The first collection put before the group came from Mondottica and featured a selection from the Ted Baker and Mambo ranges. This range is awash with lots of bright colours and stripes in a mixture of materials which had an immediate impact with the more extrovert members of the group.
'I like the sound of Mambo, it is something I would go for. I like the look of them, especially the bright ones, but I think they would look crap on me,' said Sarah. Ben was slightly less convinced about Mambo, while he liked the bold colours of the range he thought they may be too strong.
'Mambo is pretty cool,' concluded Sarah, scribbling a model number on her shortlist. 'They are really cool but most of them are too big. Vicky said this situation was typical of what is available for their age group. 'There are kids' frames and adult frames but nothing in between,' Sarah interjected sarcastically. 'I want Barbie.' Sarah brought up the issue of eye sizes again. 'I think I've got a small head.' But Jack agreed that a lot of frames fit your head, but have large lens sizes.
While the boys discussed the likeness of the green in the collection to bogies, the girls drooled over the pinks and the Ted Baker split-side bars. 'I love the two bar-sides they are wicked,' said Leaza. Both Vicky and Sarah agreed, before discussing which was the best colour to go for. Jack said the camouflage-effect ones were great but he wasn't too keen on the upswept browbars. This was a theme within many of the ranges and a point hotly contested by the girls. The acetate styles really split the group. Ben went as far as describing some of the darker acetates as 'old ladies' glasses' but this did nothing to deter Vicky who eventually selected Gizmo in blue as her ultimate favourite.
Animal was another a brand the group immediately recognised. Their main association with the name was its connection to jeans. This seemed an ideal opportunity to discuss brands. All claimed not to go for brands per se but there was an immediate excitement when some of the better known came out. The look was more important than the name, they said. While brands did add a certain extra, they associated them with extra cost, which all agreed was a big consideration.
Sam was particularly drawn to the Animal range and selected a radiator Black Ice as his final choice. All around the table agreed that this was a good range and there was nothing negative to say about Animal, but the boys took much more of an interest than the girls. The shaped metal side, rimless mountings and 'claw' decals all came in for positive comment. Four different Animal frames were added to the shortlists of those around the table. Will was particlaurly keen on both the rimless models and the styles which adopted a covered hinge arrangement.
On the topic of brands, Jack concluded: 'I reckon you are more likely to spend time looking at frames and take an interest if Quiksilver or something is written on them. You'll think: "They must be good, I'll look at them." I've seen Quiksilver glasses and I know they're really nice and I remember that.'
Sarah said if they were Gucci and they were nice she would go for them, but not if they had the brand but weren't nice.
Attitudes to glasses
Before the next set of frames came out the group was asked if wearing glasses made them a target for bullies.
Jack said you only get teased about your glasses if someone needs an excuse to have a go.
'It's something to be used against you, but not something to be used on its own any more,' agreed Ben.
Vicky and Sarah said when they were younger it had more of an effect but not at this age. Girls whispering in corners, hurting your feelings that sort of thing.
They all agreed that having new glasses was a positive thing that drew comment from their friends.
Sarah said she had received comments on her new glasses which she revealed were from Andrew Actman Eyewear. 'I'd never heard of him before I went to the optician. They're wicked.'
She revealed that her Actman frame was the smallest adult frame she could find. 'I keep having to bend them with my hair straighteners, if you warm them up you can reshape them without breaking them. I'm constantly doing that.'
To change the pace, the next selection was Sigma Eyewear's Karavan. A cacophany of screeches followed. 'Oh my god, these are so cute!' said Sarah.
'No one would take you seriously wearing these but they are great fun. I think they look hilarious,' said Jack. They all agreed they were great but not for this age group. The colours are too wacky and the sizes too small. Despite, this the group did spend time looking at some of the larger sizes in a range of colours.
In a complete change of pace, the next selection, of minimalist titanium frames, came from Lindberg. 'These are like metal but light! Wow, they are really light!' said Vicky. 'They're lovely,' added Leaza.
'I think they are too flimsy, they look really fragile,' added Will. 'I love these but they feel like they are about to break.'
The group agreed that when you put these frames on they were light, so it hardly felt like you were wearing them. But the consensus was that these were pieces of art rather than practical glasses. Sam said it looked like someone has just thrown them together. Ben was concerned that the thickness of his lenses would not work with these frames. 'I do like them but they look expensive and I'd be worried about breaking them.' Lindberg was noted down by Vicky and a three-piece model was chosen by Jack as his final selection.
After the selection was removed, I made the point that Lindberg frames were well engineered and not flimsy at all. 'Yeah, but how would we know that? We are just kids,' came the reply along with a request for the next selection.
Eye care and health
To provide a break the group discussed eye health. The only education any of the teenagers had received was in relation to contact lenses. None had been told about the dangers of sunlight, or anything to do with ultra violet damage.
