All Grown Up These days, children prefer the cool styling of adult frames. here, we give you a sampling of today's kids and the eyewear they love, as well as a look into what's selling. By Erinn Morgan. Today's kids are growing up faster than they used to. It's also true in regard to their taste in eyewear styles. Dispensers say children of all ages are, hands down, choosing adult-styled frames over child-like designs.
"It started with the kids having to wear glasses and wanting their eyewear to look cool, like their clothing," says Kay Faulkner, optician at Fifth Avenue Eyewear in Fort Worth, Texas. "They want to make a statement with what they're wearing on their face, too."
Some also say that parents prefer adult styling for their children, since they remember their youthful trauma with unattractive eyewear. "The comment I hear the most is 'I wore those glasses when I was a kid,' and they remember pictures of themselves in big pink plastic frames," says Janie Shofner, optician at Hefner Pointe Optical in Oklahoma City. Dispensers also note that parents and their kids are asking for designer names in their adult-styled eyewear. "When they're 12 and 13, they recognize names like Polo, Guess, and Hilfiger," says Shofner, whose dispensary specializes in children's eyewear. "With the younger kids, it's their parents who go for the name." What's Selling?
Most dispensers say that there are certain shapes, colors, and materials that are turning kids' heads. Plastics are selling incredibly well; and they are often laminated with two or more colors. Even the trendy thick plastic "nerd" style is ringing up sales. "A lot of children choose the plastic 'Poindexter' look," says Kelli Kupsch, optician and framebuyer at The Glasses Menagerie in Minneapolis, Minn., where 90 percent of the assortment is kids' frames." Adds Faulkner, whose assortment consists of about 75 percent kids' eyewear, "We fit a lot of kids from ages nine and 10 to 13 and 14 with the cutesy thicker plastic frame styles." In addition, metals, always a strong seller to kids, are showing up in new shapes like rectangles and octagonals, as well as cat-eye shapes for girls. Shofner says her kids assortment is about 97 percent metals. And, color in all frame materials is taking its cue from adult styles as well. Popular hues include deep reds, browns, olive greens, and tortoise. But more daring shades appeal to the trendier set-black, bright red, bright blue, and clear pastels in plastics.
Most dispensers note that sunglass clip-ons are a huge and growing business for them. "We fit a lot with clip-ons," says Faulkner, whose main brands include Fisher-Price, Osh Kosh, Disney, and Polo. "Then [the kids] really think they're cool." Some also say that frames with cable temples are big sellers. And, interestingly, it turns out that anti-reflective coating is a growing business in the kids' category. According to Shofner, this is, in part, because many moms are aware of glare, and they do not want their kids to have this problem when they have their pictures taken for school or sports clubs.
"We are having a lot of requests to put AR coating on children's lenses so that others can see their eyes better and there is no glare," says Faulkner, who sells about 30 percent of her kid's eyewear with AR coating. Thus, the kids' business seems to be a growing one in many areas-new styling, sunglass clip-ons, and AR coating. Certainly it's a business worth investing in... and looking to your adult assortment for inspiration. EB Photography by Anna Palma; styling by sonya mccoy; prop styling by veronique zanettin; hair by amanda pratt models: maya burns, khalil cox, kate potenzano, and connor rochford, all from product; art direction by tracie haner
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Article
All Grown Up
These days, children prefer the cool styling of adult frames. here, we give you a sampling of today's kids and the eyewear they love, as well as a look into what's selling.
Eyecare Business
June 1, 2000
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