Halloween Night!

Here is a quiet and spooky song by one of our favourite Canadian artists, Timber Timbre. 

Happy Halloween oooooeeeeeeeooooooooooo!

Non Prescription Sunglasses Are On Sale!

Yesterday's critical hosting kerfuffle is over! Yay! It was a 9 million site hiccup that lasted 10 - 11 hours. My momma told me there would be days like these...no, not really, never like this actually...

On the brighter side - and it is a lovely Autumn day out there- don't forget that our non-prescription sunglasses are 40% off.

Proper eye protection is important all year round, even on cloudy days - so don't neglect your vision.

Here is another awesome ad that we found in an optical magazine from the 1970's - check out those retro CSS3 borders! 

 Have a great day everyone.

Error Establishing Connection

Oh happy Wednesday.. not so much.

Hope to be back online soon. Our hosting company is doing emergency maintenance.

American Optical

We came across some OD magazines from the 70's - the print advertising for American Optical was fantastic! 

 Here are a few snippets of the history of the company copied from their website: 

AO War Effort    1917-1946

"In 1917, AO designed and built 8 mobile optical units to support U.S. troops and Allied Forces in Europe during WWI.  These self-contained eyeglass facilities were stocked with all necessary frames, lenses, refractive equipment and machines for the fitting and filling of prescription and distribution of sunglasses.  Two white metal frames, "Liberty"  and "Victory" were put to service in the field.  A record of two and one-half million glasses were furnished to the US Government for the war effort.

During WWII, AO had again come to the forefront with new optical products developed by their research laboratories.  This development work allowed AO to supply the US Government with new products including gun sights, bombsights, AR glass, aviation goggles, sunglasses and precision optics for military and instrument applications.

Between 1943 and 1944, a total of 10 million goggles frames, 5 million pairs of sunglasses and over 6.5 million pairs of lenses were ground and polished including 1.4 million prescriptions delivered to the Armed Forces.

By 1946, AO's contribution to the war effort was so substantial that the Company and the entire work force were presented the Army-Navy "E" award as recognition for their dedication to the cause of national defense."

Contemporary Eyewear    1958-Present

"It was in 1958 that the Flight Goggle 58, now known as the Original Pilot Sunglass was produced for the US military to provide pilots with maximum protection, optical performance and comfort.  Right to  the present time, the Original Pilot is still being manufactured in the AO complex in Southbridge, Massachusetts.

In fact the Original Pilot Sunglass was honored to be the first ever sunglass to land on the moon worn by Commander Neil Armstrong and the crew of Apollo 11 in 1969.  It now resides on permanent display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Subsequent years saw numerous collections of AO frames and sunglasses made and sold.  A plethora of fascinating and mind-boggling shapes, colors, sizes, materials and designs were offered.  They were the trendsetters in their own right.  AO Sunvogue sunglasses could be found on the cool bikers in the 1969 movie, Easy Rider.  The hotshot aviators in "Top Gun" wore aviator shaped frames as well.

In the fashion industry, trends and eyewear designs come and go.  Occasionally a style or two will return for a period.  AO Eyewear prides itself on its products, classic lines and styling.  These products, developed with function first, remain in vogue year in and year out."

***** Copied from AO History

You can read more here

What's Going On?

It is a beautiful balmy day on the Danforth! Of course, since it is recycling night it has started to rain....

Stop by and say hi - we are merchandising and listening to Matt Mays.

Monday Night Groove

It's All Man Monday

That's right - it's All Man Monday at Ratas Optical. Today we are showcasing a few favourites from The Victory Optical Collection.  

Our inspiration began with this ad that we found in an old magazine...and now we will be making this a regular blog feature. We need models by the way, any takers? 

Fellas, come in on Monday, try on some frames, send us your selfie to use on our blog and like us on Facebook. We will do you a solid with a sweet kickback on some awesome new eyewear. Monday, Manly Monday! 

Manly Man 

Ratas Retro: Reconstructing the Past

We will be adding our own limited edition retro rimless eyewear collection to the shop in time for the holidays for eyewear connoisseurs.

Hand crafted using rare vintage rimless mounting hardware, with gold filled or silver temples, our collection will appeal to collectors and clients who love comfortable and timeless eyewear.

The times are a-changin'

After a whirlwind summer of remerchandising, adding the Retro Room, and launching Ratas Retro Eyewear, we are slowly finishing off the last touches of our shop renovation.

Thanks to our friends at Syllogy Home Decor across the way, we have been adding new wood shelving which has really warmed things up. Many of our customers have asked if the store is under new management or been sold - nope, just a few new faces and some changes! In fact, next year Ratas Optical will be celebrating 50 years as a family owned business.

So come by and see what we are up too! We are open daily from 11am until 6pm Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 11am until 5pm. Sunday, we are closed. We have new frames arriving weekly, and the biggest selection of retro eyewear in town.