Last week I was still in Hong Kong doing lots of shopping and if you remember my preview post I came across a rather cool eyewear boutique over in Wan Chai inside the 188 shopping centre which mainly sell games and game consoles. It maybe an odd place to have an eyewear boutique but I guess it makes sense! People do say the more you stare at a computer screen or play on game consoles the worse your eye sight gets because it causes you eye strain from hours of gaming. Let’s face it, when you game… you don’t just stop after an hour, when I play Gran Turismo I am on it for HOURS! So it is clever to have an eyewear boutique right in the middle of this shopping centre.
When I walked past the shop I couldn’t stop looking because all the frames they stocked were funky and I have not seen anything like it in UK. They only stock Asian brands so anything from Japan, Hong Kong to Korea. I was chatting to the owner for a while about glasses because he also has his own collection called Truth & Reality and here is me modelling one of the frames… pretty funky is the word!
Truth & Reality Eyewear
They are retail at around 500HKD which is around £40 so they are mega affordable and are pretty good quality too, infact the quality is comparable to a pair of frames which would cost us around £150 here! The owner said the reason why they are so affordable is because people in Hong Kong actually change their frames fairly frequently at around 4- 6 pairs a year! Or they would have at least 4 pairs of glasses at all times so they could change into different styles whenever they want.
Cubic Shop Wan Chai
Hong Kong eyewear fashion is so forward compared to the UK but according the the owner they are still very behind compared to Japan and Korea. Apparently Japanese frames are all about being wacky so the more outrageous the frame design, the better. Like the red frame above which is a Japanese brand and they are the best seller by the brand because they are so wacky. However, can you imagine anyone ever wearing that walking around UK? Bright red frames with spikes… it is like the two big no, no’s within the UK optical industry.
It is quite apparent that Hong Kong eyewear trends and attitudes towards eyewear is very different to the UK. Everytime I go back I am forever fascinated by the way they wear glasses and the styles… the styles are just to die for. My question is when will UK catch up? Above all if you EVER visit Hong Kong and want a new pair of glasses that are pretty unique, good quality and affordable then head down to the Cubic Shop in Wan Chai 188 shopping centre. You can buy about 3 pairs for the price of one here in the UK… it is a dream! Go and like their Facebook page, this shop has the MGAM approval 😉