Easy on the Eyes

What’s your preference, big bubble-wrap glasses or those with Trekkie metal rectangles? What about classic tortoise shell ovals?

Whatever it is, you’ve got lots of choices in SoCal. Most clothing stores sell shades, and there are a few specialty boutiques.

l.a. Eyeworks, which has been in South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa for 10 years, is one of the veterans of specialty eyewear. Salesperson Heather Adams says she’s seen it all--from “roasted hair and fully tattooed guys selecting conservative shades to little grandmas wanting wildly colored frames.”

“People like to break out of their stereotypes,” says Adams, who has been in the business long enough to remember the overpowering ‘80s-style frames with “initials carved into the lenses and whoop-de-do temples.”

What’s cool this season are plastic frames in party colors--cobalt blue, fantasy orange and splashy yellow, she says.

For those not willing to be so overt, there are frames that appear subtle on the outside, but the inside of the frame--that side that faces the wearer--is a mess of colors and swirls. “To the people looking at you, there’s no hint of the blue, green and yellow Masala [the name of the frame design] on the interior,” Adams says.

“It’s like having a party with yourself.”