WINK BLOG

Garance Doré: Pardon My French / This is Why I Love Mirror...

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 21:26:00 +1100

Garance Doré: Pardon My French / This is Why I Love Mirror Glasses… (by garancedore)

Wink’s foreign correspondent goes to Paris for SILMO, the...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 01:50:00 +1100

Obligatory shot of Le Tour Eiffel!

Jeremy Scott x Linda Farrow selfies - so fun!

Taking some new RVS frames for a spin. Lime green is the new black.

Vidal! The man, the myth, the legend behind RVS by V

Aaron from l.a. Eyeworks repping their coolest frame!

Love this frame!

New shades? It's all about the angles.

Matte everything!

Reflective lenses: the next big thing.

Illesteva, the newest member of our family. Stay tuned!

Wink’s foreign correspondent goes to Paris for SILMO, the eyewear event of the year!

Our European Correspondent reports on Antwerp, home of Theo Eyewear

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 04:20:00 +1000

Welcome to the first in a series of blog posts!

Some of you may know me as Georgia, former Wink staffer. Well, I have recently relocated to Utrecht, a student town just south of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and we at Wink HQ figured that there was no better place from which to report about the latest trends than here in Europe, the home of eyewear (and most of our frames!)

This inaugural post comes to you from Antwerp, where I have just spent a delightful weekend with friends enjoying all the mussels, beer, waffles and chocolate that Belgian has to offer. I also managed to stop by at Somers Optiek, the only exclusive Theo eyewear boutique in the world!

After I told the lovely shop assistant about my reason for visiting, he chatted to me about the Theo brand and their ethos at the store. Although they have the entire catalogue of frames on hand, in all available colours, there are very few frames actually on display. Rather than customers browsing through options themselves, the staff select just a few options, understanding that less is more when it comes to the decision making process.

I volunteered one of my travel companions for a Theo makeover as I walked around admiring the shop which was very chic and minimalist in its design. Sure enough, when he emerged bespectacled, my friend looked sharp and European in his perfect frame. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the end result! Forgive me, it’s my first day.

It’s time for me to head home now but stay tuned for my next post which will be coming to you from Silmo, the Optical Trade Fair in Paris next month!

Until then,

Georgia

Photo

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:48:00 +1100

'The Lighter Side of Geek Chic'

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 11:18:05 +1100

From Eyestylist 6th October 2011:

I have been studying some of the men’s collections for 2012 this week, and a number of people have suggested there is a new direction towards thinner more delicate plastic frames…a refreshing and elegant refinement of the much loved geek chic theme of recent years….the spectacles in this picture from Kilsgaard rather sum this mood up…the style has a simple, elegant shape that is less bulky than what has been in fashion recently…

Can’t get enough of the new ISSON frames!

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:56:52 +1100

Can’t get enough of the new ISSON frames!

RAPP Eyewear is on the horizon!

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:07:08 +1100

RAPP Eyewear is on the horizon!

“I’m not rich enough to buy cheap sunglasses” Maggie Alderson Over the...

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:45:00 +1100

“I’m not rich enough to buy cheap sunglasses”

Maggie Alderson

Over the past couple of years I’ve had a series of what felt like killer sunglass finds, in the form of really cool frames at ridic knock down prices.

Access to such style steals was one of the consolations of moving from beautiful Australia (sob sob), back to the UK, where there is such a plethora of great cheap fashion chains stores.

The first was a pair of oversized very black-lensed Jackie O-style numbers that people always asked me about. They were £2 in Primark. I grabbed the last pair (before running screaming from that horrrrrrible shop).

Then I found another really good shape, a kind of pumped-up cats eye from Dorothy Perkins for the greater investment of £6.

I’d love to show you how great they were but I can’t because both pairs have long since been assigned to the bin. They fell to bits. An arm fell off, a lens fell out, that kind of thing.

