Sep

29

Retro eyewear back in style in 2010

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uk0929.JPGFor those of you who pine for the olden days, retro fashion is coming back into style this fall with huge infusions of wood tones and sleek, 50’s lines and designs. Pull out your mama’s old Jackie O’s (or pick up a new pair by Dior) or your daddy’s old Ray Ban Wayfarers without lenses, and you’ll be set to go this season.

The retro looks that are coming back include thick black frames without lenses (or Ray Ban frames with prescription lenses rather than tinted lenses for the great outdoors). This Billy Holly look has returned to the fashion world with a twist, this time around its beautiful women in tight pony tails who are donning the Billy Holly Wayfarers without lenses. Don’t believe me? Check out Dior’s new ad campaign featuring just such fashion. While the cheaper option would be to reuse your dad’s old frames, the more classy route would be to buy the newer, female-sized Dior look-alike frames.

Ray Ban has brought back the Clubmaster design, and the retro look is all the rage along the California coast. Get your modern Clubmaster in any bright color for a new remix of a traditional look. For optimal retroness (if I may coin that word) pair your clubmasters with a high-tops and tight Levi’s for a true flash back to the past.

While the retro look is sure to be a short-lived fashion trend in 2010, it is a cyclical look that returns every few season, so an investment in a pair of retro shades or eyeglasses can be considered a long-term investment when one considers the trend will return often in one’s lifetime.

Sep

25

Extreme Sunglasses for Extreme People

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uk0925.JPGExtreme people need extreme gear to keep up with them. Oakley or Ray Ban, Nike or Adidas? These questions haunt someone whose natural talent can only take them 9/10ths of the way to the finish line with any real assurances. No one wants to be at his or her peak with broken gear or unresponsive equipment. Sunglasses are one of the most important tools in an athlete’s toolbox, and choosing the right pair is as agonizing to a real athlete as choosing the right shoes. For various sports, here are the top picks for sunglasses that enhance performance and yet remain reliable and tested by top pros in the field.

Oakley sunglasses, goggles and eyewear remain at the top of any athlete’s wish list. With a large and ever-active an innovative research and development department, Oakley is one of the most advanced companies in the business of enhancing athletic performance. Designed for maximum comfort, functionality and durability, Oakleys easily withstand stress tests as well as technological prowess in the field. With such inventions as hydrophobia technology (where liquids simply run off the surface of the lens) and lightweight frames that bend to the shape of any head without breaking, the company is sure to come up with a solution to every eyewear problem.

Nike sunglasses are top-of-the=line and meet your fashion needs while also topping out your performance with technological suave and functionality. Nike sunglasses are best for classical sports like basketball, baseball, volleyball and other ball sports where fashion is as big a factor in going pro as skill.

Like Nike, Adidas sunglasses are for the classical sports of basketball, football, volleyball and others. You’ll find Adidas eyewear is more athletic looking than Nike, and perhaps a bit more comfortable, but less fashionable.

Ray Bans are the best sunglasses for driving sports, or other sports where jarring competition is not a factor. With a cool look and classic design, Ray Bans are more a lifestyle than a fashion, and exemplify the man’s man and man’s favorite aviation and mechanical sports.

Sep

18

Creating a Fashion Persona

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uk0918.JPGEveryone knows that unless they create a memorable and unique persona for themselves, they will slip into obscurity without even a whimper. Creating a fashion-forward persona is not as easy as many think. Here are a few tips about accessorizing to stay memorable.

Go Red: Many psychologists have tackled the question of why people remember red more vividly than any other color. Red is the color of passion, the color of rage, love, lust and risk. A woman clad in red is more memorable and intoxicating, studies show, than the same beautiful woman in any other color. To be memorable and exciting, infuse your wardrobe with red. Prada makes several pairs of sunglasses with red hints that will accompany a red outfit without clashing or looking too planned.

Go Bold: Being bold means taking chances. Sometimes you will make a fashion leap of faith and fall short of glory, brush yourself off and try again. A real fashion trend setter makes mistakes, embraces them and moves on. This year, go as bold as you can with bigger frames, bolder colors and thicker lines. Think Alexander McQueen instead of Dior for prescription glasses, and really make a statement.

Go Quickly: A fashion diva knows that every day is a new chance to put your best foot forward and to take the chances with fashion that are necessary to reach greatness. Mix, match, clash and then do it all backwards. Rotate your wardrobe quickly and appear to change your style and look on a daily basis. Those who can adapt quickly in an ever-changing fashion world are sure to last.

Sep

14

Why Ray Bans are Cooler than You

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uk0914.JPGDid you know that Tommy Lee Jones wore Ray Bans in MIB I and II? Well, the RB2030s from the first rendition looked smashing on the aging icon, while the Predator Ray Ban’s in MIB II made him look like the returned hero-gone-postal that he was. Will Smith wore Ray Ban’s throughout both films, and as he said, “the difference is, he made them look good.”

