When eyeglasses are an everyday must and sunglasses a key part of your style, like they are for the Accidental Icon, finding the right pair is more than important. I am blind as a bat and can not always tell how the eyewear I try on will really look because I can only see a blurry image in the mirror. I have to completely trust the perception of the optician and sometimes we have not been on the same page about what looks good or not. I have the same relationship with eyewear that I might have with a watch or a bag or a favorite piece of clothing. My glasses are an extension of my personality, of who I am, who I wish the world to know me as. Part of my vibe is intellectual urban chick and glasses are the cornerstone of that look as well as my most important fashion accessory.
So until I had the good fortune of meeting the beautiful Sue Randhawa, owner of the Optical Boutique in Vancouver, choosing new eyewear was frought with uncertainty. Now that I am an accidental cover girl and arbiter of fashion it was time to find an expert consultant to help me choose my summer sunglass look and attend to future eyewear styling and Sue is just the right person for the job. She is not only a licensed optician, she is also a fashion icon herself and a constant media presence in her city. Let’s just say I finally met someone with whom I see eye to eye!
I met Sue for a special consultation at the Plaza when she was recently in New York for an eyewear show. I asked her to share her process when it comes to consulting with a client, in this case Accidental Icon. All photos in this post were taken by Sue’s talented and lovely daughter Privia.
When I do a personal client consultation as the one we did at the Plaza, I usually have some information beforehand. Because the majority of your photographs are black and white it was difficult to know some things. I was quite sure that you had a cooler skin tone, but I had to ask you a few questions to be sure. Things like the size of the face, bone structure of the nose, your Rx, all of these things are very important. In your case, it was a little bit more challenging because we had never met in person before. Also, my store selection was not close by and another consultation was not going to be possible. Out of about 800 frames that I have at the store, I chose 12 to bring with me to show you.
One of the things that I like to do for all personal consultations is that I always like to make a sincere effort to get to know the person a little bit. I want to know what you do, what are your hobbies, how often do you socialize, where do you socialize, are you a reader, how much computer work do you do, what do you do for work, what are your (if there any) dissatisfactions with your previous glasses, essentially I want to know who you are in the short time that we have. I’m very careful when I’m extracting information because I never want to be invasive or disrespectful.
With our consultation, I had a fairly good idea of your fashion sense. This allowed me to make the choices that I did because I knew that you liked statement pieces, I didn’t think that you would like anything that was heavily embellished. Simplicity was also key, colour choices were fairly easy because you wear a lot of black and mainly dark or neutral colours.
I thought that the textured colour we chose in the end was quite perfect because it was not going to over power you in any way but still make a good statement. Also, it will work with pretty much any other colour. The proportion and balance of the frame on your face was perfect. The sunglasses are part of your signature Lyn, I took this project on knowing all of this. I wanted to stay consistent with your look and not make you uncomfortable in any way. At the same time, I knew that it needed to be different and new. Something like this will never go out of style.
Check back Wednesday to see our final pick and the interview with Sue continues in which she shares her own perspective on fashion, how she chooses and curates her luxury eyewear collection and her approach to personal style.
What’s your process when choosing eyewear?
You both look so great!
Sue is so gorgeous isn’t she? We make a good contrast.
Two gorgeous women collaborating! Nothing could be more appealing, intriguing and powerful. I look forward to your next post and your favorite pick!
I hope that one day we might share an opportunity to collaborate, couldn’t think of anyone else I would want to collaborate with more than the lovely Style Crone.
What a fantastic experience. Best par of blogging is meeting amazing women like Sue and the wonderful women who stop by the blog, like yourself!
Two gorgeous women collaborating! Nothing could be more appealing, intriguing and powerful. I look forward to your next post and your favorite pick!
I hope that one day we might share an opportunity to collaborate, couldn’t think of anyone else I would want to collaborate with more than the lovely Style Crone.
Wow what fabulous style and sunglasses Sue has, and I’m sure she has exquisite taste in eyewear. What a unique opportunity to work with her. I only wear glasses, I can’t wear contacts, so they are also very important to my look as well. I love a great pair of glasses, especially sunglasses. I am looking forward to seeing your favorite ones!
Cherie
http://www.stylenudge.com
Well, she heads over to Europe for eyewear shows at least once a year so perhaps you could have a consult too!
Wow what fabulous style and sunglasses Sue has, and I’m sure she has exquisite taste in eyewear. What a unique opportunity to work with her. I only wear glasses, I can’t wear contacts, so they are also very important to my look as well. I love a great pair of glasses, especially sunglasses. I am looking forward to seeing your favorite ones!
Cherie
http://www.stylenudge.com
Well, she heads over to Europe for eyewear shows at least once a year so perhaps you could have a consult too!
The consultation was amazing!
Thanks, it was a fun time for me and a really wonderful experience.
The consultation was amazing!
Thanks, it was a fun time for me and a really wonderful experience.
No doubt the chosen opticals will reflect your individual , stylish self.
Two amazingly, stylish women together , the result can only be good.
Sue is so gorgeous isn’t she? We make a good contrast.
What a fantastic experience. Best par of blogging is meeting amazing women like Sue and the wonderful women who stop by the blog, like yourself!