 |
| picture from http://myfavoritefashionthings.tumblr.com |
the story behind the frame
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Sunglasses can make an outfit!
My friend Liz sent me this picture by Argentinian brand Neon...very funny!
Inspired by...modernizing vintage spectacles
I love vintage! I love looking at all the intricate little details people used to spend a lot of time refining, engraving, cutting, hand-polishing, hand-painting...I remember, when I used to work in Italy we had a cabinet filled with "antique and wonderful" frames, this used to belong to my boss, Lucio and I could never spend enough time looking and trying all those rare pieces, every time I looked at them I could see something different that I hadn't noticed before, this has been for many years a valuable source of inspiration for my designs. These days fewer people make eyewear in the same way, for many reasons, it's too expensive, time consuming and there are fewer people that have the same skills as in the past.
But hey! enough of feeling nostalgic!
How about all those outlandish shapes people used to wear in the 50's and 60's? Very few people (outside of the vintage scene, of course!) are brave enough to embrace them today, until you spot someone wearing them with striking nonchalance------>50's spectacles with hair let loose, denim studded jackets, neon colour blocking, neoprene jumpers and basically anything that either didn't exist or no one would have dreamt of wearing back then!
But hey! enough of feeling nostalgic!
How about all those outlandish shapes people used to wear in the 50's and 60's? Very few people (outside of the vintage scene, of course!) are brave enough to embrace them today, until you spot someone wearing them with striking nonchalance------>50's spectacles with hair let loose, denim studded jackets, neon colour blocking, neoprene jumpers and basically anything that either didn't exist or no one would have dreamt of wearing back then!
 |
| sketch by Eyespectacle |
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Monday, 27 August 2012
Brixton sunglasses
As you know, I was browsing around Brixton Market on Saturday so this weekend I have been admiring my new purchases and looking through the pictures I took. Brixton Market is a wonderful mix of Afro-Caribbean shops selling indispensables such as colourful plastic buckets, live GIANT snails and spicy food alongside little vintage and design shops and restaurants set up by young and creative entrepreneurs.
I love patterns and prints (can't you tell?!) and Brixton has loads, as well as bright colours! Though I couldn't find very many vintage frames, which was the main reason I went there (not just the yummy pizza!), so my lazy Sunday readings gave me some inspiration and this is what I came up with (the lovely screen printed wrapping paper is from Brixi, unfortunately I can't remember the name of the designer that made it...)
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
I love patterns and prints (can't you tell?!) and Brixton has loads, as well as bright colours! Though I couldn't find very many vintage frames, which was the main reason I went there (not just the yummy pizza!), so my lazy Sunday readings gave me some inspiration and this is what I came up with (the lovely screen printed wrapping paper is from Brixi, unfortunately I can't remember the name of the designer that made it...)
 |
| sketch by Eyespectacle |
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Sunday reading
Lazy Sunday's, when the weather is so and so and you have been out having a good time the night before are strictly dedicated to reading the papers on the sofa, in front of a cup of tea...or if I were living in a hot country like my home country, under the shade of a tree with an ice cold Chinotto... anyhow this is London and after I finished reading the papers cover to cover I decided to flick through a new book I bought recently, Moss Lipow's "Eyewear-A Visual History" is probably one of the best eyewear publications I have come across in many years.
This surely makes a great coffee table book if you are interested in sunglasses and spectacles and like to see what people wore throughout the past centuries, if you like designing like me this has got me sketching straight away...watch this spot!
This surely makes a great coffee table book if you are interested in sunglasses and spectacles and like to see what people wore throughout the past centuries, if you like designing like me this has got me sketching straight away...watch this spot!
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Inspired by...vintage Anglo American Eyewear
I bought these bold vintage spectacles today from Tique Booty in Brixton Village market, shall I turn them into sunglasses? mmmmm...not sure, they also suit me as spectacles, what shall I do...
 |
| sketch by Eyespectacle |
Thursday, 23 August 2012
With stars in her eyes
Here is another gem in the form of quirky embellished sunglasses I found at Wilderness festival. These creations are by Hathor who specialize in head-wear...is eye-wear considered head-wear? I never thought of it that way.
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Message about a message on a frame
My friend Coco, a beautiful lady with loads of french personality (I will tell you more about her style sometime ;-) has left this on my desk. These frames by Swedish brand CHEAPO have a cheeky message inside the temples complement my little collection of frames with a phrase along the temples.
 |
| picture by Eyespectacle |
 |
| picture by Eyespectacle |
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Inspired by...Flowers
 |
| artwork by Eyespectacle |
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Having a masked ball
This was my first time attending Wilderness festival and what a revelation! Everyone was merry and perfectly in tune with the bucolic setting, I am sure with some help from the weather.
