glasses

For the past year or so, size ruled over sense when it came to sunglasses, evidenced by the plethora of celebrities wearing glasses that covered up more than half of their faces. In the coming months, we'll still see large sunglasses, but designers are making their glasses more refined than before, adding style to size for some great new looks, like Tom Ford's Elizabeth Sunglasses. These glasses have thick, rounded plastic frames with metallic accents and graduated lenses. The Tom Ford logo appears on both arms and on one of the lenses in a golden print. The glasses are available in black, brown (pictured) and cream. Price: $450.

Forget about regular wine glasses the next time you're opening a favorite bottle of red. These Glass of Truth Tumblers not only have an unusual elegance about them, but they are designed to deliver the best wine experience by "releasing aromas and unlocking subtle flavors" as the slight warmth from your fingertips slowely spreads throughout the wine. While they may be for wine, we won't tell if you replace your regular juice glasses with them, either. The glasses are made in the Czech Republic. Price: $38 for a pair.

This set of frosted glasses (4) and matching ice bucket looks to have been carved from ice, and although they were not, that is the only way that they could be more environmentally friendly than they are. The glass is recycled and is processed with an electric furnace powered with wind energy. Designed by Andi Kovel, the pieces are all handmade in Portland. Price: $987

If you have a nice set of dishes, though luxury consumers tend to prefer basic tableware, you might not want your kids eating off of it, especially if they are very young. Not only could they have an accident, dropping a plate or bowl, but working with a knife and fork that are too large for their small hands can be quite difficult. The Kid's Stuff Complete Dining Set from Alfredo Haberli is kid sized and much more refined than those cartoon-covered plastic dish sets that are often given to children. It includes a plastic tray, porcelain bowl & plate, glass, a four piece flatware set, wooden cutting board and spreader and everything is sized to the proportions of a child, with wide grips that are easy to hold. The cutting board is designed to encourage children to cut up their own food, rather than waiting for an adult to do it for them. Price: $150.

If you're interested in glassware that will really make a statement, the Black Cut Crystal Glassware collection from Williams-Sonoma Home might be the perfect thing. To make the pattern, black crystal is layered over clear crystal, then gently cut away to create the unique, oval-banded pattern. It makes a stunning presentation of liquors, though red wines and red cocktails look particularly elegant against the black. Each piece in the set is sold separately, but the collection includes white and red wineglasses, champagne flutes, martini glasses, aperitif glasses, highballs and double old-fashioneds. Prices: $30-$38 for glasses; $150 for decanter, ice bucket.

Designer Jeremy Scott took an angular, vintage framed pair of sunglasses and updated them for a new, funky look. The Signature Sunglasses were done for Linda Farrow Vintage as part of the summer 2006 collection. The shield-like one-piece frames have a medium tint and the arms of the glasses each feature the designer's signature. Using a relatively thin metal for the arms allows the glasses to take the same shape as other popular wide-armed glasses, without the loss of visibility that can result. Available from Colette. Price: €225.

The Dogon Stemware set might just tempt consumers away from sleekly curved, more mundane stemware. The pieces are very geometric, with sharp lines and crisp angles, though the lips of the glasses are still curved to facilitate drinking. Made of heavy 24% lead crystal, these are not glasses that you would want to use everyday, but they certainly provide a unique, fun look that would be a topic of conversation not only at a party, but for weeks afterward. The glasses (water, flutes and wine) are sold in sets of 6, are $275, the pitcher is $185 and the decanter, with stopper, is $169.

I recently became aware of the Float Glassware collection when several new pieces drew my attention. The collection was designed by Todd Macallen and Stephanie Forsythe for Molo Design. Each piece is handmade of pyrex-type glass, making it resistant to both very hot and cold liquids. The glasses have an outerwall that suspends an inner cup, making any liquid appear to be floating in air. The above 28-oz. "animal soup" bowl ($119) features a small chicken that is raised above bottom of the bowl and appears to float above soups or snacks that are served in it.

More pieces from the collection are after the jump.

Those big, white sunglasses are being replaced by darker framed styles, with black and tortoiseshell plastic holding the over-sized lenses in place. White glasses are attention-grabbing on their own, but a less assertive color needs a hint of sparkle to grab the spotlight. Bulgari's Parentheses Bling Sunglasses have the requisite large size in an attractive square cut and are adorned with Swarovski crystals at the temples. They are available in three colors: tortoise/brown lenses, black/gray, or eggplant/gray. The trim is gold on the tortoise frames and silver for both the black and eggplant. Price: $400.