Frame Your Personality

The nine-to-five drudge will sap the life out of even the most earnest worker and individuality can become lost in an endless sea of grey… Thank goodness for eyewear.

A person’s eyewear can speak volumes about their true character and personality, where a tailored suit may not. Because the first thing we notice is a person’s face, the style of eyewear someone chooses is a very important part of forging their identity. While you’re not going to see someone cart their surfboard into work or sport a nose ring, the perfect pair of glasses will be equally effective in saying to the world, ‘This is who I am’.

A person who works into their office is also the same person who is walking through the door of your practice to purchase a new pair of glasses.

While you’re not going to see someone cart their surfboard into work or sport a nose ring, the perfect pair of glasses will be equally effective in saying to the world, ‘This is who I am’.

Here’s your chance to remind them that their glasses are a mark of their individuality and a part of their professional attire that can set them apart from the crowd at work. You can help this person shape how they’re perceived in the workplace by talking to them about whether they want to appear smart, creative, cool, sporty or traditional. This way, you will help them match their eyewear to their personality profile.

Discuss with them what they do for a living and for fun on the weekend. With these answers you’ll be able to get a better understanding of who your customer is and what eyewear will suit their personality type.
The following personality types may not be based on Jung or Myers-Briggs but they will help you select the right eyewear for your customer going back to work.

The Classic

‘The Classic’ will take life as seriously as they do their work. This person oozes sophistication and old-school glamour and enjoys a tipple of brandy (hold the ice) and the occasional round of golf at The Lakes or Royal Melbourne. The Classic client demands respect without even saying a word.

Some would describe this person as traditional, refined, tasteful, while their friends just refer to them as “old chum”. But remind this customer that being timeless and traditional doesn’t mean they shouldn’t indulge in a new pair of frames.

For the Classic customer, there are plenty of styles on the market that can create the look and feel of old school glamour. This year’s rectangular metal and acetate frames come in rich tobacco tones and pool-table greens, some with elegant detailing along the sidebars. Look out for stylish new frames from Italian eyewear brand Persol, Calvin Klein, Emilio Pucci, John Varvartos, Guess and Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Mondoticca has a range of brands that would suit your Classic customer to a tee (pun alert!). Ted Baker is a Mondoticca brand which represents classic elegance at its best. Combinations of acetate and metal frames come in sultry autumnal colour combinations of cool greys and copper browns. The touch of retro glamour gives these frames a sleek, tailored look that is very grown up. Ted Baker has unique features recognisable to the brand-aware client: a very pronounced brow bar, or laser-etched, temple arm decorations, or for the Classic female, the Ted Baker logo in subtle diamantes that dress-up the temple.

Geek Chic

Many of you are aware that ‘Geek Chic’ has been gracing the runways for the last year or more. Thanks to Michael Kors and celebrities like Johnny Depp and Tina Fey who have aimed at embracing their intellectual side.

Styles in Geek Chic are either big, black acetate squares or thick round Windsor-styled frames. If your customer wants to wear their IQ on their face, these glasses will have greater longevity. The person who will love these frames enjoys nothing more than sitting in front of the computer for hours on end; completing cryptic crosswords; considers ‘bookworm’ a compliment and indulges in further study because it’s ‘fun’.

Ray-Ban has some of the best Geek Chic styles on offer for 2010 with a revival of its iconic Wayfarer frames and the Browline-style frame (made famous by the likes of Malcolm X and Colonel Sanders) in the Clubmaster.
British menswear designer Hackett also has a fabulous selection of thick, dark-coloured square frames in their Hackett Bespoke Eyewear range (from Mondoticca) for the cultured male nerd. Also a good recommendation for the self-confessed geek, the Hackett Bespoke Horn Collection is a classy choice. Harking back to 1960s London style icons Peter Sellers and Michael Caine, this collection is made of handcrafted Asian water buffalo horn.

Look At Me!

If your customer is a people-person who loves to talk and enjoys being the centre of attention, they will be seeking the most ‘out-there’ frames on the market. This person may be a celebrity or just wishes they were, and their favourite time of year will be their birthday… which they manage to stretch out for at least a week. At work, they rule the roost and think they would make good managers or be a good boss; as their energy and leadership skills are second to none (at least they think so). Show this client some of the bright, extravagant styles from the likes of Fendi, Persol and Ray-Ban. The Fendi acetate glasses come in bold colours like pomegranite and mustard, plus this client will like the fact that the famed Fendi ‘F’ symbol has been transposed into eye-catching side bar patterning so everyone will know they have taste.

Rodenstock also has a range of eyewear that will complement your customer with an extravagant personality. These glasses possess all the qualities to make someone stand out: bright, bold aesthetics in expressive colours such as pink and orange and attention-grabbing details along the sidebars. Take the metal frames with aqua acetate bubbles on the arms; or the plastic orange square rimmed pair with chunky nine-carat gold swirls along the temple. If your customer is not afraid to stand out, don’t shy away from showing them the brightest-of-the-bright in frames.

Starving Artist

The arty client is a trendy intellectual with an imaginative streak. They devour foreign films and cultured fiction, good Italian coffee (macchiato of course), sit to the left of the political fence and detest the ‘mainstream’.

Even though they may wear a suit into your office, this person may appear to be ‘away with the fairies’ while they’re in the office or talking to you. But don’t be fooled: they are likely pondering deeply the meaning of life or some other inner diatribe (i.e.: a liberal dose of Woody Allen). Through poetry, paint, literature or photography this person finds their peace away from the hustle and bustle of daily life… and whether a Lawyer, Doctor, Teacher or Salesperson, they will always see themselves romantically as ‘The Starving Artist’.