'There's an advert about keeping your eyes healthy in the sun. It goes like, "we can do it today",' said Sarah. 'But that's about it.'
Leaza pointed out that Sarah was referring to the Transitions TV ad holding up one of the Transitions tee shirts on the table.
Interestingly, none of those on the panel had their eye problems detected through screening, all were taken to the optician by their parents after complaining of poor vision. Sam revealed that his vision problem was picked up while visiting hospital with a throat infection.
Jack added that there was an eye test of sorts at school but that wasn't how his sight problem was detected either. 'We had a test at school and a woman said "Can you see this pen?", so I said yes,' added Jack. But they all returned to the practice on a regular basis. Leaza summed up a general feeling that reminders or broken glasses are the usual reason to go back.
The next selection was from Luxottica under the Ray Ban Junior banner. 'Oh yes, Aviators,' said Jack. While this classic did draw comment and the other styles were handled the group quickly concluded that the range was too small for their age. The frames were admired, especially the laminated acetates. Leaza eventually did select the junior Aviator as her sunglasses.
Eyewear Europe supplied frames under the Eden Park and Exalt Cycle brands. A rugby-shirted Will failed to recognise Eden Park as a rugby brand, but when told of the connection took a keen interest. The Exalt range drew a smattering of 'wows', ' wickeds' and 'cools' from the rest of the group.
Of interest, were the double sides and the use of different materials, such as rubber temple ends. 'These are so cool,' said Sarah scribbling down Exalt Cycle 0306 on her shortlist. The group were impressed by the detail on the frames in this range. Exalt Cycle Exkids3 C2 was written down on Will's shortlist and was his eventual final choice. Vicky earmarked Exalt Cycle 0306 and added it to her growing list of possibles.
Retail experience
While the group was looking at the frames they discussed how they are treated within optical practices by the staff. Vicky said visiting a small optician meant you got personal service and the staff did get to know you. The group said their knowledge of the eye test was pretty good. There was a clear emphasis on the group that visiting an optician was a retail experience. Sarah, a Vision Express customer, said as a contact lens and glasses customer she received discounts and plenty of help from the staff.
Fellow VE customer Ben made the point that parents do let their kids choose their own style because the specs are more likely to be worn. But he commented that practice staff (not necessarily at VE) are often little help, 'they just stand there,' he said.
So do the group enjoy going to the optician? Three say yes, three say no and Ben concludes that it's a chore. But they all avidly rifled through the frames and appeared to enjoy the opportunity.
'These are crazy!' came the cries as the Bluesky bright plastic range came out onto the table. These are my definite favourites, said Sarah, handling a bright red plastic frame. Once again, it was the girls who spent more time on this colourful collection. Despite the overall appeal none of the group chose their eventual favourite from the display case.
The next selection came from Vision Express and once again well known brands came to the fore. Miss Sixty model MX91 and Belushi Sport in red and black were noted down by Vicky. While the girls were drawn to the colourful frames, there was a definite penchant for dark solid and square frames among the boys.
All of the group gravitated towards the more extreme styled frames. Sam in particular was looking for a heavy black, rectangular style to match his Emo styling.
The group agreed that frame styling and selection was something few of them had help with when visiting the optician. Sarah said now that her Vision Express branch had got to know her it did provide a member of staff to help her select frames to advise on colour and shape. Leaza said she would like to have more help and advice on colour and shape to make her feel more confident about her final choice.
Specsavers provided a mass of styles. While many of the mainstream types were skimmed over, the Red or Dead frames were an immediate hit, and again, despite claiming the opposite, the brand power seemed to be working.
'Red or Dead are so wicked,' said Sarah, inspecting a shiny silver model. Another brand popular with the group was Osiris. Jack added two models to his shortlist. Sam's current glasses are Osiris, but this didn't stop him looking keenly for the elusive heavy black rectangular frame he was seeking. Ben eventually selected Osiris 383 as his final choice.
Will brought up the issue of price. The whole group agreed that they were allowed to choose their own eyewear, but all were acutely aware of the cost of the frames and understood about the NHS voucher value system and the opportunity for their parents to get away without paying.
The final choice
The biggest batch of final choice was made from the Inspecs' collection aided by that company's decision to include sunwear in the choice of frames provided.
Will was drawn to the Speedo wrapped sunspecs with swappable, glazeable lenses. After a small bit of jiggling he soon got the hang of removing the lenses but preferred the model as a sunglass.
The girls made a beeline for the large Victoria Beckham-style sunglasses. Leaza and Sarah agreed that not only did they not like Posh's style but they also preferred large sunglasses in muted colours and not garish whites and pinks. The ones from Inspecs fitted the bill exactly.
The large Speedo sunglasses also appealed to Sam. This was the only point during the discussion that any of the group physically held on to their selection to ensure it stayed with them. Jack selected a CAT sunglass and immediately enquired about glazing with a prescription. The others said they preferred having plano sunwear so they could wear it with contact lenses. Full-time contact lens wearer Ben, was very keen on this selection choosing a Speedo sport sunspec.
