Eyeballs Eyewear in Paddington is a Sydney stockist of Caroline Abram glasses and sunglasses, and we hold the signature oversized acetates along with the frames carrying the fine metal and horn browline detail. You can try them on at 342 Oxford Street, about ten minutes from the Sydney CBD, open seven days.
A house built for a face the market ignored
Caroline Abram started her house in Paris in 2002 after years of finding that almost nothing on the market was designed with a woman's face — or a woman's taste — genuinely in mind. Most large frames at the time were men's shapes scaled down, or women's shapes scaled up, and neither approach produces something that actually sits well.
The collection that came out of that is unapologetically feminine and unapologetically large. Deep rounds, generous butterflies, lids that sweep upward at the temple, all cut from thick Italian acetate in colours that lean warm — tortoiseshell over rose, honey over smoke, a grey with violet underneath it. Models are named for women, which makes them easy to ask for: Fanny, Talya, Suzon and Lila are among the ones customers most often arrive already knowing.
The engineering under the drama
What makes these wearable rather than merely striking is what happens underneath. The bridges are cut for lower and flatter nose bridges rather than the high European bridge most acetate is drawn around, so the frame does not slide and does not leave marks. The temples curve early, which stops a wide front from levering itself off the ears. And the acetate is thinned at the rim while staying thick at the browline, so the frame keeps its presence without gaining the weight that usually comes with it.
The signature line adds a fine metal or horn detail laid into the top of the front. On some models it reads as a browline; on others it is barely a glint. Either way it is inlaid rather than glued on, which is why it survives being cleaned every day for years.
What we hold in Paddington
We carry this range because it answers a request we hear constantly, and we keep it broad enough to be worth the trip.
- The signature oversized acetates, in several colourways
- Frames with the inlaid metal and horn browline detail
- Optical and sun across the collection
- New season colourways as they land
- Smaller fits for narrower faces, which people rarely expect from this house
- Prescription lenses fitted to the sun frames, edged in store
Who these suit
This is one of the ranges we most often reach for when someone says they want a frame with presence but has been talked into small, safe shapes for a decade. It suits softer face shapes especially well, because the upswept lid does the lifting that a straight top line cannot. It also suits anyone who has struggled with acetate sliding down — the bridge geometry is the reason people come back for a second pair.
Caroline Abram frames photograph large and wear better than they photograph, so the only reliable test is your own face in a mirror. Come in, try four or five, and let us adjust the one you like — a large acetate needs its temples set properly or it will never sit level. If you are coming in for something specific, call 02 9331 4650 first and we will have it out on the counter.
