Summer may be at an end in the Southern Hemisphere, but for the online store at American Apparel things are just starting to heat up with many vintage and dead stock treasures now added to their store including sunglasses and eye wear I'm clamouring to get my hands on. I haven't had a good pair of sunglasses that I was comfortable wearing since that ill-fated day when my host family's dog gave my lovely pair a chew and I'm still a little sore about that. I would love to order from American Apparel online, but they only accept credit card, a policy that has been a thorn in my side for far too long.
Purple is my favourite colour and I wouldn't mind having a pair of glasses, frames and all in the colour to shade my deep brown eyes. I'm really excited about the amazing colours of the vintage eye wear range, the chameleon-like matching of plastic frames and lenses as well as the circular shapes of the lenses. On occasion there is a cat's eye shape frame as well as accentuated detail and quirk that are sculpturally admirable but it's hard to know whether a pair of sunglasses will look good on you without being able to try them on for yourself.
The pair of sunglasses I lost to the jaws of that ungrateful bulldog looked much like the pair above- perfectly round with thin plastic frames in brown striped pattern without the golden metal over the nose bridge. I never remember in my youth this stylised shape of sunglasses ever being popular but I love its rise to power including the glorious rebirth given to it by the dead stock collection available from the American Apparel online store.
There seems no limit to the wonderful wealth of sunglasses shades, colours and patterns. One of my favourite effect for glasses frames is tortoiseshell because of the variety of shades of brown used and the amount of darker coloured spots that become apparent in the design. I love these dark green frames though, they're very bold and just a little bit deviant. Not for the faint of heart and I'm sick of being the shy little nice girl everyone thinks very little of- I want to make a name for myself in university and from what I've seen there's already some colourful characters. Last year was all about study and hard work, this year is going to be my time to shine and show myself off to the world.
It's not too often you see such a thick nose bridge for circular framed glasses- in that respect their a bit like goggles but hot goggles leaking 1970s goodness all over the place. I love the way their made, the horizontal lines across the front of the glasses as well as the sunburnt tones of brown and orange all over the place. The muted coloured lenses in brown are a nice touch to it all and I wouldn't mind trying them on for size. I bet a gorgeous looking girl with a high fringe showing a bit of forehead with long nails and drapery clothes could pull off these bad boys with ease and grace.
As well as classic shapes and designs there's the occasional quirky teen pair of sunglasses including these sweeties covered in floral design and a purple tinted lens. There's three colour variations for this single design each with varying designs in plastic but the floral print in pink with hints of dark green and red seems so romantic. Their the perfect pair of sunglasses to get you in the mood for St. Valentine's Day, if you're willing to buy into the merchandise and dream-filled fantasy.
It's harder to find more similarities between a vintage piece and modern design, but these pointed and angular cat's eye frames remind me so much of the sunglasses from Alexander Wang. There's only the deep and dark wine colour left, but I prefer it to the dusty black colour and tinted lenses- they look absolutely gorgeous against this blond with pink lips and pale complexion but I wouldn't mind rocking a pair for myself. It almost makes me wish I had my front fringe again with signature streak down the front of my bangs- instead of blond I would be tempted to try white instead in a Cruella DeVille homage to really bring out the red colour of these sweet sunglasses.
The sunglasses and accessories divisions of the high-end department stores in Melbourne fail to excite me with boring and unimaginative lenses without plastic frames and Karen Walker jewellery and clothing is only available in Myer at the CBD. It appears that the vintage collection from American Apparel is more to my liking and in tune with youth culture than the slow to catch on national brand I have known since childhood. You know that there's too much of a good thing when you long to have more than one face/ hand/ more fingers etc. in order to wear glorious colours and variations of clothing and accessories at once.
The closest variation to my dear sweet, departed sunnies that bit the dust just over a year ago now- they didn't make my nose look too rounded and like a mushroom but they were still stylish and able to be worn with any outfit. I don't wear a lot of brown, I'm more of a fan of black when it comes to basics including jeans and shirts but I do rather like the allure of brown/ tortoiseshell sunglasses. Their just such a classic and iconic on some faces. That's not to say I'm not a fan of pink perspex frames from Karen Walker, but the range of shades here is just marginally cheaper.
The perfect companion to a pool party or any gathering by the beach would be these blue tinted sunglasses complete with plastic frames and lenses all in the soothing shade. The flecks of yellow remind me a lot of the 1980s and abstract patterned bomber jackets in silk as well as windbreakers and anoraks. After spending about thirteen years of my life attending schools in which uniform was compulsory and they were both blue, I'm over the shade and probably will never chose to incorporate it into my wardrobe entirely.
Artistic and with thick frames in a marble effect swirling orange, red and purple these frames remind me a lot of rare vintage Chanel pieces as well as sunglasses worn by British television personality and DJ Alexa Chung. They're very mod inspired as well and have a sophisticated 1960s vibe evoked about them. I don't even think I would mind if they didn't suit my face, pair them up with a toggle duffel coat as well as skinny jeans and I would happily run about the place pretending to be my favourite celebrity personality.
Plastic red and the most expensive of all the sunglasses shown in this post, I think they cost close to $400 or something ridiculous, they're Vintage Red Walter Van Beirendonck Sunglasses but they remind me so much of the quirky view master slide show viewer I'd love to own a pair just for their aesthetic nature and the fun of wearing them in a red outfit. There's nothing soft, romantic that flows about them but I love the bright plastic and the bombastic nature of the frames surrounding those little purple lenses.
