Style spotlight

Adventurous accessories

Anita from the Optoplast Sustain collection

Tyne from the Optoplast Sustain collection

By Joan Grady

As well as providing enhanced vision, spectacles are smart personalised accessories – frequently bestowing wearers with confidence, spirit, self-assurance and even a hint of mystery. With all these qualities, frames need to be conscientiously cared for and protected when not worn. Fortunately, there are creative, protective and stylish options in the cases and accessories category.

Accessories for eyewear today include sleek and colourful cases, chains in a variety of materials and featherweight microfibre cleaning cloths. Materials are varied and increasingly include recycled items, as the eyewear sector seeks to discover new, eco-friendly alternatives to help protect the planet. Attention is also given to cases that fit comfortably into a variety of handbag shapes and sizes. Most importantly, eyewear is protected with dash and flair.

CONSERVATION AND CREATIVITY Our rapidly changing climate, and increased awareness of the need to look after the planet and its fragile eco-systems, have prompted companies to produce items with sustainable features. “We have a massive story to tell,” says David Strathie, sales and marketing manager for Continental Eyewear, part of the Millmead Group. Launched in 2021, Optoplast Sustain is an innovative collection of cases and cloths crafted from recycled polyethylene terephthalate, widely known as rPET. Ingenious recycling creates this material from used plastic bottles.

Exquisite coral reefs from around the world, many of which are suffering from the increasing threat of plastic pollution, are the inspiration for each case and cloth in the Optoplast Sustain collection. Further good news is that two of the Sustain cases are made onsite at Continental’s Liverpool factory, an additional element of ecological responsibility.

Two sleek Sustain cases – Tyne and Eden – are fabricated in 100 per cent rPET. Tyne is a soft pocket pouch style with an open top; it’s lightweight and easy to tuck into a bag or jacket pocket, and is currently available in light grey and black. Cosy and compact, the Eden case features a smart tuck-in front closure, and comes in light grey and black too.

Streamlined Anita is a hard case, which can be folded completely flat when not in use: a magnetic closure keeps frames securely in place. Optoplast Sustain demonstrates the group’s commitment to sustainability with every part of Anita made from recycled material. The outside of the case is rPET material, while the inside is recycled flock with a recycled cardboard body.

Optoplast Sustain Eden, made from 100 per cent recycled rPET

Sea Friends from Louis Stone

COLOUR, CHARM AND CHIC Fun, fashion and function all merge in the extensive collection of spectacle cases by Louis Stone Optical in Wales. Sophisticated and sleek, or amusing and lighthearted, the variety includes designs for men, women and children, with 10 new styles enhancing the premium hard and soft case collection. The rhythmic flow of colourful sea creatures is artfully captured in Sea Friends, available for both adult and kids sized frames.

Striking Mosaic cases have a flocked texture – a bonus when looking for glasses in a handbag, and the artisan touch is evident in the Mosaic colour variations. Star Stuck, Smile and Glam are amusing touches to eyewear accessories, plus the playful case Adorable Pups and Kitty Cat will capture

Colourful Mosaics from Louis Stone

the fancy of young spectacle wearers, and encourage them to care for and protect their eyewear.

Clare Brent, head of marketing and communications at Louis Stone, notes: “We have had a number of compliments from opticians who are so grateful that they can finally get hold of beautiful, high quality cases at better prices than they have been used to recently.”

BRITISH HERITAGE Award-winning British company Eyespace offers premium labels with notable quality and history. Among its brands is Aspinal of London, a cherished and respected company with a reputation for superb quality.

The sunglasses collections for men and women feature elegant designs that combine contemporary concepts with traditional spectacle making by master craftsmen. Aspinal cases and cleaning cloths also reflect the supreme sophistication and distinction of the British brand. Sleek, streamlined and constructed with the finest materials, the products exude aesthetic beauty.

Land Rover is an exciting part of Britain’s automobile history. The same attention to detail beloved by Land Rover fans is captured in the sporty styles for men that unite technical innovation, superior design and excellent performance. Sustainability is incorporated as well, with the Land Rover case made from FSC-accredited cardboard with an rPET removable lining, which enables the case to be recycled at the end of its life. Aspinal and Land Rover cases and cleaning cloths are available from Eyespace with frame purchases and not sold separately.

Centrostyle celebrates an extensive collection of cases, cloths and chains in bright vibrant tones. Dynamic colour accents enhance velvet cases, decorated with spectacles that are distinctive and cheerful. The semi-hard case is just one in a varied collection that includes striped materials, solid colours, cases specifically for wraparound sunglasses, and ultra light aluminium designs in fashion tones as well as neutral hues of black, white, brown and navy blue.

Eyewear chains are a practical and stylish answer to knowing exactly where your frames are, and to ensure they don’t go astray. Pearls, beads, decorated metals and colourful cords are included in the Centrostyle collection.

A selection of stylish eyewear accessories is a bonus for the independent practice,

Aspinal case and cloth from Eyespace Land Rover case from Eyespace

Velvet cases from Centrostyle

Centrostyle chains for style and frame security

offering the opportunity to suggest to patients useful and fashionable items to protect their specs and sunglasses. Cases, chains and cleaning cloths can also be used to create innovative window displays to provide the practice with a unique identity. The latest accessories include a vast range of influences from super styling to quality production and working with renewable resources, bringing fun and fashion excitement to the eyewear scene. ■