B wears vintage Carrera aviator glasses in Soho

Thanks to B for being happy to let me snap him in his vintage Carrera glasses in Soho, London at the weekend. He bought them on eBay. He purchased wisely! I'm not sure how old these are - any ideas?

Waiting for the sun: Saison #2

Waiting for the sun, or W/SÜN for short, is a good name for a sunglass maker. It sums up what we've been up to all winter. Especially in a place like London where crisp, sunny freezing days are a rarity.

W/SÜN are as welcome as the arrival of spring. As well as being rather cool, they're made from bamboo or teawood, so weigh almost as little as the little ray of sunshine you've been waiting for. Above is Une, below is 27.2g and 19.6g. Have a good look at Waiting for the sun's website, where you can buy or just look at some more lovely wooden shades.

Thanks to Bap at Kapok in Hong Kong for suggesting these.

Ray Flector: bang-on budget visors

Good sunglasses can be cheap too. Other than the rather cheesy name - Ray Flector, I like these. Available for only £6 from Chemical UK

Are these the best glasses of 2011? Mykita Holly and Elsa

Want specs that nod at the 1950s and 60s (which is of course v good), but don't make you look like old snaps of your grandma? Then get your peepers round Holly and Elsa from EWG favourite Mykita.

Amazingly, Mykita has been going for less than seven years' but it has already established itself as one of most innovative manufacturers - and one of the coolest designers - in the world.

Above is Holly in gold and light blue, an addition to the No.1 collection, while below is Elsa, from Mykita No. 2. If you like the look, go and find a pair and fold those hinges. For a rave on Mykita hinges looky here...

Available from any optician with taste.

Chanel 2011: mirrored sunglasses with a difference

Reflect for a moment...

Qu'est ce que c'est? Well, Chanel has reached new levels of luxury with the Chanel 5202Q where we're guessing that Q must refer to the quilted lambskin temples pictured below...

But look carefully at the aforementioned temples and the better sighted among you will spot a hinge. Oh yes, it can mean only one thing...

Available at Chanel boutiques and at some good opticians in black, white, tortoise and purple.

Horny, horny, horny - three Super sunglasses for SS2011

Anyone feeling markedly materialistic in the run-up to summer should be trying out Super's new "Horn" sunglasses. Exactly what the material is I am not sure, but the price tag starts at a reasonable €120.

George Michael in Theo and Tim Van Steenbergen's Bel Air sunglasses

I don't think George Michael went to Snappy Snaps for this picture. It's the cover of his new single, True Faith, and features a rather distinct pair of sunglasses from Belgian eyewear specialists Theo and fellow Belgian fashion designer Tim Van Steenbergen.

Bel Air is part of Tim Van Steenbergen's American Old Timers collection, which is inspired by chrome strips, gleaming bumpers and rounded corners of American vintage cars.

True Faith, a New Order cover, is available next week. All proceeds got to Comic Relief, a UK charity.

Blue lips, blue frames, the colour of Ogi Eyewear's Spring ad campaign

She stumbled into an opticians and thought, "God, is this all there is?"

Unfortunately, said opticians did not stock any of the latest frames from Ogi, as showcased in these images from its latest campaign. 

The spring collection consists of 14 new ophthalmic styles, includung some terrific acetates; eight kids' models; and four new sunglasses.

With thanks to Regina Spektor for the Blue references...

Or is it more a green? Cyan? Jade? Teal?

Want to bet he too has a few tattoos under that suit?

Prada F/W 2011 'goggle glasses' at Milan Fashion Week

Yet again Prada is making a real effort to create a little eyewear-excitement from the frequently-too-dull-when-it-comes-to-glasses mainstream fashion bigboys.

This time, we have what we've named "goggle glasses". They feature on the first few models to pace the runway at the Milan Fashion Show 2011 and again, with a rather cool hat, after 7 minutes or so.

Now taking bets as to whether these will make it into stores...

Willem Defoe in the Jim Beam commercial - whiskey glasses?

One of my most surreal star-spots of all time was on a night out in New York with Jason Kirk. We'd popped into a packed bar somewhere when, outside, Willem Defoe cupped his hands between the window pane and his face in an attempt to peer inside. Rather like a scene from one of his movies. All I think he really saw was an aghast me, about two feet away, genuinely rather spooked; followed by me covertly trying to point him out to Jason.

So here is Defoe  in another glass-related context, in a Jim Beam ad playing lots of characters, one of whom, Karl-Lagerfeld-like, is wearing a rather tasty pair of specs... Ideas anyone? Who are these glasses by and where can one purchase them? Roberto in Seattle is keen to find out, and so am I.

Trend-watch: glasses without lenses - big ones

This whole glasses-without-lenses thing takes some getting used to, but to get an idea of where things are going this is a great picture, courtesy of utter-chaos.

Ralph Vaessen fall/winter 2011 eyewear campaign

Excuse the nudity in this, the most family-oriented of blogs, but where there's good glasses, Eye Wear Glasses can't just sit back and ignore it.

And just as we were impressed last time Ralph Vaessen released one of his racy videos, here again he exposes his amazing ability to create exquisite eyewear of the very best quality...

Above is Philip, right is Sarah, below is the video.

Chanel sunglasses for 2011: chunky aviator meets lace metal temples

This is the A40891 from Chanel, part of its 2011 sunglasses collection. Note the discreet double C logo in the lace-effect metal temples. Only available in Chanel shops...

Gucci 500 sunglasses - car not included

Imagine if you could have a designer car to match your designer glasses. Now stop, because this is a reality. You are not dreaming. "500 by Gucci" limited edition aviators and a matching Gucci 500 Fiat.

Beep, beep! Available in Gucci shops, a few opticians and your local Fiat dealership.

Pass the eyedrops - Rolf Spectacles goes Continental

 

Aitchoo! Antihistamine me up if you expect me to partake in any such horseplay.

Somewhere under there is a pair of these little beauties: Continental 21 glasses from multi-award-winning framemakers Rolf Spectacles. Lightweight, the frame has buffalo horn temple tips. This style is also available in zebrawood (below), maple, walnut, bog oak and combinations thereof.