CUTLER AND GROSS 84 Yorkville, 416-966-5149, cutlerandgross.com
For glasses geeks (guilty!), the front showroom of the new Cutler and Gross boutique opening today (Thursday, September 8) in Yorkville is eye candy enough. The long, gallery-style store is stocked with thousands of frames (75 per cent of the UK-based line’s 6,000 designs, I hear) from acetate aviators with leather-wrapped arms to round specs in lemon and turquoise.
But for real optical aficionados (and visiting TIFF celebs, of course), the must-see space is the mini-museum and VIP salon hidden in the back behind a wall-sized photograph of Mr. Cutler and Mr. Gross themselves. Library-style shelves pull out to reveal a selection of one-of-a-kind frames from the line’s archive, including heart-shaped sunnies and retro, oversized options.
The shop also offers a unique-to-North America bespoke service that allows you to tweak shapes and acetate colours. A three-month process includes sampling the glasses in Italy and fitting the frames in Toronto before the final product is produced.
Cutler and Gross picks: Circular-style 734 comes in a soft peach hue, $480 the new fall collection, including the angular 1030 model in ruby red, features an updated, flat-fronted bridge, $470 Elton John wore an oval pair from the museum collection in Pop Magazine, $550.
Look for: A selection of frames created in collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela, Erdem and, for fall 2012, Canadian-in-London designer Thomas Tait.
Hours: Monday to Wednesday 11 am to 7 pm, Thursday to Saturday 11 am to 8 pm, Sunday noon to 6 pm.
