HQ
Magazine, April 2005
Quest
For The Best
Allyn Scura Eyewear
2915 Via Corbina
San Clemente CA 92672
(800)EYES4U2 (1.800.393.7482)
Pick your favorite decade and Allyn Scura has got it covered.
With
a collection of more than 60,000 vintage frames from the 1800s to the late 1980s,
Allyn Scura Eyewear offers the discriminating wearer a unique style and a piece
of history. Vintage eyeglass frames offer quality and craftsmanship, as well
as an amazing amount of detail and character not found in everyday, off-the-rack
varieties.
Eyeglasses
not only reflect the changing times, but also the personal style of the wearer.
So many personalities throughout history are known by their distinctive look.
Women like Josephine Baker, Audrey Hepburn, and Jackie Onassis, and men like
Malcolm X and Buddy Holly are recognized for their unique taste in eyewear.
Scura's
fervor for "in your face" eyewear began while she was antique shopping in North
Carolina and came upon her first pair of vintage specs. She wore them as sunglasses
in New York City, where she was studying interior and package design at Parsons
School of Design, and was met with many inquiries from people on the street,
fascinated with her vintage frames. "I
loved the styles, so I used to pop out the old lenses and replace them with
tinted ones," Scura says. "Once people began stopping me on the street to ask
where I had bought them, I realized I'd hit on something big."
Realizing
there was an untapped market for vintage eyewear, she began to search out and
distributing original, unused antique and vintage frames. Rhinestone encrusted
cat's-eyes, steely aviator sunglasses, tortoise-shell reading glasses and big
ole 1980s designer frames are all featured.
Why would
somebody want to wear an old pair of eyeglasses, when they can just grab a cheap
plastic pair at any corner drug store? Scura says it's all about style. "The
person who wears our glasses is somebody who really cares about the way they
look and has their own personal style," she says. "We can accommodate somebody
who has been wearing a certain style of frames for years or college students
who just want to look hip and cool wearing vintage frames."
Allyn
Scura Eyewear stocks some of the best eyewear brands from around the world including
the U.S., France, Italy, Germany, England, Spain, Switzerland, Eastern Europe
and British Hong Kong - brand names like American Optical, ArtCraft, Bausch
& Lomb, Flair, Foremost, Graceline,
Imperial, Jason, Liberty, Pathway (POP), Rodenstock, Saphira, Shuron, Styl-Rite,
Swank, Tura, Universal, Univis, Victory, Zylite and more. Almost all are unused
vintage finds, which makes them a finite product. When they're gone, they're
gone. "The beauty is that you are going to be walking around with something
that you're not going to see anybody else wearing," says Scura, adding that
her friends often laugh at her for having on a different pair of glasses every
day.
Allyn began designing her own line of eyewear in 1993. In 1999, Target stores selected her designs to represent their premier line of ophthalmic eyewear nationwide. Mid-century modern design pioneers like Mies van der Rohe, Florence Knoll and Eero Saarinen often inspire Allyn's vision for eyewear design. Her latest retro-inspired Legends line is reminiscent of the style worn off-camera by James Dean.
Fashion-savvy celebrities like Cindy Crawford, Elton John, Courtney Cox, Goldie
Hawn, Lyle Lovett and Rosanne Arquette enjoy wearing Allyn's designs. Look close
and you'll see her frames showcased in many movies and TV shows such as Secret
Window, with Johnny Depp, and Alias, starring Jennifer Garner.
The good thing is that you don't need a Hollywood paycheck to afford to look
cool. Prices for frames are close to wholesale of other top selling brands.
"People who
are spending a fortune on glasses can come to us and get the originals for a
third of the price," Scura says. "We like to present different price points
and offer many different styles at affordable prices. We want to keep everybody
happy."
Copyright © 2004 HeadQuest Trade
Magazine.