The spectacles that changed my lifestyle

Mums Tips

Fashion & Beauty

Published on Tuesday, 16 July 2019 11:02

Last Updated on 25 September 2022

Monica Costa

0 Comments

Whether you like it or not, after 40 eyesight changes. I have worn glasses or contact lenses since I was 17 so I am used to the process but changes in your vision are always annoying. When my regular examination was due this year, I decided to opt for more advance testing with independent opticians instead of using the high street chains. I went to Aston and Woods Eyecare founded and run by the lovely husband and wife team, Keval & Sona Thakerar, who opened their own practice in Tottenham Court Road in London where clients can experience a different side to eyewear, eyecare and service.

What I love about them is the fact that they made me feel relaxed so that I could enjoy my experience. They offered me chocolates and prosecco and Sona carried thorough eye examinations before helping me choose the right spectacles that met my criteria including fashionable, young and stylish features. I felt like a VIP.

Unsurprisingly, they already have an impressive client base from well-known business persons, high profile athletes to members of royal families.

What is the Platinum Eye Exam?

My Platinum Eye Exam included eye muscle check, pupil reactions, fundus imaging (photographing the back of my eyes), eye pressure checks , visual field checks, OCT Scan (This scan determines optic nerve health and integrity, and is useful in monitoring glaucomatic changes). After analysing the results, I was given a new prescription for spectacles to bring my vision up to perfection.

At the beginning of the examination, I explained that taking the spectacles off to read was a big hassle for me. The “fancy” word for these reading changes is presbyopia, and all it means is the lens within the eye that we normally use for reading is starting to lose its focusing ability and some form of near correction is required.

Most people start to pick up on these changes between 40-45 years of age and is a normal and unfortunately unavoidable change to vision that all will experience at some point. The option chosen for me were the digi lenses from Carl Zeiss Optical as an introductory varifocal/ progressive lens.

Who is Parisian designer Caroline Abram?

My favourite part in the process was choosing the eyewear. I tried at least 20 pairs and loved them all particularly from the range by Parisian designer Caroline Abram. My choice on the day for my new frames! Feminine, cat eyes and colour. I loved the story behind my new glasses, too.

Caroline Abram has roots in Senegal where she spent part her youth. Keen to give back to the local community, she set up a woman’s initiative programme and it is there that her spectacles are hand-made. Her stylish bicolour spectacles make me look sexy. These glasses have truly changed my lifestyle. They correct my short-sightedness, astigmatism as well as my recent far-sightedness. On top of that, they have a transition feature that turns them onto sunglasses when the UV rays are unhealthy for the eyes. Surely this is way better to walk around with three pairs of glasses in my handbag. They are totally worth their £1000 price tag!