Orgreen Optics is the epitomy of art as eyewear. Available from Matrix Eyewear, the self-made designs from Danish trio Henrick, Tobias and Gregers are characterised by their unique colours and original design concepts. The work is all about unique craftsmanship; with clean, minimalistic styles and a penchant for the smallest of details. Take, for example the Copenhagen skyline cut into the sidebar, or the 2009/10 “Bacon Through Glass” campaign which is a tribute to the controversial artworks of Francis Bacon and Roman Polanski films.

The Davidoff Brand from Eurostyle will appeal to the Arty man. Davidoff embodies a philosophy of originality and exclusiveness through the use of bold colours and distinctive shapes. The frames, in both acetate and metal, favour splashes of colour, angular, retro-style shapes and vibrantly decorated sidebars.

City Cool

A triple 0 postcode is the only place this person calls home. They have a full Outlook in their Blackberry and take it all in their tailored-pants stride. Sleek, classy, modern frames will compliment the City Cool customer’s life and style.

Just as in their professional life, this person will appreciate precision workmanship in their eyewear and will favour metal-frames with an emphasis on comfort and modern style. German spectacle company Rodenstock claims to fulfil the desire for perfection and high-class, with its focus on wearers of “strong character”. The light titanium frames are über-modern and streamlined in shape, bringing to mind flirty captains of industry and after-work cocktails.

Also a good choice for the City Cool customer, the industrial-style Derapage Eyewear range has ‘ambition’ written all over them. The latest collection builds upon the brand’s iconic use of high-tech materials and Swedish stainless steel, plus another exciting addition; the innovative ‘Tornado’. This style is high-tech workmanship at its best: an unwelded multilayer frame, secured by micro-riveting as used in the finest jewellery making. Derapage glasses are best described as a trendy nod to the future of eyewear.

Brendel Individual Eyewear has a coquettish range of modern styles perfect for the city-dweller. The brand takes its inspiration from the power of seduction. Both the male and female collections are focused on oozing sex-appeal through sleek aesthetics and carefully chosen colour combinations such as silver titanium with red acetate detailing like a kiss at the temples. Professionalism meets sexual fantasy; these frames scream late night tryst in the stationary closet. They are available from European Eyewear.

The Glamorous Life

These frames should come with an entourage. If they could talk they would say “I live the high life” and “bring me another mojito”.

Even when money was made out of paper, it didn’t grow on trees however, to ‘The Glamorous Life’ customer it did then, and does now. This person wants their friends to envy them – whether for their clothes, car, job or their confidence – although they may feign modesty to maintain an air of class.

Luxury eyewear is the only option they’d consider – and it is “about time, Darling!” that the Glamorous Life client had a new pair. Porche Design, Fendi, Versace, Gucci and Prada have a range of styles that offer the luxury this person desires. Gold, silver or bling are likely to appear in some form, whether as a glittering embellishment at the temple or as a total finish.

Or, if your client is a man who drives a Jaguar, then they simply must own a pair of the synonymous luxury glasses. Jaguar Eyewear is a self-assured allegiance to exclusivity bent into high-class frames. Just like the namesake car, these glasses scream money and high profile. If your client wants to tell the world they are just rolling in it, they will want these frames.

The Explorer

For the Explorer, by the time the weekend comes they’re busting at the seams with pent-up energy. They can’t wait to kick off their work shoes in favour of some well-worn footy boots, flippers or hiking shoes.

The Explorer lives an active lifestyle because they thrive off it, and it is likely their favourite TV Station is Fox Sports or ESPN, but they very rarely watch it because they’re out “just doing it”. They have a good physique and year-round glow from always being out in the sun but wouldn’t could care about either as they’re too busy thinking about Thursday night training.

It goes to figure then, that the sportier styles of glasses will be right up this customer’s alley. These are durable and streamlined, with a simple ergonomic quality which is perfect for someone so active. Sports brands they wear on the weekend will have strong appeal to them in the office. Bolle and Oakley both offer stylish optical frame collections which will connect immediately with the Explorer. Both are sleek and professional, tough and stylish with their trademark brand names stamped decisively on the arm.

Also make this person aware that Tag Hauer offers high quality glasses inspired by the design of racing cars. The latest ‘C-Flex’ style provides an outstanding combination of weightlessness and durability. Weighing a mere 3.9 g, Tag boasts that the C-Flex is 75 per cent lighter than steel but 10 times more robust. These are also the world’s first eyeglasses to feature auto-adjustable temples made from carbon fibre (and synonymous with the tread of a car tire).

Conservative-Chic

Different to Geek-Chic is Conservative-Chic. Think of your Dad. He doesn’t care about fashion but he sure knows what he likes.

They prefer life to be simple and straightforward and avoid out-of-the-box ideas and styles – why make a scene when they can be quietly content? This person works to live, rather than ‘lives to work’ and looks forward to nothing more than relaxing with the weekend paper and cup of tea.

What they will require from a pair of spectacles then is simplicity and function. Show the more conservative person frames from the always popular Ted Baker, Porche Design, Ray Ban and Persol, which offer high-quality glasses with understated style. These modest designs favour square frames in sleek, muted tones of grey, teal or blue. If they prefer to appear ‘bare-faced’ than framed, then steer this person into a pair of rimless glasses from Rodenstock or Silhouette.

Bolle has a range of optical frames perfect for the more conservative client. Aptly named the ‘Casualist’ range, these glasses were designed with just that in mind: the casual life. The styles are a blend of contemporary fashion and classic style, and a selling point is that the wearer will look as comfortable as they feel in these simple, stylish frames.