Cheap Monday eyewear - "Open your third eye"

Where've I been? Paris. Back now, with more pictures of glasses... good ones... including previews of styles for 2011. We begin with Cheap Monday, the Scandinavian clothing brand which also makes some supercool glasses. These are Triquetra; a good combination of rounded and angled lines....

Ksubi 2011 glasses - All I need is the air that you breathe

That top one must be one of the best pictures featured here in a while. It feels like yesterday that I featured Ksubi's last set of great photographs but here they are again with gas masks, some weird hook thing, a one-eyed helmet, and some rather grand eyewear.

I rarely quote the promotional material I receive but, "Ksubi 2011 all seeing eyewear range - 'eye, eye' - sees mercenary heavy metal mesh, deserted island floral acetate and duty clerk optical combine for an industrial yet sculpted range." 'Tis true. Eye, eye.

Theo scores a hat-trick with Trilby, Panama, Gatsby and more...

Often when I hear about themed eyewear collections my eyes roll upward and a semi-audible "tut" may be detected.

And that is of course because they're so often a sign a desperation, a lack of good ideas. Not with my little Belgian friends at Theo though, oh no.

Every collection from Theo is different, and Theo's HatStyles is elegantly so.

My recent Scandinavian tour (Iceland, and Denmark particularly) highlighted a large, minimalist, aviator-inspired, old-school granddad spectacle style that may become the retro-look of choice in 2011. And Theo joins in here a little, but only with a clever tip of the hat.

Here we feature Gatsby (top-to-bottom), Panama and Trilby. Designed by Patrick Hoet, they feature a single outline frame that holds the lenses, and each design relates directly to the hat of the same name. There's Stetson and Borsalino too - visit the Theo website for more...

Rolf wood glasses are up for an award again...

I mentioned the Silmo d'Or last week in my post on Kirk Originals. The Silmo d'Or recognises the best in eyewear at this week's Silmo exhibition, which starts on Thursday in Paris.

I'm making my way there on the first train from London to Paris on Saturday morning, but the coverage is already well underway. Today, I feature Rolf wooden eyewear - the top model is Super Seven, which is made of bamboo, the darker one is Giulia.

Giulia is made of Macassar ebony and features horn temples. It is nominated for a Silmo d'Or, an award Rolf won last year.

Zuerihorn handmade frames from Switzerland: horn and silk!

Zuerihorn is one of those incredibly good quality European eyewear companies that can do little wrong. With its handmade specs named after the cows from whose horns the frames are made, I'm looking forward to trying a pair of these on next weekend at the big glasses show in Paris. As you can guess from "Zuerihorn", the glasses are made from horn. But also silk - a new one on me!
These specs look great... I will update you soon!

Knit one purl one: Mercura enters knitting pattern cool...

Love these images, thanks to Deutsche Vogue: more here on the Mercura NYC blog.

Kirk Originals gets clever: glasses that change as you move

Any glasses launch from Kirk Originals involves a wee surprise. So here is Equaliser from the new Kinetic collection. Good eh? Nice shape, 80s-esque graphic equaliser on the side. But what's this? The temple changes as you move? Turn up the bass, tweak the treble...

Don't believe? Check this video of another model, the Spectrum, from the Kirk Originals Kinetic collection...

Here's one more pic, featuring "Flash" in three exposures... Look how the temple changes. Can't wait to see the beauties in Paris next weekend! These are up for Silmo d'Or; like an Oscar, but for specs...

Bold Super Ilaria futuristic retro sunglasses

Retro Super Future has a habit of getting it right. Ilaria, a Super special edition of the Lucia, goes on sale on 20 September, with only 170 available.

Alexandra Cassaniti x RAEN - limited edition Myopia sunglasses for spring 2011

Myopia is a collaboration frame by Alexandra Cassaniti and RAEN Optics. With sleek fin-shaped arms and circular metal trim detailing, handmade acetate, polarized lenses and fine attention to detail, this frame scheduled to hit stores in Spring 2011. Available colourways will include: matte black, black and white, and cider tortoise.

Initium: Eyewear that rocks

While some eyewear brands are a bit bling and others are bit hippyish, certain glasses just rock and Initium is one, a good one too.

Its signature is a curvy hinge - take a look at the Initium Eyewear website for more - turn the volume up to 11 and enjoy...

Vintage Mazzucchelli glasses as worn by Emmanuel

I met Emmanuel this evening. He was wearing these great vintage Mazzucchelli glasses... I'd never come across Mazzucchelli-branded glasses before. Mazzucchelli 1849 is an Italian company that supplies quality acetate to the optical industry, but it appears it has in the past made specs itself (or at least licensed its name to do so). A great frame.

Glasses Eye Wear: Oliver Goldsmith Consul-S original 1960s remakes

I posted back in April about the re-launch of Oliver Goldsmith retro glasses. And here I turn the lens on myself to show off a pair of Oliver Goldsmith Consul-S, in the Black Float colourway. Great aren't they? Well, clearly I think so.

Currently available in only a few places but distribution deals are being signed so these, and other great original styles will be making their way to your local top-notch optician soon...

And thanks too to Ciliary Blue for the lenses - great service!

Boss Orange Eyewear: colourful acetate frames for summer 2011

These are lovely looking acetate spectacles from how-many-diffusion-lines-can-one-brand-have Hugo Boss, specifically Boss Orange. Model number BO0008.

We reach the Finnish line: handmade Boomer glasses from Helsinki

Google's good but it could be much better. It took me too long to find Boomer, a line of handcrafted glasses by Vesa Pallasvesa in Helsinki.

This frame, left, cheekily taken from the Boomer website while I wait to feature a wider selection, clearly shows what Boomer is about: handmade, bespoke eyewear for the discerning customer.

And so Eye Wear Glasses completes its tour of Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and now Finland. Next time I will plan things a little more.

Next, Sweden: Oscar Magnuson AW10 ophthalmic glasses

Typical me, typical me, typical me I started something I couldn't Finnish.

Glasses pictures are stacking up in my inbox while I find myself trying to complete what I thought would be quite easy: to do consecutive posts on glasses from each of the Scandinavian countries. But now I'm not too sure.

Here, Sweden's Oscar Magnuson shows off (top-to-bottom) Astrid, Bliss and Ray demonstrating more key trends for the winter. More big styles, more keyhole nose shapes; lovely coloured crystal acetates. 

Yesterday we had Iceland. Last week Norway and Denmark. Only Finland to go ... ???

Now one of you must know a Finnish eyewear designer - remember, we only feature the good stuff here.