icon | ALPINA

 

Conceived in the 1970s and revived in the 80s by Werner Grau and Hagen Stocklausner in West Germany, with some models manufactured with parts produced in Italy, the infamous classic ALPINA brand was one of the most successful know in the industry.  The Best selling ALPINA  M1 Aviator, their most famous design, was re-released as recent as 2007 in extremely limited quantities due to the regenerated interest in the vintage and collector's eyewear market.

The renewed interest can be attributed to the superb quality of the manufacturing and the publicity exacted on the brand by celebrities seeking to "up their game a notch"  by styling themselves in pieces usually reserved for avid enthusiasts and their eyewear frame collections.  The attention to detail and quality of materials have kept many of these collections looking brand new.  World famous celebrities' interests in the brand have raised prices of collections  world wide. The very special pieces, selling for upwards of $4,000.00 dollars, are an exciting but rare find.  The ALPINA GOLDWINGS sunglass shield is one such model.  The sun shield quickly became famous as it is frequently worn as a favorite choice of recording star Lady Gaga.  She is often publicized wearing this vintage shield adorned with a pair of golden A-wings decorating each the right and left temples.

Alpina eyewear is the premier brand sought after to complete every vintage eyewear collection.  True, while there are some models that are more coveted than others, they are all extremely well made and trully timeless in their stylish appeal.

Vintage ALPINA sunglasses are glamorous to say the least...  This piece shown here is from the fine vintage sunglass collection available at CATEYE SPECTACLES boutique.  The model we are showcasing is in pristine condition.  You will find that it is a fantastic piece in that the design quality will move you into a different time period as soon as you have it on.   Wear it as a complimenting accessory to a respectively perfect vintage outfit by correlating it with it's corresponding era.   This rich golden frame with accents of cream and tan, made of a high gloss, high sheen and candy-like zyl plastic, is shown with a brown gradient sun lens, the combination of which can only be described as delicious.(only 1 available)

It's Science! | Polarized Lenses 101

What is a Polarized Lens, and how does is work?  Buckle up folks because the CATEYE Science Guy is about to drop some knowledge on you.

Here comes the Sun, doo doo doo-doo… 

The Sun shines down upon us.  As it does so, its light encounters the various surfaces in our modern and natural worlds and is reflected and scattered into a million directions.  This tricks your retinas—glare.

Enter the Polarized Lens.

the What
Polarized lenses reduce glare from reflective surfaces such as the surface of a lake or the hood of a car—or water molecules floating over a majestic meadow.

the How
Pretend your eyeball is behind that lens, and you're trying to check out that righteous wave.  Problem is that some pesky light from the Sun hits said righteous wave and scatters in all directions, trying to confuse your retinas.  Some more pesky light is coming off the sun itself, also trying to confuse your retinas.  The filter inside the Polarized Lens reflects the pesky light, but allows the light being reflected off the righteous wave (blue arrow) to pass through, allowing your retinas to drink in the glory of the righteous wave.

Think of the Polarizing filter like Venetian blinds...

and light like raw lasagna noodles (deliscious)...

If the noodles go straight at the blinds, they'll get through.  If not, then they won't.

Here's a more science-y picture to illustrate this point:

Some limitations...
Polarized lenses do not provide universal protection from glare, however. If you tilt you're head past 45° or so, some of the horizontal light can enter, causing bright spots.

Polarized Lenses can cause dark spots on liquid crystal displays (LCDs). On-board clocks,  some cell phones, navigation screens, and some instrument displays may be slightly less readable.

Polarized Lenses can not be clear—the filters only come in grey or brown.  Recent advances in the technology have yielded lighter filters.  At CATEYE Spectacles we can, of course, make you prescription or non-prescription sunglasses in the classic dark grey or brown, but for a little more fun we can take these new fangled, lighter filters and tint them to create a custom pair of lenses just for you.  We had the lab whip up some examples—these could be solid or even in gradient!  That's something that wasn't possible before.  Custom is better.

It's Science! | UV, the Scourge

Hey everybody!  The CATEYE Science Guy is back with more knowledge droppings, so buckle-up space cadets!  We're gonna go for a ride...

What causes true lasting damage to your eyes (besides these guys)?

It came from outer space...
(cue: creepy sci-fi theremin music)
ooooooo weeeee oooooo

Okay, but seriously, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Optometric Association stress the need to protect your eyes by wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses that block out 99-100% of both UV-A and UV-B light.  We don't have any hats, but boy do we got glasses!

Ultraviolet rays can damage the surface of the eye and the interior structures, such as the lens and retina.  This can open a door to all sorts of badness like cataracts and, some doctors suggest, Macular degeneration.

Bottom line is that you need to protect yourself from UV rays.  It's not important how dark the tint is, or if you have a sweet mirror coating like Sylvester Stallone.  You could have clear Polycarbonate lenses (which inherently block UV) and they would protect against UV just as well as some sweet mirrored Stallone shades (provided said sweet mirrored Stallone shades are treated to block UV).

 
And don't worry, all of the sunglasses at CATEYE Spectacles, though they may be old, have lenses that block 100% of UV-A and UV-B light.  This will help protect you from UV, the Scourge—basically, think of UV rays like the Shredder and the Foot Clan and our sunglasses like the Ninja Turtles.  C-A-T-E-Y-E power!  Kowabunga dudes.

Disclaimer: Obviously there are other things out there that can be harmful to your eyes and your vision—we're not telling you that if just wear 100% UV-A and UV-B blocking lenses that you can replace your Visine with acne cream.  Take care of yourselves people!

Style Guide | Buddy Holly & the Thick Black Glasses

 Often, when people think of vintage glasses, the image they have in their head (whether they realize it or not) is of Buddy Holly, that devilishly handsome pioneer of Rock and Roll.

There are many ways to achieve Holly's trademark look, but the phrase that'll send your optician in the right direction is '60s horn-rimmed glasses.

At Cateye, we have many examples of this style, including the original vintage TART OPTICAL ARNEL.

Another good choice is the SHURON FREEWAY—these are from one of our new collections.

Or the SHURON SIDEWINDER with thicker swept temples.

And then, of course, there's always the RAY BAN WAYFARER.
 

Note: All frames pictured are available in our Los Angeles store.

The Golden Globes | Awash With Vintage Specs

At this year's Golden Globes, we noticed something...some of the biggest stars of the night were the vintage glasses, both on the red carpet and inside the theater.

Whether they were true vintage or vintage inspired, these glasses helped the stars shine brighter.

CATEYE Spectacles' Location

708 N. Heliotrope Dr. 
Los Angeles, CA 90029

Mon-Sat 11am-7pm , Sun 12pm-6pm

p. 323.664.3939 
f. 323.664.3938

www.CATEYEspectacles.com