Eyewear, You Wear, We All Wear

we visit the l.a. Eyeworks trunk show



































Sometimes it's nice that history repeats itself.  Just as last year, l.a. Eyeworks took over Alexander  Gray Associates to show off their line of eyewear.    Alexander  Gray Associates is an entirely appropriate venue, since l.a. Eyeworks frames are really small works of art to wear on the face.  All profits went to Art Matters an organization that assists "artists who make work intending to break ground aesthetically and socially".   Usually, when we take pictures - or plead with someone to take our picture - our mantra is "get the feet in", sometimes followed by "and don't cut off the hats".  (We really want to be directors.)  This time, because we're focusing on glasses, we've cut off a lot of feet, and just wanted you to know we did that deliberately.  And yes, those ARE real doughnuts on the wall.  But more about them later.

Here's Gai Gherardi, the company's founder, with a client in two-toned frames.  l.a. Eyeworks embraces color.

We reconnected with co-designer Margo Willets, who was sporting a terrific Star Trek outfit with pink buttons and her signature red bob.

Brent Zerger, Director of Communications and Retail Operations, remembered us from last year, and invited us back.  Next to him, a client in - what else - rose-colored glasses.

Jean just had to try the yellow cat eye shape.

Valerie reinterprets Philip Johnson in round purple frames.

Valerie gravitated toward this blue black combination.  Jean tried on several variations of round frames.

Jean tries out the same frame shape as Valerie's, in frosted white.

Then we traded, with Valerie in the frosted frames, and Jean in the blue and black frames.

The very helpful and knowledgeable L.A. Eyeworks folks also found Valerie the same frames with clear lenses.  As several people pointed out, the same frames can look really different with different colored lenses. The staff doesn't just know what they have in stock; they're also really good at 'reading' people's faces and figuring out what will look good on their clients.  They tell stories about surprising a number of people into trying - and buying - styles they would never have picked for themselves.

But enough about us!  Let's show you what some other people tried on!

Two young women... each in two-tone frames.

Two young gents in rectangular frames. Although the basic shape of both pairs of glasses is the same, narrowing the lens area does change the look.

Lincoln and Lola.

Canadian shoe designer John Fluevog and his wife Ruth attended the trunk show and benefit. We are both longtime fans of his footwear.  He mentioned that it is his 47th year in the business.  Noted for his progressive, deco-inspired styles, Fluevog shoes for both men and women run the gamut from sporty sandals to steampunk retro-glam.  Ruth is, of course, wearing a pair of his booties.

This stylized, ombre-colored curved heel Mary Jane is quintessential Fluevog.

Pete and John joked with Jean about how all three have such wonderfully simple monosyllabic first names.  John was wearing a new style of Doc Marten shoes that look like embossed leather dress shoes.

Countless great colors, shapes and styles to choose from!

But let's get back to the gorgeous and sinfully tasty (and ever so subtly spiced) doughnuts, which were constantly taken off the peg board by guests, and constantly replenished by the hosts.  Below is Dan Dunbar, half of the enterprise that is Dun-Well Doughnuts, artisanal vegan doughnuts handcrafted in NYC, according to Dan's business card.  The other half (not shown, alas) is Chris Hallowell, who came up with the Dun-Well name by combining half of each of their last names.

How could we not have fun with an interactive artpiece as our background?   Here are Jean, Stan, Debra Rapoport (Stan's ladyfriend), Ari Seth Cohen (uncharacteristically in monochrome) and Eric Lee (in camouflage with rubber duckies).

Gai, Valerie, Debra (in hat, necklace and bracelets of her own design), Stan, and Jean.

Alice Carey tried fabulous hexagonal purple frames. She's holding the party favor - a carousel horse head that lights up!

Jean keeps toying with the idea of red glasses.

And a final peek at the the wall o'donuts.  Jean's dark cat print frames are called "Gigantor" (a variation on the pair worn by Lincoln in an earlier photo).  They come in all sorts of color variations, and give the wearer a kind of Groucho Marx look, since the brows are - well - the name Gigantor says it all.  Now a mature (?) adult, Valerie embraced a two-toned pink modified cats-eye frame that she would have been mortified - mortified! to wear as a child.  Well, anyone can make a mistake.  Even a fifty year one.

What we're wearing:

Jean is wearing: An Amy Downs' origami turban; mid-century flea market aluminum and marble earrings; black resin Greek key cuffs; vintage bakelite and gold rings; Gudrun black and grey striped trousers; Trippen platform boots; Hello Kitty black patent bag.

Valerie is wearing: Vintage hat (unlabeled), aluminum earrings signed Bruce Tolman (from thrift shop), Jill Anderson shirt, Issey Miyake pants, Bernie Mev shoes.