Can you think of anyone more badass than Keifer Sutherland, who rocks us yearly in the TV series 24? We can’t either. In fact, we think that Jack Bauer would mentally cripple anyone who thinks otherwise. He looked smashingly hot in Ray Ban Aviators 3025s, just more proof that Ray Bans are the coolest shades on the market.

Have you ever thought about upping your sex appeal by working as a bartender? We have too! We got the idea from Tom Cruise, who wore Ray Ban 3362s to up his own sex appeal (thus topping even himself). He wore Ray Ban Aviator 3025s in Top Gun, which makes these sunglasses literally the coolest thing of the 80s.

Jamie Foxx wore Ray Ban Wayfarers in the film Ray, where he played icon Ray Charles. The fact that Ray Charles wore Ray Bans should make them good enough for you, no matter who you are, but the fact that Jamie Foxx also wears them really ups the coolness factor.

Regardless of who you are, if Ray Bans are good enough for Tommy Lee Jones, good enough for Keifer Sutherland and good enough for Jamie Foxx and Ray Charles, then they are good enough for you!

Sep

11

The Best Goggles for Winter Sports

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Though the heat of summer may be at its peak in the UK, there is no time like the present to plan you winter getaway. With deals galore on ski resorts and other adventures, now is the time to book ahead and stock up on great winter gear like Adidas goggles for skiing and winter wear at summer prices.

Many skiers know that Oakley and Adidas compete in the realm of winter eyewear head on. While Oakley has a reputation for high-quality, impact resistant, durable and clear-vision designs, Adidas is better known for their recreational sportswear glasses and designer frames. Don’t be fooled by their reputation, Adidas goggles are every bit as good as their other lines, and in regards to price versus output, Adidas may be better than Oakley.

Adidas also has a much greater selection of winter goggles, including specific goggles for women, which are smaller and more form-fitted, and youth goggles. With fully adjustable straps, a clear plank vision screen and anti-fog technology, you’ll be surprised by how equipped Adidas goggles are, and they look cool too with colors that match any outfit and designs specifically for the edginess that snowboarders often crave.

Our favorite thing about the Adidas goggles, and what differs these from Oakleys, is that the designs do not always have that dorky goggle look. Some of the designs look very much like cool sunglasses with a strap (that can be hidden under a hat). With cool, unobtrusive colors and sleek lines, they are goggles you won’t be embarrassed to keep on.

Sep

7

Oakley Jawbone Sunglasses a Hit

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With the Tour de France safely behind us, its time to inspect the fashionable eyewear worn in this epic battle of the cyclists. One of the top performers this year was, not surprisingly, Oakley with the newly designed-for-cyclist Jawbone series.

With cyclists in mind, the Jawbone series offers several special features that make it a top choice for any series biker. The design gets its name from the jawbone-like clamp that holds the lenses in place. Each lens can snap out for quick changing, which saves precious seconds that would otherwise be spent cleaning mud or other tricky substances off the lenses. With the jawbone, if you hit a mud puddle you simply snap out the old and plop in the new. The extra lenses even come in an easy-to-open case so that the whole process is as painless as possible.

For even more innovation in one pair of cycle sunnies, the temple bars and nose piece are equipped with miniature shock absorbers that make the sunglasses literally float steady on bumpy terrain. Any real biker knows that jarring sunglasses not only cause pain, but can ruin your game. These Oakleys are equipped with a suspended hydraulic system to combat whatever your two wheels can find to bump across.

In addition, the glasses are equipped with hydrophobic coatings to make them water resistant as well as smudge, smear and drip resistant so that any splashes that do not contain series muck will slide right off without slowing you down.

As if anything else needed to be added to make these sunglasses any cooler, Lance Armstrong, an avid Oakley fan has endorsed the Jawbone with a Livestrong model that donates some proceeds to cancer research.

Sep

1

Eyes Reveal True Age

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Want to look young forever—then take good care of your eyes. In a recent study, researchers found that humans use the eyes, and area around the eyes, when determining someone’s age.

Researchers found that when showing images of older men and women to younger subjects, the youths looked at the area around the eyes the longest before giving an assessment about the person’s age. The area around the eyes occupied less than 21% of the total face, yet subjects looked at this area 46% of the time before making a judgment. After scrutinizing the eyes, subjects then examined the nose for 19% of the time, and then the forehead (13%) before checking out the eyebrows for 10% of the time. The area around the mouth and cheeks occupies the rest of the time.

What is startling here is the propensity for people to examine the eyes as windows to the brain and soul, and to attempt to judge someone’s age based on that. The best way to tell someone’s age is not always by looking at the eyes, as most people do, but at the ears. People who take good care of their eyes will have fewer wrinkles around the eye, less chance for eye conditions like glaucoma, and an overall healthier glow. Wearing high-quality sunglasses when outdoors, and correct prescription glasses when indoors, can result in healthier eyes in the long run. Meanwhile, ensuring all makeup is washed off your eyelid nightly, and using mascara tubes for only 6 months at a time, can also ensure healthy and clean eyes. Face creams that reduce wrinkles and stress lines are also recommended along with sun screen and a low-stress attitude towards life’s ups and downs.