“I’d study all night but look fashionable in the day. I’d wear the big Jackie O. glasses to hide the bags under my eyes,” muses Tonya Salvant about her law school tenure. But she believes her love affair with eyewear began with her mother. Salvant remembers watching her fashionable mom stylishly slipping on a pair of shades every time she left the house. Even as a child she recalls wearing the hottest Hello Kitty and/or Mickey Mouse glasses. “I learned early on that accessories were an important part of style,” remarks Salvant, half of Distinctive Digs, real estate brokers specializing in the Los Angeles luxury home market.
A graduate of Howard University, Salvant’s first career was in music, where, “as a female executive, I was trying to look official. A good pair of glasses would complete an outfit.” Today, Salvant, who is farsighted, has roughly 50 pairs of eyeglasses and shades, some of which she interchanges by switching lenses.
She owns styles by many of the top designers, but finds Christian Dior best for designing classic eyewear and perfecting eyeglass trends. Her favorite boutiques are Adair Eyewear (www.adairoptical.com) in Fort Worth, Texas, and Robertson Optical in Beverly Hills. “[Adair] has wonderful colors and shapes that are really unique,” says Salvant.
Finding the right frame can be challenging for some. Ruth Domber, proprietor of 10/10 Optics (www.1010optics.com) in New York City, maintains that finding the right style is easier if you know a few rules. Domber offers several shopping tips:
- Always choose frames opposite to the shape of your face. A round face should not sport a round frame.
- Stay away from neutral colors like beige and gray. They translate into an outdated look.
- If you have oily skin, stay away from frames with a shiny finish.
- Don’t sport initials.
- Keep the temples simple.
- Try black. It gives drama, presence, and a strong look, particularly in a corporate setting.
- Stay away from tints indoors. Choose an anti-reflective coating that allows light to pass through the lens.
- Switch nose pads. Many people are allergic to the silicone in the nose pads. If you start to develop an irritation in that area, have the material changed.