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Elizabeth Daniels, 7/1
Last Thursday we stopped by the first of four Summer Sessions sales hosted by Oliver Peoples for the pure pleasure of playing dress-up in all the eyewear. Because really, how often do you get the opportunity to go into a store and try on everything without dealing with dressing rooms or pushy sales staff?
The store's normal stock was taken away and all the shelves were full of past-season stock priced by brand: Mosely Tribes frames are $99, while Oliver Peoples and Paul Smith glasses are $119. Most of the stock was sunglasses, but there was a decent section of ophthalmic frames ready for prescription lenses. Oliver Peoples co-founder Larry Leight was even on hand to offer his opinion to overwhelmed customers. (Most people were walking around the store with armfuls of eyewear, trying to figure out which pair looked best by asking random strangers for advice.)
Women's frames were in the front of the store and men's frames were in the back—but most women wanted to get their hands on the unisex aviators, making the area near the back sales counter very scrunchy. Thankfully, the mirrors are plentiful throughout the space, so there's no fighting for face time.
There's three more Thursdays worth of sales this month, so stop by between 6pm and 9pm and try on some new sunnies. There's a different DJ every week to set the shopping mood, plus complimentary beer and wine to help loosen things up—like maybe your wallet? One word of advice: wear something breathable, because it gets pretty hot inside that little store when it's full of people.
· Oliver Peoples [Official Site]