Eye Spy Optical “The Heist” Look Book
The Queen of Specs lives on the northwest side of Chicago, and has always loved this laundromat and cremeria! So, after taking a hiatus from photo shoots during Covid, we finally geared up and made it happen! We borrowed clothing from local shops and designers, and hired one of our customers to be our photographer for this fun shoot. Finally, we asked one of our very first employees, Luis, to join us for the shoot!! He said YES:-)
When the Queen of Specs discovered Optimo Hats in the historic Monadnock Building on Jackson Blvd, she immediately contacted the owner to arrange a shoot! The Queen styled the shoot, as usual, mixing vintage and new pieces, along with the fabulous handmade hats. With the hats and forms in the background, some vintage barware, and a little mood lighting…our photographer worked his magic!!
When the Queen of Specs discovered
The Dial Bookshop at the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Ave, she knew it was just the spot for the next Eye Spy Lookbook shoot!
Working with vintage boutiques, the Queen hand-picked each outfit for the shoot, to echo the vintage building. The lighting was incredible through the huge picture windows facing Michigan Ave…and the books provided the perfect backdrop!!
Since Eye Spy specializes in custom, colorful, handmade frames, the Queen of Specs decided to create monochrome scenes for this next lookbook series! Working with fellow, independent boutiques, she selected outfits, models and makeup artists. Then, Chris Hershman went to work taking photos in his new space…Studio 10!!
The Queen of Specs selected 2 recent grads from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Fashion Department and Fiber Arts Department. Then, she went to their design studios and chose her favorite pieces. Next, the Queen of Specs scouted out the new WMS Boathouse by Studio Gang on the Chicago River and fell in love. The day of the shoot, Kate and Mary at ChromaK8 did the models’ hair & went crazy with their makeup, per the Queen’s request! After completing the first half of the shoot at the boathouse, everyone ate lunch and travelled a mile north to a residential area on the Chicago River. The Queen selected the boathouse and stairs leading down to the river to echo the patterns on Sky Cubacub’s outfits…and the more natural setting to complement the organic feel of Grace Duval’s designs.
Our friend Sara Perez selected and worked with 4 fabulous students graduating from Columbia College’s Fashion Studies Department. Each student designed a collection for their Senior Thesis, so we chose our favorites! Then, the talented folks at Sine Qua Non spent a Sunday morning styling and doing hair & makeup, while our fab photographer and The Queen of Specs scouted out the environs around Eye Spy for the shoot. We selected the stairs leading up to the El train tracks and the scaffolding outside the shop to juxtapose the flowing wedding dresses.
When the Lost Girls returned from Morroco, they were putting together a photo shoot to highlight their newly acquired accessories. We thought our colorful sunnies would mesh perfectly with their vintage wears and Morrocan goodness…and they did!! The North Ave. beach right on Lake Michigan provided a great backdrop!
As a small, independent business, we like to support and promote our neighborhood businesses. On our block of Lincoln Ave., we have a large variety of businesses…some new, and some that have been around for almost 100 years! We decided to feature the business owners, wearing our eyewear, and learn a bit more about them. We interviewed each owner & wrote bios, so go to our blog page to learn more:-) Dave was kind enough to work on this project with us and work his camera magic.
Our favorite photographer, Chris, borrowed our fabulous eyewear, grabbed a few of his friends, and did his thing. Some photos are inside of Iris the Airstream, others are out and about, and some just chilling at his cool pad in Chicago.
When we participated in Dose Market at the Chop Shop, we were lucky enough to be situated across from a photo booth!! We lent our custom, colorful, handmade frames to those who walked by and stopped for a mug shot. One of the models happened to be Sophia Bush, who ended up falling in love with a pair of Gentle Monster frames!
This is where it all began! Chris and his buddy Amanda had the brilliant idea of driving across the country to Capture the Road. These road warriors were outfitted with spectacular specs from Eye Spy, and the rest is history. From flying a prop plane to sipping coffee, Chris and Amanda captured the beauty and character of our frames in these still shots and in the incredible video below!