Eye on fashion
New trends in eyeware keep opticians busy
Published Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Photo by Susan Larson
Dave Gaustad, optician with 20/20 Optical, Inc., displays some of the eyeglass frames available.
Long gone are the Buddy Holly-style frames of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Likewise the big-as-a-plate owl-eye glasses of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
“New (eyeglass) frame lines are fashion-forward,” said Dave Gaustad, optician with 20/20 Optical, Inc., Fergus Falls. “Frames themselves are like accessories. They’re so colorful, so unique —the shapes and colors. And with materials like stainless steel and titanium, frame quality is better than ever. They’re sturdier and better looking. The possibilities are virtually endless.”
And that’s just in frames. An optician for 23 years, Gaustad finds it exciting to work in an industry where good keeps getting better.
“It makes my job easier when the products are as good as they are,” he said.
The eyewear business is huge, Gaustad said.
“A lot of money is spent on research and development by larger companies to improve an already good product.”
Lenses, for example, are thinner and lighter; glass lenses are almost unheard of now. Progressive lenses (lineless bifocals) are second to none.
“In 2007,” Gaustad said, “there were 388 different progressive lenses available to the industry.”
Anti-reflective coating is significantly different that it was three years ago. The hardest applications that can be put on a lens allows 99.5 percent of visible light to pass through the lens, leaving it reflection-free.
“It’s great for night driving,” he said.
Transition lenses, which adjust tint level to changing light conditions, have been around for a while. Transition-Six lenses, a new formula, does the job even better.
“Every time a new application comes out, it’s highly improved,” Gaustad said. “They gets darker faster than before in warm weather and turn lighter more quickly coming from outside to indoors.”
What will be available tomorrow is anybody’s guess.
“The research and development being put forward is unbelievable,” Gaustad said. “It’s hard to say what’s going to come next.”
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