This year I headed back to the high street stores and found a pair similar to the lost oversized cats eyes, scaling up to a massive £8 outlay. The flare on the lenses was so terrible in bright sunlight they were dangerous to drive in. I threw them in my daughter’s dressing up box.

I had the same problem with a pair of pretendy vintage, actually made in China, Mad Men-style true cats eyes I bought on holiday in Corsica, for a rip off £25. They’re a great shape – for wearing indoors, on dull days.

A pair from Top Shop were a good big television size, but so heavy on my nose they were actually painful. They went to a charity shop. I think they were £12.

My next manoeuvre was to hit T K Maxx, the hugely successful chain which sells off terrifying amounts of random unwanted stock. They always have a large choice of low-rank designer sunnies pretty cheap. That’s because none of them are quite great.

But at that moment I was desperate for some serious sun block-out shades, so I dealt £22 for a pair by Moschino, despite the fact they have the designer name on the arm, which makes me shudder. And a little diamante which, in retrospect, makes me feel quite sick.

They got me home in strong low sunlight, but I very quickly came to hate them. I knew they were a compromise style I would never have bought at full retail. And they felt flimsy and naff on my face. I’ve stowed them in the car glove box in case of future driving emergencies.

Still determined to have a new pair of sunnies, my next move was a designer consignment boutique. I was tempted by a pair of massive D &G in a Union Jack print, but resisted when I realised they looked like they had cost £2 from Primark.

After trying on every pair in the shop, I finally dealt for a pair of discreet very dark tortoiseshell Calvin Kleins, once again compromising on the dreaded logo, for £26.

They have very good lenses. I hate them.

At this point I stopped and took stock. Over two years I had spent nearly £100 on sunglasses and still had nothing decent to wear. Shortly after that sunk in, I caught up, separately, with my two best gal pals and both of them had amazing shades on.

Really glossy black frames, in great, dateless shapes, fabulously dark lenses. Proper UV screening glass. They were both from Cutler and Gross, so we’re talking about £279.

That’s when the truth hit me. I’m too poor to buy cheap sunglasses. I need to invest in one really amazing pair.

So when I got an email telling me that my friend Tom Herrington (pictured below, wearing one of his own designs) had his new range of frames Rock Optika – available as specs or sunnies – in store, I waddled off there as fast as my fat little legs would carry me.

And I bought these fabulous sunglasses – the style is called Key Largo -but with much darker lenses, which I was able to specify. You can’t do that in Dorothy Perkins. They weren’t quite as expensive as Cutler and Gross, but very nearly. They were worth every penny.

They’re handmade in the Jura region of France, from super duper finest organic grade Italian acetate. The lenses are the highest quality and they sit lightly on the nose and ears, while feeling completely secure on the head. And the logo is discreetly hidden right at the tip of the arm, so it’s hidden in your hair. Here they are in the tortoiseshell (on Katherine).

For further endorsement of the excellence of the range, check out the post on RockOptika on the highly respected ‘eye wear’ website The Spectacle Showcase. http://www.thespectacleshowcase.com/ And here is a link to the brand’s own site. http://www.rockoptika.co.uk/Site/Home.html

I’m absolutely mad about them and whenever I put them on I feel like a film star and because they were so expensive, every time I take them off I carefully put them back in their neat protective case.

I will never buy cheap sunglasses again.

NEWS FLASH: So many of you are asking on comments where you can buy RockOptika… Tom tells me he has had interest already (before this…) from a Melbourne retailer and they’re going to meet up at the big eyewear exhibition in Paris later this month. So fingers crossed. I’ll get him to keep me posted on stockists after that and will report back.

Welcome to WINK Optometrists’ brand new blog! Here we will...

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:20:58 +1000

Welcome to WINK Optometrists’ brand new blog!

Here we will chronicle our latest news, our inspiration and some shots of our lovely customers in their fabulous frames!

You can find us at 104 Ormond Road, Elwood or www.winkoptom.com.au