So Bright We Have to Wear Shades

I had the time of my life while I was in Manila, and was invited by Eileen Marquez of Branded Lifestyle Inc., (the distributor of luxury & fashion eyewear in the country) to their office in Makati. If you know me well, I am obsessed with sunnies. I have a collection of what I consider to be iconic sunglasses and I would buy more if only I did not have a lot of others items on my wishlist. Sigh, right?

I literally felt like a kid in a candy store when I stepped foot inside the showroom and BLI Luxury Division's Vicky Marchadesch (Asst. General Manager) and Sugar Pecjo (Sr. Brand Manager) showed me rows upon rows of sunglasses from Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany & Co., Prada and Bulgari.

I swear, it was so fun going through all the frames. (Plus, I want their compartmentalized drawers too. Just imagine having one at home to keep all your eyewear in. Very organized, and just lovely to look at your collection all in one place.) If you like classic frames, there's plenty plenty to choose from. But to keep this post spicy and out of the ordinary, let's check out some of the stand-outs from their collections:

Yellow & purple printed sunnies from Versace's Alice in Wonderland Collection: According to Sugar, Versace is known for its loud, crazy designs, so when they went minimalist a few seasons ago, the reception was lukewarm. This collection harkens back to Versace's original roots.

Wanna do it like Naomi with Dolce & Gabbana's Animalier Collection?

The frames all come in Dolce & Gabbana's trademark animal print, and rendered in various colors like orange, red, yellow, turquoise, blue & purple. Crazy. Sexy. Cool. And out in stores this July!

Here's one of their best-selling lines: Dolce & Gabbana's Logo Plaque Edition frames - because hey, if a Pinoy is going to spend Php15,000 on sunglasses, the logo better be there, heeheehee.

How cute is this one? Solid on the outside, floral print on the inside!

Prada's clear cat eye frame...

...which is exactly like the ones seen on the Prada Spring 2010 runway. Yes, the exact one.

But wait, there's also the updated cat eye frame from Fall 2011. Called the Swing, it should be in Manila this October.

Oh and if you liked these Baroque frames from Prada's Spring 2011 collection, these are due in stores come September:

How about an outfit shot for inspiration?

Fashion forward!

Oh oh, and I also spotted these lola glamorosa lenses from Bulgari. I can so imagine coiffured grandmas  loving these. Heehee.

But if I had to choose from all these frames, I would of course still go for the classics. I pretend shopped and zoomed in on these 3:

My top 3 picks from top to bottom: Prada, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana. If only I can buy all three!

Thanks so much Vicky, Sugar and CJ for letting me browse through your collections! I can imagine what fun it must be like to go to work with a showroom of sunnies & spectacles (which reminds me, I have got to show you the cutest eyeglass frames from D&G ever in another post) right in your office. Uhmmm, expect me to keep visiting you girls at work whenever you have new stuff in, heehee!