Oakley recently collaborated with artist Andrew Petterson to create a unique and refreshing collection of handcrafted one-of-a-kind Frogskins. There are 50 individual designs (I picked my favorites for the gallery below) and they're all so bright, cheerful, and (perhaps most importantly) stylish I'm sure you'll want more than just one pair. Coordinate them by color with your outfits or fall in love with a particular design and wear it as a signature statement.
Available at retail locations around the country -- click here to find one near you -- for $350.
Armani Eyewear has a new special sunglasses design to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Evoking a slight Lennon vibe, the limited edition glasses are an updated version of one of Armani's early designs and feature white goldtone palladium, rounded gray/green lenses, and curved arms (I hate the way those feel, personally, even though they look good when you're not wearing them). Each pair is engraved with its edition number of 0001 - 1000 on the inside by the temple and comes in a specially marked "Anniversary Editon" Neiman Marcus case. $1000
Summer may be over but not sunglasses season, instead of beach glare those of us who live in winter climates will soon be fighting the harsh reflections of sun off snow.
So, what better time to invest in some new chic shades like these from Barton Perreira? This is the "Emmanuelle" in silver and it's my favorite of the Jeweled Collection. The gems are tastefully placed to accent the designs instead of overtake them -- just a little bit of rock star diva glamor for those who want the bling without the tacky (that would be me!). $300-$600+
We've covered light fixtures made of sunglasses before and although it's an idea that will never fit it with my home's decor I must say the concept is growing on me and I especially like this 'R&S' (Ray & Stevie) pendant light by J.P. Meulendijks. The design is incredibly simple, consisting simply of 18 "reservoir dogs" sunglasses arranged into a circle. The result is an interesting piece of art and, when you turn it on, fun sunglass-shaped shadows on the walls and ceiling. Available in both black and white the lamp goes for just over $200.
It's amazing how something so common and simple like a classic pair of aviator style sunglasses can be the inspiration for a gaudy (but still strangely attractive) lamp called the Celebrity Lamp. Named after the many celebrities who are more often than not spotted in public wearing their favorite shades, this lamp is made up of 40 pairs of mirrored aviator glasses resting on a shiny linear stand with a temple light switch. It's a shiny silver sculpture during daylight and becomes a kaleidoscope of color and light when turned on at night. Like I said, gaudy but strangely attractive... $1,600.
Champagne is always considered a fairly luxurious drink (even when it's the cheap stuff) but any champagne, cheap or not, is sure to get a class upgrade when it gets served in one of these two glasses. Valued at $400,000 and blinged out with 1,700 white and pink diamonds the glasses were chiseled out of 8kg blocks of rock quartz crystal and it took 5 jewelers 3 months to put them all together.
The seven deadly sins are now represented in wine glass form in a set created by Kacper Hamilton. Intended to "celebrate passion" and "encourage the user to be sinful in a theatrical fashion," each sin (wrath, greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, and lust) has its own artistic interpretation that will have you drinking your wine in the most interesting ways (the aggressive and dangerous looking pointed rim on the glass above represents wrath). The "Deadly Glasses" come all together in a set, packaged neatly in a velvet-lined mahogany case.
This past holiday weekend beer was the beverage of choice for a lot of people, and although an ice-cold brewski may seem at first glance like one of the most unassuming and simplest of alcoholic beverages the experts at Spiegelau have a different take. They've taken their combined 500 years of experience and created three distinct glasses made especially for bringing out the best in different kinds of beer. Their Beer Classics collection is geared for optimizing the appearance, aroma, taste, and finish of your favorite brew -- get a hold of these glasses and you could find yourself becoming quite the beer snob.
Aviator sunglasses are a classic design -- and it seems people either love 'em or hate 'em. If you're on the "love 'em" side then here's some news you'll probably like: Ray-Ban Ultra Gold Limited Edition glasses. There are only two different designs, features including ultra light titanium frames, P3 polarized lenses, anti-reflective coating, a cool hydrophobic moisture-wicking coating, and of course gold -- in the form of 22k gold plating. The "limited edition" refers to the fact that only 25,000 pairs of Ultra Gold glasses are being made, so if you get a pair you've legitimately earned the right to sport the popular "I'm too cool for you" aviator face while you wear them.
Posted Nov 10th 2007 10:02AM by Sandy Maple Filed under: Wine
This is one of those great ideas that makes you wonder why it took so long for someone to come up with it. Designed by Zoe Stanton, the The Fairshare Fountain is sure to impress the crowd at your New Year's Eve party. Each stem in the 6-glass set is shorter than the one before, allowing you to start at the top and evenly share a bottle of bubbly with just one pour. Made from hand blown Pyrex glass, the set sells for about £560.00.
Don't take olives in your martini? Well then this is definitely not the glass for you, because this martini glass by to22 can't do without at least one olive. When designing this glass the thought was that "the olive has become the signature element of a martini, and yet it is treated almost as an afterthought." Now when to22 went to give the olive greater importance they weren't messing around! The olive is so important to a drink in this glass that you can't have one without it, literally. The olive is used to plug a hole in the bottom of the glass.
Great idea and I love it! But I will say this: this is not a glass I'll hold over my lap or walk around with...you know, just in case.
Say the word "whimsy" and you've got my attention -- I love anything fun and slightly wacky, but not necessarily ridiculously over the top. These Wobble Cognac Glasses are great, I think, because they look interesting without sacrificing any class. They were designed with bouquet, temperature, and volume in mind, and the delicate shape is said to enhance the pleasure, deep color, and movement of the drink (and also the glass to some extent, obviously). Made of hand-blown glass and available in sets of two for $50.
John Lennon's glasses, yes the legend himself, are up for auction on the British site 991.com. The Beatle's gold wire rimmed sunglasses are currently owned by a Japanese TV producer named Junishi Yore who got them back in 1966 when he worked as a translator for the Beatles, and they'll come with a handwritten note from Yore explaining how he came to get them from Lennon. Estimates are predicting the auction will end somewhere around $1.5 million or higher, although it's a private auction so we'll have to wait and see when the bidding ends on July 31st.
Mercedes-Benz is trying something new, and they're jumping in with both feet. In collaboration with Allison SpA, they've come up with designs for 40 different eyeglass and sunglass frames. They unveiled the new endeavor at the recently concluded Fashion Week in Berlin, and I have to say that I think they've really gotten it right. The designs look hip and modern, but not so trendy that they're not versatile enough for everyday wear. Prices range from $233-$330 for the Mercedes-Benz eyeglass frames and $220-$357 for the sunglasses.
Here's a unique take on reusing old wine glasses -- stick them together and make a lighting fixture! Created and handmade by designers Michael and Nora for Green with Glamour, the Cocktails and Lace Chandelier is beautiful and definitely draws the eye for more than just a quick glance. But something stresses me about seeing all those wine glasses strung up in mid-air in that haphazard way -- I can't help but imagine them all as tumbling down and about to shatter on the table or floor below (especially that last little one on the very end). Measures 35" x 15", $3250.
