In her ongoing quest to make eyewear the ultimate accessory, Sheila Vance, Sama Eyewear CEO and designer, is offering coordinated sets of ophthalmic frames and sunglasses. “The optical industry has come a long way in the past 20 years, but they need all the help they can get in the area of multiple sales,” Vance says. “We can learn a lot from the accessories business. Women think nothing of buying a handbag and an accompanying coordinated wallet, an evening bag, a day bag, a casual bag, a bag to complement a new wardrobe item. We can do that with eyewear, too. A woman goes to a luncheon, removes a beautiful sunglass and reaches for the same frame in an ophthalmic design to read the menu. That shows we as an industry are paying attention to eyecare,” she continues. “It make us important to the consumer and it makes eyewear the most important of accessories, which it is.”

Vance has used this concept very successfully in her retail stores to promote multiple sales. “Whenever we present the eyewear as a coordinated set, people always buy both,” she notes. “It’s really up to us to continually excite our customers and educate them on why one pair of eyewear is not enough.”

Sama has designed coordinated sets for its Badgley Mischka, Loree Rodin and Sama lines. Each ophthalmic frame and sunglass comes with its own matching case.