Personalisation, Monograms, Initials

With the growth and success with personalisation of brands from t-shirts to trainers and luxury brands embossing their leather goods for items such as luggage. It was a sure thing that one day they would follow suit with the likes of Nike to let the consumer re design a favourite item of theirs.

Last week 16th April 2012 was the launch of Bottega Veneta's Initials. With the motto "When your own initials are enough" it was a natural step forward with the motto and branding. But is it a natural step forward for a brand that is based on timeless design?

This capsule collection lets you pic 5 bags that you can personalise with your own initials, or 10 accessories / small leather goods. The bags are new to the collection and not part of their iconic bag range. Depending on the items, you can choose 3 sizes for the letters as well as possible 2 positions. There are 8 colours you can choose from and you can change each letter if you like. The font they use is the Bottega Veneta font, just wider so you can see the colours and the initials.

Now when I 1st saw this I thought Louis Vitton. The LV monogram is such a well known monogram that to have your own initials in such a way was their step forward.

"Add your own initials to turn one of our iconic products into a one-of-a-kind piece as original as its owner"

Mon Monagram is something they have been doing since 2008. You can pick from their 4 iconic bags in all the sizes. Choosing which style stripe and which 2 colour ways for both the stripe and the matching letters, with or without the separating dot. There are 17 colours to choose from and a "200 million possible combinations"

After playing about with both websites and creating my own design. I was a bit dissatisfied with both.. With Bottega Veneta, I just found it too bright for a classic timeless company and wished there was an option to loose the drop shadow. With Mon Monagram, I felt that it should have been a monogram. That my initials should have come out like the LV logo. After all "a monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letter or other graphemes to form one symbol"

Its just the beginning for BV so lets see how it continues as for LV it has been since 2008 so they cant be going wrong.

Cest la vie......

The Science of Sunglasses

I had to do some research and a presentation about sunglasses some time ago and I did wonder if it was worth blogging. Since there are questions being asked about UV, and style, and polarised, I thought why not. I hope this helps. I tried to condense it to the basics.

"Here comes the science" ......

What is UV?

Ultra Violet Rays (UVR) = UVA + UVB + UVC

They are invisible rays from the sun that affect our eyes and skin. A little bit of sun is actually good for you but in moderation. It can help our bodies with making Vitamin D, strengthen bones and teeth and helps treat psoriasis.

Too much can cause skin cancer, and cataracts hence the need for protection.

UVA, B and C are different wave lengths of the rays, and we are protected from the most harmful UVC through our ozone layer (hence the importance of the ozone layer)

Sunglasses grades of protection

This obviously depends on the make so always ask the vendor if in doubt. Most sunglasses come with a standard UV protection. A moderate / sufficient protection for general use. The European Standards usually has four ratings.

"0" =  insufficient UV protection

"2" = sufficient UHV protection

"6" = good UHV protection

"7" = "full" UHVV protection

Do not be fooled that the darker the lens the higher the protection. In fact the filter is just that a film on the lens. The darker the lens the wider your pupil dilates, to enable you to see through them, causing  more harm to your eyes if unprotected.

What is Polarised?

Polarised lenses are more expensive then normal lenses. It doesn't really mean they are better then normal glasses. If you are to use your sunglasses for everyday use in town then you wont need polarised. They are mostly and commonly used for outdoor sports where the sun bounces back on reflective surfaces. What is also known as anti glare.

Reducing glare for long haul drivers can ease eye strain. Fishermen use polarised to see under the water surface so they can see the fish and other objects clearer. Photographers use it to create more contrast in their photos.

with / without

without / with

Polarised lenses however do not give you a full protection from glare. They only work at certain angles from the reflected rays and can distort your vision when looking at LCDs ( TV, Mobile / Cell phone screens, etc.)

Now to try

As much as I could go on about face shapes and what suite which best. It is all down to trying on and what is your individual style as well as function. Some might make you look ready for the beach in Miami and others might give that look of shopping in the city or beach party in Ibiza.

I can only say its like clothes and body shapes. If you are pear shaped (big hips) you wouldn't want to make it more noticeable by wearing a tulip skit, you would want to even out your body and elongate. So if you have a round face you don't want to wear round sunglasses or a pair that has more details on the sides to make your face look wider.

Also bear in mind nose bridge and cheeks. For most asians, africans, or any one with a low nose bridge, sunglasses tend to sit too low; or if you have big cheeks / high cheek bones, you find that when you smile your glasses go up as they sit on your cheeks. There are some designers that have a line that cater for this. The bridge on the glasses will be longer to compensate. I know Bottega Veneta and Oakley has an "asian fitting" with some of their glasses.

My non AF fitting sits lower on my nose and hits my cheeks

My BV AF fitting has space and doesn't sit on my cheeks :)