Black Eyewear: Robert Roope's Jazz-inspired frames

As someone who for a long time wore a pair of chunky, 1950s/60s-style, black and crystal acetates by Oliver Goldsmith (Consul-S), I was always going to be an instant fan of another British brand, Black Eyewear, by Robert Roope.

“I wanted to rescue the bold, simple, iconic eyewear styles of the 1950s,” says Robert about his Jazz-inspired frames, named after greats like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.
The top frame here is dedicated to Lester Young, the bottom one after Buster Bailey.

Robert's designs currently feature in the Bright Old Things boutique inside Selfridges, but he also has his own shop at 38 Goodge Street, London. Well worth a visit.

Available online too at Black Eyewear at some very reasonable prices - expect to pay around £225, single vision lenses included.

Invest in proper sunnies this summer - Y Not?

These are Y Not, a wonderful example of what can be achieved at Oliver Goldsmith. Part of the Rainbow Collection, get some colour on your cheeks this summer. Limited edition though so be quick! Stockists worldwide here.

Kuboraum's frame within a frame...

...Or should that be mask within a mask?

We first covered Kuboraum in 2012, a new Berlin based designer with chunky Italian acetate sunglasses or, as it prefers, masks. So it was good to rediscover the brand at 100% Optical in London earlier this month.

Top of this post is the Kuboraum T1 sunglass in question, the brilliantly conceived mask within a mask. They type of design that if someone described it you'd think it could not work, but as is shown here, it does! A great looking, highly original frame.

Below that is A2 and finally A1. Made in Italy, Kuboraum is available at its Berlin showroom at 96 Köpenicker Straße, and at top-end shops and opticians around the world.

Up with the Larke: crystal clear acetates for 2015

As an English glasses blogger, it's always a pleasure to meet a new English glasses designer. There aren't many.

So here's Laura Nicholson in her Larke frame, one of a stunning collection of stylish acetate specs, all available online and all made in England.

Featured here, top to bottom, are Gill in cobalt blue, the exceptional Locke in crystal and Veda in Horn.

Prices are around £275 with delivery available worldwide. A few stockists too in London, Copenhagen and Tokyo,

Bellinger glasses in cotton candy colours

It's a bold eyewear house that breaks the mould by baking its own acetate, but the designers at Bellinger do just that.

Bellinger acetate creates a beautiful play of colors with unique patterns. A dough of cotton, acetone and alcohol is mixed, filtered, kneaded, heated and finally pushed into large blocks. And that's when the creative work begins resulting in some amazing effects. It's a bit like old-fashioned candy say the Danish company as demonstrated by these great images which I picked up at the recent 100% Optical show in London.

Goldson wooden sunglasses for Autumn

A clear advantage of not feeling particularly specsy of late is that it's easier to discover, some original, inspiring eyewear, as proved here by Goldson, a specialist in handmade wooden sunglasses from industrial designer Arnaud Eubelen. Here we feature the neatly shaped Model 3, and the elegant Model 4, both carefully crafted in Liège in Belgium.

Factory 900 Retro Future: chunky frames

There's nothing like a chunky, quality Japanese acetate to awaken a sleepy glasses blog. EWG loves these from Factory900. Available as shades or specs.

Kirk & Kirk launches debut Vivarium collection

Forget glasses with plain pins in the top corners of the frame. Forget the ubiquitous lozenge shape rivet that dominates the mass market. And opt instead for an intricate fly or a horse inspired by Victorian natural history collectors .

Do so and you'll be getting your hands on the hotly anticipated debut collection from eyewear's new luxury eyewear name, Kirk & Kirk.

As a lifelong fan of Kirk Originals, my brow furrowed last summer when I discovered that the brand's founders, Jason and Karen Kirk, had left the company. Kirk Originals continues, and EWG wishes it well, but it was the launch of the Kirks' new brand, Kirk & Kirk, that was always going to excite us, hence the first post in a long while.

As with brilliant Beam collection a couple of years ago, Vivarium is made of acrylic, which makes it lighter than acetate. The frames are handmade in France while the animal jewellery pins have been crafted in England and are made of sterling silver or 9 carat gold.

Frames top to bottom: Carson, Curie and Fleming, featuring gold horse pins.

Fluo glasses for Gen Y from Theo

These are from Theo's wonderful limited edition Mille series for the braver glasses wearer. Mille means 1000 in French but it's also short for millennials, those young types – Generation Y (Z even?) – who know their way around all things digital. Six more shapes and loads more colours here...

Cheap Monday 2014: Hybris opticals

As promised a little more from the Cheap Monday Hybris collection – this time some opticals... liking that little detail at the frame's temple on the left.