Every other girl seemed to be inspired by flowers, yet not in a 60's "flower power" but in a more opulent and almost theatrical way.
As on many of my outings looking for interesting people wearing (equally as interesting!) eyewear Wilderness was a great opportunity to meet some creative people, like Bella&Fifi.
Bella&Fifi created a splendid floral boudoir inside a sanctuary-like yurt filled with beds, a big bathtub filled with Hydrangeas and the beautiful flower masks I fell in love with
Every other girl seemed to be inspired by flowers, yet not in a 60's "flower power" but in a more opulent and almost theatrical way.
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
As on many of my outings looking for interesting people wearing (equally as interesting!) eyewear Wilderness was a great opportunity to meet some creative people, like Bella&Fifi.
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Say it with a pair of shades
As promised I am going to share the content of my new chest of drawers. This is where my eyewear collection is stowed neatly ready for me to browse through it in search of the perfect pair of shades to match my mood (whenever we are blessed with a few rays of sunshine, of course!)
These sunglasses with a phrase etched along the temples are some of the gems I found when organizing my shades in each little drawer.
Those were Radley and the ones below are Fabris Lane, the full sentence in Italian reads "Bellissima, la mia vita senza te e' come un giorno senza sole" which doesn't translate very well in English but it sounds something like "Beautiful, my life without you is like a day without sunshine", well, we all know what this feels like in our very quintessential British Summer...
what reminded me I had them were actually these fine Paul Smith frames I saw at McClintock recently, you can find out here what I was doing there.
and yep! this was another trip down memory lane for me as these glasses in turn reminded me of these Vivienne Westwood frames I designed a long long time ago...and were impossible to manufacture!
These sunglasses with a phrase etched along the temples are some of the gems I found when organizing my shades in each little drawer.
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
Those were Radley and the ones below are Fabris Lane, the full sentence in Italian reads "Bellissima, la mia vita senza te e' come un giorno senza sole" which doesn't translate very well in English but it sounds something like "Beautiful, my life without you is like a day without sunshine", well, we all know what this feels like in our very quintessential British Summer...
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
and yep! this was another trip down memory lane for me as these glasses in turn reminded me of these Vivienne Westwood frames I designed a long long time ago...and were impossible to manufacture!
 |
| sketch by Eyespectacle |
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Dressing up for a journey to the end of the Earth
Standon Calling is one of those chilled, friendly and smiley boutique festivals where people enjoy dressing up, the food is good and every other act on stage is a pleasant discovery, my favorite where BIGkids and from Z Star's Zee Gachette's beautyful voice.
And a tree filled with hopes and dreams fluttering in the wind, by Band4hope
Standon Calling takes place in the folds of the Hertfordshire rolling hills, on the grounds of a sixteen century stately home and the theme this year was "Journey to the Ends of the Earth" which inspired a variety of costumes and eyewear, of course! these are my favorites
 |
| photo of Z Star by Eyespectacle |
And a tree filled with hopes and dreams fluttering in the wind, by Band4hope
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
Standon Calling takes place in the folds of the Hertfordshire rolling hills, on the grounds of a sixteen century stately home and the theme this year was "Journey to the Ends of the Earth" which inspired a variety of costumes and eyewear, of course! these are my favorites
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
Friday, 3 August 2012
A tomato red home for my frames
Et voila'! I present to the world my new chest of (mini) red drawers, where all my frames will live from now on.
I picked up this little beauty from a guy who was looking to get rid of some of his furniture, through e-bay! Like most things bigger than a pair of shoes, shopping on e-bay might involve a trip all the way to the opposite end of London, and often this adds value to a BIG purchase, you have earned it! Well, I have earned it twice. The first time I went to collect my purchase, after a trip on the bus, then the overground, then the tube, then another overground train and finally a nice long walk across Blackheath to the seller's front door...I realized my precious piece of furniture wasn't going to fit in the giant IKEA carrier bag I bought with me, let alone be light enough to carry all the way back home, across Blackheath, then on the overground, then... I had to go back by car the next day! But it's here now, safe in my home and ready to share its content with you all...
 |
| sketch by Eyespectacle |
I picked up this little beauty from a guy who was looking to get rid of some of his furniture, through e-bay! Like most things bigger than a pair of shoes, shopping on e-bay might involve a trip all the way to the opposite end of London, and often this adds value to a BIG purchase, you have earned it! Well, I have earned it twice. The first time I went to collect my purchase, after a trip on the bus, then the overground, then the tube, then another overground train and finally a nice long walk across Blackheath to the seller's front door...I realized my precious piece of furniture wasn't going to fit in the giant IKEA carrier bag I bought with me, let alone be light enough to carry all the way back home, across Blackheath, then on the overground, then... I had to go back by car the next day! But it's here now, safe in my home and ready to share its content with you all...
 |
| photo by Eyespectacle |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)