Vintage Sunglasses from American Apparel

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.

Vintage Eyewear from American Apparel

 

I love seeing vintage deadstock items for sale, and although American Apparel still tries to make a profit from it, where else would I find perfectly pristine and round frames in a light purple mother of pearl finish? I don't need glasses yet but I would love to own a pair of these glasses- there's something very feminine about them with a Harry Potter touch. I was planning on joining a club at my university dedicated to Harry Potter anyway so these glasses would bring me a step closer to realising my dream of a few weeks.

 

The topic of glasses was also brought up a few days ago when I put my boyfriend's glasses on as a joke and had him trying his best not to laugh- we both agree that he looks the best in his glasses and that I would look better with thicker frames. It's a shame I won't be in the market for proper optical glasses in the next twenty years or so but that probably won't stop me from trying to find the perfect pair already. I would love to buy online from American Apparel, but they don't accept Paypal at the moment and I'm a bit stuck as to whether I should try and get a credit card- without a proper tax deductible job I think that would be a bad idea.

 

If I were taking a more serious approach to the glasses hunt and finding myself a good pair I would try and match a similar structure to my own face and then buy a pair online with fingers eagerly crossed. Another thing that excites me about scouring the world for vintage glasses is the variation between tortoise shell designs- from the shades of brown used to the types of patterns for the affect. It seems such a small and unimportant detail, but to me, therein lies the prepossessing nature of glasses and the way they can achieve beauty for the wearer.

 

One of my favourite brands for vintage eyewear has to be Le Club for the wide variety in colour as well as these thick structured frames with thick painted detail on the left. Just visible in the left top hand corner is a small purple crane and the detail on the shoulder is of a green painted field and a sunset. While I don't necessarily think that all that detail is necessary to a good pair of glasses, I just can't say no to a great pair of thick tortoise shell glasses in the shape worn by Buddy Holly.

 

I'm a bit keen on these frames for glasses as well but without a proper model, even a plastic mannequin head to rest on it's hard to know what the glasses will look like on your own face. While I would prefer to be able to try on a pair of glasses in these instances, one can't be too picky when buying from an international brand and online store. It appears that it's a case of first in best dresses and most dapper. I wonder how many people that will buy glasses from American Apparel will actually need to change the lenses for a prescription...

 

I still have a strong crush on the colour purple and what's great about these frames is that the arms are so thin and the ends are coated in rubber too for extra lightweight ease and comfort. Although the plastic frames at the front profile of the glasses aren't that thick, there's just enough plastic and width to show off an unusual combination of purple and green leopard print. Whether I persuade a parent to buy a pair for me using their credit card and pay them back will entirely rest on the price of the glasses as well as availability as well as my mood at the time of purchase.

Vintage Le Club Optique Round Black Plastic Eyeglasses. For some strange reason I'm left with the impression of a magician wearing these frames and I'm not entirely sure whether it's the familiar Harry Potter shape but in a thicker black plastic as opposed to thin wire frames. It must be the high nose bridge in wire and the plastic nose bridge too, as well as a thinner rim of plastic at the bottoms of the frames.

 

Ideally I should be looking for a pair of glasses wearable for both day and night- I have this image of myself attending fashion week celebrations and the like, being a blogger, taking photographs using a Canon 500D or something and putting it all up on my blog, hanging out with other fashion bloggers and eating extravagant food while dressed perfectly. With more outfit posts and a greater focus on myself and the jewellery/ clothing I own maybe it will one day be possible to receive invitations to the launches of collections for clothing brands one day.

 

Vintage Le Club Optique Square Black Plastic Eyeglasses. I quite like this understate design and colour variation about these glasses- compared to all the wild and fantastic colours and patterns I've picked from the available frames in the American Apparel online store. They're not overly bland with different coloured arms in a mahogany, rich wood texture and I like the little golden darts just above the eyes as well. Depending on my budget, these may well be the perfect pair of frames for me and the ones I finally settle on!

 

I never knew the world of vintage eyewear could be so bold and creative- whenever I have tried in the past so scour eBay for hidden treasures I was left feeling disappointed at not being able to pinpoint the correct buzzwords to refine my search. However it seems that American Apparel will do the work for me and also send me the gorgeous frames with free postage due to the hefty price of the item itself. Still, maybe with increasing success and advertising space slowly paying off I can justify splurging on a great pair of frames now and then put the money back into my account later.

 

These frames with inlaid mother of pearl are very suitable for the opera, given by the ornate floral detail on the nose bridge and shoulders of these glasses. I suppose I also want glasses due to the influence of one Olympia Le-Tan, the french designer who's crafting gorgeous book clutches but hasn't yet released them in her online store. I have saved half the money I would need to pay for one book clutch so in the meantime I will have to continue to sell old and unworn clothes on eBay to continue a stream of revenue as well as slaving away at a thankless job.

American Apparel: Vintage Woolen Capes

 

After all the discussion about desert boots and closed shoes I'm in the mindset to rug up or at least wear a few layers despite the sun warming up the Australian land so often nicknamed the sun burnt country. I already own a cape from American Apparel but that's apart of their newly manufactured line whereas the California Select range is good quality and vintage dead stock items from California such as these featured woolen capes. It was the large tie of bows that first caught my attention as well as the soft and thick woolen materials worn with new jeans and a green turtle neck sweater.

 

To showcase their small range scarves and ribbons in the model's hair helped to channel the vintage appeal of the clothes as well as tightly hugging pants, rounded off toed brogues and bright lipstick. During Winter and while on holidays I am known to wake up, traipse up and down the house in my pyjamas and then to wrap the nearest blanket around my shoulders. Nothing is more embarrassing then sitting in the dark on the computer in such a manner and then to bump into my brother dresses in a suit and off to a job interview. It truly makes you feel like you've embraced the dark side of hobo culture but these swish woolen capes are something you can flaunt outside while still staying warm in the cooler seasons.

 

I'm not sure whether it's the actual structure of these pieces or simply a different way of wearing the same woolen capes but there seems to be a little more folding in the material and where a knotted bow was before instead the top folds of the item are worn as a casual and chic scarf. Certainly from the side profile you can see that there's little room for the chilly wind to nip at your arms but there's also freedom to move about. I love the colour palette chosen for this baby pink woolen cape with the beige coloured pleated pants and the bright red shoes.

 

I'd love to be able to fold my arms across my chest in something like this- especially when sitting on a long and bumpy train ride home from the city. I may just be tempted to get something like this in preparation for my later university days in this very promising year. You can imagine a young girl letting the folds of something like this flutter in the wind while carrying a coffee to go- it may even make for an entrancing opening scene in a movie. 

 

There's so many different ways to wear the humble woolen cape, I think this is my favourite way by neatly tucking the sash under the folds and fastening it under the neck with a tied of bow. While there is less folding and the material tends to flair out from the shoulders and has a more traditional cape structure to it. This is the sort of shape I envisage when someone mentions the word poncho or cape. I love seeing capes worn with jeans to bunker down against the cold and bitter chills.

 

While I don't own too many things in green aside from two skirts I do love the deep but somehow still colourful hue of this woolen beast as well as the shade being dubbed as 'Blarney'. I think it's very fitting since it is a rather Irish shade of green and would look very good alongside a long black shirt dress from a post I mentioned earlier or perhaps something long and floaty in a pink or pastel shade? I must be a little sick at the moment mixing colours together in unholy combinations but how else does anything new come about in the world of fashion? If I didn't already buy an American Apparel white blouse this week I may have thought to buy this cape but since the online store only accepts credit cards and not Paypal I'm a bit stuck anyway. Such a shame- I really could do with a little more green in my wardrobe.