Moving onto the Speedo ophthalmic range, Jack commented that they were a little round and with the Speedo connection made him think of swimming goggles. Two of the girls said they wouldn't be attracted to Speedo as a brand for ophthalmics but loved the sunwear.
Again Sarah made for the brands. Holding onto an FCUK Vision model she concluded that: 'FCUK rocks!' Her final selection was a laminated plastic pink supra model number OFK6003. 'I dunno if I'm ever going to wear these, but I love them.'
Selected from the same brand but offering a totally different effect, Leaza chose a three-piece FCUK Vision OFK 4006.
The next collection out was Oasis from Andrew Actman Eyewear. The green teardrop case and cloths were an immediate hit with the girls. Leaza, one of the quieter members of the group, tried on a rimless model with a mother of pearl effect on the temples.
'You look really good in them,' commented Jack. 'They go really well with your skin,' added Sarah. Sarah jotted down several model numbers, any number of which would have suited her perfectly, but made the point that her current frames were branded Andrew Actman. I explained that Andrew Actman was a real person to which Sarah replied: 'How cool!'
Sarah, who was attracted to bolder colours to complement her darker complexion said having the opportunity to try on so many frames and get feedback from her own age group was helping her understand what suited her. Despite her existing frames being Actman, she wrote down others on her shortlist while Vicky wrote down Azalea on her selection.
Orange Eyewear provided a wider appeal with its mix of male and female styles in a more wearable style. The boys were attracted to the Vulkan range. A model sporting magnetic sunclips was a hit. Jack noted four model numbers from the range.
Frame fatigue
At this stage it has to be said that the panel were beginning to realise just how many models they had on their list and frame fatigue was setting in. They concluded that the selection offered more possibilities that they had expected.
Leaza discussed with Sarah that it would be great to have a number of models to allow you to use frames like accessories, but in reality you have to choose a middle-of-the-road model suitable for most situations. Holding her Actman frame, Sarah said: 'I like this style and it's like, ooh, I want one in that sort of green thing, that sort of pink thing, that sort of red thing. I just want to accessorise.'
International Eyewear continued the attractive and wearable theme which most of the group agreed was the mainstream look most opted for.
'They are a bit normal,' said Jack. He did find an attractive, light turquoise frame which he invited Leaza to try on. The group agreed that they did suit her very fair complexion. The frame turned out to be very similar in style to her final FCUK selection.
Another chain taking part was Boots Opticians. It included a number of brands already viewed by the group, plus some yet-to-be-launched styles around the OK brand.
These models drew positive comment on style but none of those present chose them as a favourite. Sarah again commented that the eye sizes would be too large for her.
In the frame
The boys became much more animated when the Marchon frames came into view. Brands were very much in evidence. 'Yes, Calvin Klein!' shouted one of the girls looking at a CK frame. The styling was admired but the group concluded that the fact it was branded around Calvin Klein added a certain something.
Your interviewer was chastised for not knowing about the X Games brand which found favour with both the girls and the boys. Not for the first time the cases drew as much attention as the frames.
So what makes a frame cool? 'Black,' said Jack. 'The shape,' said Sarah. 'It depends on the face they are on,' added Ben.
While Vicky admiringly twisted a memory metal Nike frame, the other girls discussed laminated colours.
'I like the Calvin Klein but they are a bit too candy and there are not too many outfits I can wear it with,' said Leaza.
Perhaps it was peer pressure following some negative comments but none of the teenagers in the group would consider Nike, which came in for a bit of a pasting.
'I think it's a bad brand name for them,' said Ben sparking comments from around the group. Various members chipped in: 'It's a chav name.' 'It's all about pop culture. The chavs ruin everything: Chanel, Burberry, Gucci, Prada, Dior. Put that in your article.'
As we completed the final box of styles and perhaps 400 individual frames the group agreed that there had been some great styles and most seemed impressed that such a variety of eyewear was available to their age group.
Interestingly, while the girls had long lists of frames they liked and chose their favourites, the boys seemed less able to make a final decision. Will actually deferred his choice until the day after the meeting, Sam was still searching the ranges for a heavy, square, black number while Jack asked: 'Haven't you got any Quiksilver?'
Optician would like to thank the following companies and brands for taking part in this project:
Eyewear Europe – Eden Park and Exalt Cycle
Norville – Animal
Andrew Actman – Oasis
Mondottica – Mambo, Ted Baker
Orange Eyewear – Vulkan Orange
Inspecs – CAT, FCUK and Speedo
Marchon UK – Nautica, CK Calvin Klein, Nike
International Eyewear
Bluesky Optical
Vision Express
Boots
Specsavers
Transitions for glazing the frames
Mainline for supplying mirrors