Seeing the light, finally

Fashion-conscious people in Bahrain are slipping on their new shades for a stroll on the sunny side of the street.

The oversized retro look which was so hugely popular in 2006 is strong again this year too, but the specs on offer are looking more refined. Modern eyewear continues to be heavily inspired by the past.
Yet style mavens will find plenty of new shapes and coloured frames to choose from.
“The retro-trend is likely to be even stronger this year”, said Kerstin Kruschinski of the Good Vision Curatorium.
Softer, more curvaceous shapes have come to the fore, with warm and natural colours dominating – typical examples are brown or reds such as maroon.
“The colours are just not as intensive as they were”, she said, added, “Even the whites are less garish.”
The silhouettes which went down so well last summer are getting bigger and bolder, said fashion expert Andreas Rose. Women with long hair have the extra advantage that such stylish sun specs can double up as a headband.
Of course, large lenses are not just fashionable – they protect the eyes more effectively from harmful ultraviolet rays than their smaller counterparts. Generally-speaking it does not pay to buy sunglasses which cover only a small area of the face. Ideally the eyes should be shielded completely. Fortunately the larger aviator style of frames, with their large-surface lenses, continue to flatter most faces – male or female – and remain chic at the same time.
Rodenstock is one of the manufacturers to have recognised that big-sized glasses remain hot and the firm has revamped its men’s aviator range with innovative colours such as combination of gold and olive green.
The new specs from the Freudenhaus collection are also big-sized models which hark back to the sunglasses worn by screen idol Audrey Hepburn.
The firm of Funk has been treading a different path – at least as far as some models are concerned.
“Our glasses are comparatively small with out-of-the-ordinary shapes, such as butterfly frames”, said Saschi Schuster. Some of these specs were inspired by ones worn by style icons of the 1920s.
According to Andreas Rose, this year’s eye shields have a brighter hue so that the face is not completely obscured behind them. At the same time, the mirror lenses of yore are back again – “wearing a pair of these can make you look particularly cool and sexy”, he said.
General frame embellishment is more restrained this year and many of the prominent initials and logos have faded away too, said Rose. The view is shared by Alexandra Kimmerle who believes “a lot of customers are looking for a more minimal look.”
There will always be room for glamour though and Bulgari could just fit the bill. The sides of some of its top models are bedecked with gemstones. Other companies have also gone for the extravagant look: Glittering rhinestones and snazzy black and white combinations are taking over, said one spokesman.

By Ana Wahdat