Opticals launch

[Tony]

Victoria Beckham has announced that her existing two-year-old eyewear line will no longer exclusively focus on sunglasses, a range of opticals are to come.

Beckham, who suffers from being short-sighted herself, confessed, “I do need to wear glasses [but] haven’t found glasses that suit me or that I particularly like. I’ve always been quite self-conscious [about it], so that’s why I’ve decided to do them myself.”

A little later than Richard Nicoll’s, Victoria Beckham will show her new optical range on 4 October in Paris and promises three colourways for each style, working in black, tortoiseshell, yellow, forest green and topaz, with flashes of horn, pearl and oyster detailing.

From WWD:
Victoria Beckham is adding a new range of optical frames to her fashion portfolio.

The designer, who is near-sighted herself, has been on a mission for the perfect prescription frames for as long as she can remember, admitting that she’s never photographed in glasses (except for oversize sunglasses) because it’s been trying to find a flattering pair.

“I do need to wear glasses — [but] I haven’t found glasses that suit me or that I particularly like,” Beckham told WWD. “I’ve always been quite self-conscious [about this], so that’s why I’ve decided to do them myself.”

After the designer launched sunglasses two years ago, an optical collection was the obvious next step. Beckham’s global eyewear business spans Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus in the U.S. to Harrods in the U.K.

She partnered with Cutler & Gross on the six-piece optical collection that will make its debut at Silmo Paris on Oct. 4. Each style comes in three colorways, with the overall palette comprised of black, tortoise, topaz, yellow and forest green. All frames are handcrafted in Italy and fashioned from combinations of metal and acetate, the tips of each pair are adorned with a refined, diamond faceted “V.” They also contain elements such as sepia stained coloring, horn, pearl oyster interior lining and tortoiseshell.

Silhouettes range from delicate and feminine styles such as superlight metal aviators to heavier, acetate rectangular shapes. Some are even unisex — such as the “Heavy Square,” a bolder frame that Beckham and her husband David Beckham both wear.

Each pair goes through four weeks of production and 37 assembly processes. This means frames are “tumbled” for nearly a week with resin chips and undergo two stages of hand polishing. Each pair will retail for about $410.

“I will be wearing my glasses now, and it will be nice to see where I will be going for once,” Beckham said.

The optical frames are slated to hit retailers in January and February.

UPDATE: A press release has just arrived confirming that 'each piece is hand cut, assembled, and polished, with the same aspirational, chic and refined aesthetic that is at the heart of Victoria’s creative vision.' Ooh. What's more, avid VB fans have pointed out that the yummy mummy sported foxy glasses in the latest issue of US Glamour. Was this a pre-medidated move to showcase her specs appeal we wonder?

From Vogue:
The optical line will sit alongside the designer's already-successful sunglasses range, which was launched two years ago. With each pair retailing for around $410 (£260), the new frames will be unveiled at international eyewear exhibition Silmo Paris on 4 October, and due to hit stores early next year.

[Vitalina]

Shoot, it's expensive! But I love glasses!

[RainbowNerdette]

They're more expensive than a pair from Prada I wanted 2 years ago Let's hope for the Dollar to drop some, at least for the non-us people :-P

[spicefreak]

Ooooh Victoria Beckham glasses I wonder if these will be unisex... I may have to purchase a pair if they are nice I love my glasses have 2 Armani pairs 1 Prada pair and 1 Gucci pair, they all cost a bomb but I argue they are vital for eyes hehe!

[RainbowNerdette]

Most of mine are from speccies I'm just a poor git

[Heather]

I don't think $400 ish is expensive? that seems really cheap/affordable to me.

[mel2vicem]

Ooooh Victoria Beckham glasses I wonder if these will be unisex... I may have to purchase a pair if they are nice I love my glasses have 2 Armani pairs 1 Prada pair and 1 Gucci pair, they all cost a bomb but I argue they are vital for eyes hehe!

Yes, some will be unisex, David has already worn a pair

[RainbowNerdette]

I don't think $400 ish is expensive? that seems really cheap/affordable to me.

