspian tortoise this frame is sure to be a favorite for years to come.

And for women, the frame to which I keep returning, the Jaden in Almond Butter Berry:

Jaden Salt Eyeglasses, a vintage inspired cat eye with just the slightest lift in warm  almond finish. Also available in toffee tortoise pink, black crystal and caspian tortoise.  This classic shape works well on most everyone and with such a wide option for colors there is sure to be one you like.

La Loop has been a huge success in our stores and we are now bringing it online. This fine line of jewelry is not only attractive on its own, it also serves a very important function, protection of your eyeglasses.

La Loop Plum Strecth Cord with Sterling Silver Loop

How does La Loop protect your glasses? By providing a secure location that is easy to access to store whatever pair you may be sporting that day. Whenever you find yourself in a situation that you don’t need them on your face simply slip one of the arms through the loop of the necklace and you’re set. The glasses are on your body so you know where they are, and when choosing the standard length they rest fairly high up on your chest so they won’t drag or droop forward getting scratched on desks or tables. The patented loop has some sort of ball bearing system in the design so your glasses always stay flat against your chest regardless of twists and turns you might make.

Jewel like chains, top quality Italian leather, silk stretch cords are all options when making your choice.

And if you really love the concept but just dont want to invest in a fine piece of La Loop jewelry we also offer the Looop and Sport Loop Designs. The same patanted ball bearing loop system but in lower cost materials like base metal or plastic vs gold or sterling.

Mykita eyeglasses are now online at eOptics.

If you couldn’t tell from my earlier post I love this line. It is clean, crisp and high style. Hailing from Germany’s fashion capital of Berlin Mykita has managed to introduce a number of lines truly unique to the optical world. Stainless steel styles in the Collection 1 lines emanate perfection. Collection 2 zyls are radiant and luminous colors bringing to mind rare gemstones.

Whatever style you may be drawn to all feature cutting edge technology, screwless mounts and amazing comfort.