frame by frame
Très Magnifique
W
alking into Les Branchés Lunetterie in Old
He particularly liked them in light blue with hints of
Quebec City feels a little bit like entering
green and yellow.
the headquarters for a quirky, creative
Finally, Andrée had Drew try the Il Trovatore frames
theatre group. The painted floors and subtly whimsical
by Faniel for a more vintage and fashion look. She said the
décor add a Cirque-esque feel to the space, which plays up
colours worked well with his skin tone.
all the bright and beautiful frames on offer.
In the end, both agreed the first pair (the Etnia
Les Branchés Lunetterie is owned by optician Patrick
Barcelona in Positano) were the “safest look.” But nobody
Bolduc and opera singer Anne-Marie Faniel. Bolduc had
visits Les Branchés Lunetterie for safe. The store offers
always dreamed of owning his own optical store, so the
“music for your eyes” and that’s what shoppers want. To
couple dove right in—but Faniel’s artistic flare is evident
make an impression in upcoming business meetings, Drew
throughout the business. They even sell a Faniel line of
leaned towards the Falstaf frames by Faniel in blue.
frames (handmade in France), all with musical names.
There are four locations of Les Branchés Lunetterie
Their approach is unique, too: Les Branchés
in Quebec: the original in Saint-Jérôme and then newer
Lunetterie hand-picks glasses for each client using what
stores in Montreal, Quebec and Saint-Hubert.
they call “facial stylism,” which is based on Faniel’s
-Adrienne Brown
experience and expertise as a makeup artist and hairdresser.
Drew Black stopped in to Les Branchés Lunetterie
because he’d read about the shop online and was intrigued
by its character. He wasn’t disappointed. When he
mentioned he’d like to try on some frames, his facial
stylist, Andrée, immediately looked right into his eyes.
Blue-green. She went to the racks of frames to find styles
and colours that would work with and highlight his eyes,
flatter his skin tone and work with his hair.
First, she started him off with a “classic, vintage look”
by offering him a pair of brown and blue frames by Etnia
Barcelona (model Positano). Drew was pleased with the
look and said he would definitely wear the
frames, but wanted to try something more
exciting.
Andrée handed Drew another pair by
Etnia Barcelona in red (IRUN RDWH),
which Drew immediately didn’t feel
comfortable in. He said he would naturally
lean towards blues and greens in coloured
frames, so Andrée offered him round Faniel
frames instead. Handmade with recycled
materials, all their frames are one-of-a-kind.
Drew tried the round Rigoletto frames in both
a red and grey mosaic pattern and solid black,
which he felt were more serious and made his
eyes really stand out.
The Rigoletto frames were fun, but
too round for Drew. Next up, he tried
1. EtniaBarcelona, IRUN; 2. Faniel, IlTrovatore; 3. Faniel, Rigoletto;
more Faniel frames, this time the Falstaf
style, in a variety of colours and textures.
4. Faniel, Falstaf.
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OPTICAL PRISM | OCTOBER 2013