Guess it's just me then, don't think I've ever had a pair over $150 including perscripion lenses

But I think I'm gonna save up for these

[Heather]

I could just be out of touch since I don't wear glasses and I know nothing about the regular cost of them.

[RainbowNerdette]

I could just be out of touch since I don't wear glasses and I know nothing about the regular cost of them.

They start at ~$30 a pair including simple prescription lenses and the most expensive pair I've personally seen someone buy was ~$220 which included all kinds of fancy options for the lenses. The frames were $122 actually, with a free second pair including everything but the lens options as those have to be paid separately, which was $60 on the second one, as the first one were prescription sunglasses.

Most expensive pair I've had in my hands were ~$488 which was a high end designer pair which I couldn't afford Luckily the salespeople didn't know that!

If you have additional health insurance they'll typically cover $123 in either 2 or 3 years, differs per insurer, but if you're just gonna get extra insurance for the glasses you're cheaper off buying them yourself

[Margaret]

I have a pair of Ray Bans and they were 350 with the glasses.... so it's kind of expensive I think..

[mel2vicem]

rayban are great but are always cheaper than other designer brands for some reason

[Margaret]

rayban are great but are always cheaper than other designer brands for some reason

Really? I thought 350 was already expensive, they most expensive ones in the shop were around 200 without glasses.

[Poshboy78]

Great news!
Her sunglasses are awesome: they are expensive but they worth every single $/£/€
Can't wait to see them.

[Lah]

Nice to know she is expanding, but i think $400/$300 very expensive for sunglasses. I would never pay that amount of money, especially because i barely use them. Maybe it is worth for someone who uses it all the time though.

[RainbowNerdette]

I rarely use my sunglasses but still had them custom made Not trading those in!

I think eye wear is worth spending on as it defines your face for a large part and thereby strongly impacts the way people see you :-)

[TheBiatches]

LOL Her prices are pathetic. I'll stick to my pair of RayBan sunnies although I've always wanted specs (I don't need them... I know, I know, but I like the look!), so some VB ones would've been nice, but they're far too expensive.

[grace4]

I (am supposed to) wear glasses for distance and I always dread having to buy new sets. You can easily spend £150 on a pair of ordinary, middle range glasses, so £260 doesn't seem all that expensive to me, especially if the frames have been hand crafted in Italy and not run off a machine in China.

[Joanhs]

I don't think $400 ish is expensive? that seems really cheap/affordable to me.

Remember, it's WITHOUT the glass.. The glass is most expensive..

[grace4]

I don't think $400 ish is expensive? that seems really cheap/affordable to me.

Remember, it's WITHOUT the glass.. The glass is most expensive..

really depends on your lense prescription and the finishes that you opt for. My lenses are cheap in comparison to my frames

[Lah]

Ok, silly me, for some reason i thought it was 'sunglasses', just noticed its 'glasses'... lol
Yeah i use glasses, but i refuse to spend too much on my frames, i dont use anything ordinary but its nothing very expensive either, and actually i like the ones without frames, you know what i mean? Like this http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u8QSoPFAc9E/T ... _on_lg.jpg

[Joanhs]

I don't think $400 ish is expensive? that seems really cheap/affordable to me.

Remember, it's WITHOUT the glass.. The glass is most expensive..

really depends on your lense prescription and the finishes that you opt for. My lenses are cheap in comparison to my frames

Yeah it's like that here in denmark too, the frames are sometimes like, 1 dollar or something, and then the glass is expensive

[Vitalina]

I paid for my current glasses 5 bucks in Russia, that was 3 years ago. And I still get compliments on the glasses sometimes, so yeah, $400 is kind of expensive..

[breezyspice]

I have a pair of Valentino and a pair of Prada glasses. I got them just before I came off a good medical plan and if I hadn't had any discounts, they would've been about $400-$450 each.

I was actually surprised when I saw VB's being that much. I was honestly expecting $800+

[Heather]

I don't think $400 ish is expensive? that seems really cheap/affordable to me.

Remember, it's WITHOUT the glass.. The glass is most expensive..

yeah I know but $400ish for designer frames still sounds cheap to me.