Specs appeal

It's about time eyewear went high concept. With countless celebrities regularly feigning myopia for fashion's sake, glasses are fast becoming legitimate accessories in their own right. Which is excellent news for the optically-challenged amongst us, who need now only worry about bullies knocking off our specs in order to steal them and wear them themselves.

Homegrown optical brand, Oscar & Fitch, is one such source of stylish eyewear, whose recently opened boutique on Edinburgh's Multrees Walk caters for those who care about what they park on their noses.

As face furniture goes, this is fun, stylish, and affordable. IKEA, rather than staid, costly, Chippendale. The Oscar & Fitch ethos is that glasses should be interchangeable accessories, not omnipresent investment pieces. And with all-in prices pitched significantly cheaper than the price of designer frames alone, its far more likely you'll be able to afford a multiple choice.

Already stocked in outlets around the globe, the Multrees Walk store is the place to get the full O&F experience. Stylists will recommend frames based on face shape and colouring – whether you're planning to match your specs to your skin tone or your handbag. The range itself is replete with retro shapes and experimental colours, incorporting animal prints and geometric patterns for the truly brave.

Most intriguing, though, is the website concept and ad campaign, already nominated for two awards at the Drum's 2006 Scottish Advertising Awards. You see, Oscar & Fitch really exist. Well, in the form of a pair of spheres wearing a beret and a cowboy hat respectively, who make up for what they lack in doodled detail with deafening aural personalities. These savvy New Yorkers' voices follow you around the online store, passing judgements as you click, barking such insights as "I don't do understated, and neither should you," and "Hell is ugly glasses". You might want to imagine, as I do, Oscar as a suave Noel Coward-alike in a smoking jacket, with Fitch his more camp, silk-shirted beau, following you around the store like personal shoppers guiding your trip. Or you might just want to buy some glasses.