• Home
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter

Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: Fashion, North East, Uncategorized

Up Your Spex Appeal with Op & Tom Newcastle

There’s a brand new boutique optician on High Bridge in Newcastle, a street famed for it’s cobbled road and funky, offbeat independent stores and coffee shops (Laneway & Co anyone?).  But what exactly is a boutique optician? I hear you ask, well Voyeurs, let me tell you….

If you follow me on social media you’ll know that I was invited along to the Christmas launch party at Op & Tom (formerly CrossEyes), if you don’t follow me on social media, then shame on you, (and fix that right now).  So, I went along for a night of live music and glasses trying on in an uber cool environment like no other optician you’ve ever visited before.  First off, Op & Tom is a Danish concept, there are no designer frames here.  If you’re looking for Tom Ford or Chanel then you’re in the wrong place, Op & Tom is about being different, it’s about standing out for having THE most stylish frames at an affordable fixed price, everything you see is Op & Tom’s own stylish brand.

Crosseyes Newcastle Frames
Crosseyes Newcastle shop front

I took up optician Tim’s offer of a free eye test (they’re free to everyone not just yours truly), after confessing that my last eye test was a little over ten years ago and attended with gritted teeth.  The Op & Tom store is a real treat, it’s a small space but it’s utilised so well that it feels big, with a raw wood floor, and fittings made from pipes and scaffolding poles, the decor pitches the shop in the same ballpark as The Boilershop.  It has that perfect brand new but worn in look that’s in vogue right now and so hard to achieve, eyewear frames line the walls and an old Singer sewing table (minus the machine) serves as a desk for consultations.  All in all, it’s a pretty cool place to be for something as mundane as an eye test.

Not me, obvs

In a room at the back of the store is some super high tech machinery that scans your eyes James Bond style to determine the strength of your prescription (if you need one), it’s all very ‘Agents of SHIELD’ and for a moment I think I might be being given some kind of eye focussed super power, (x-ray vision perhaps or that weird Terminator vision) as a machine blows a precise puff of air into each eye.  But sadly not, I’m given what I probably should have had nine years ago – a prescription for lenses.

This isn’t bad news – I’m a big lover of glasses as a fashion accessory, I used to wear them in school when I didn’t need to purely for the look, and Op & Tom is a glasses lovers dream.  In fact, I dare say it could convert a few of you who hate wearing glasses too.  With a huge selection of frames in different colours, shapes and finishes, the important thing is that there is something here that suits everyone’s face type and lifestyle needs.

Crosseyes Newcastle Frames
Crosseyes Newcastle Frames 1
Crosseyes Newcastle Frames 2

My prescription is very minor and it’s only required for close work such as reading and writing (so only my whole life then) and I actually find myself a little disappointed that I won’t get to wear these glasses outside of those activities – don’t do it kids, it gives you headaches.

Trying on frames in Op & Tom could take up a whole afternoon, there are tame, more everyday styles for the discerning spectacle wearer, these are sleek, stylish and very light to wear.  Then there are slightly more daring frames in brighter colours and bold shapes.  Lastly there are the ‘out there’ frames, this is my section, consider me Head Girl of this section, these are the frames for people who want to scream “Hey, I wear glasses, look at my cool glasses, did you notice my awesome glasses??”  Because that’s exactly what they are.  Awesome.  None of the frames in Op & Tom are garish, there are no Dame Edna Everage dupes here, just bold, well designed, fashion frames created to be seen and worn with pride.

Crosseyes Newcastle Pixie Tenenbaum 1
Crosseyes Newcastle Price list
Crosseyes Newcastle Pixie Tenenbaum 2

It’s a tough choice to select just one pair of frames, especially with a collection this diverse.  I narrow it down to two favourites, both very different, before settling on a pair that I fell in love with at the Christmas party.  Bamboo topped and kinda reminiscent of the Ray-Ban Clubround, they’re a smokey grey colour and if I do say so myself, they’re pretty damn perfect – and I look aces in them.  To top off this awesome choice, Tim tells me that they’re limited edition and that this is the only pair (high five moment).  That’s another thing about Op & Tom, they’re never stagnant – new collections arrive at the store regularly to ensure the brand is fresh and always following fashion led trends as well as fast turnover micro trends which apply to eyewear too.

Crosseyes Newcastle Frames 4
Crosseyes Newcastle Frames 5

Op & Tom don’t just deal in prescription eyewear though Voyeurs, you can choose to have any of the frames in store fitted with regular glass to wear as a fashion accessory for just £85.  In fact, the day that my glasses are ready for collection is my birthday and the Op & Tom Newcastle team have a little surprise for me…..  Remember the two pairs I couldn’t decide between?  They had the other pair made up with fashion lenses as a birthday present for me – I knew I liked these guys!

Interested in finding out whether Op & Tom can help you?  You’ll find them at High Bridge, Newcastle offering free eye tests throughout the day.

You’re welcome folks.

Pixie xo

Pixie Tenenbaum 2024

Pixie Tenenbaum Headshot

People will stare, make it worth their while

Pixie Tenenbaum

FASHION VOYEUR

Freelance Fashion and Beauty Writer
Currently taking review slots
Hire Me: pixie.tenenbaum@gmail.com

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • Twitter

So.edited Contributing Editor

RION Magazine Fashion Editor

http://www.rionmagazine.co.uk

Follow

Search

Subscribe to Fashion Voyeur to get the scoop via Email

Categories

  • Beauty
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Models
  • North East
  • Pixie
  • Uncategorized

Pixie Tenenbaum Follow

Copywriter/Editor/Proofreader/Journo in fashion, fashion history & language Currently: Fashion Ed @rionmagazine & @so.edited.co Fashion Innovation @shopbyshape

PixieTenenbaum
pixietenenbaum Pixie Tenenbaum @pixietenenbaum ·
7 Feb

Nah bro

Reply on Twitter 1887896069914362317 Retweet on Twitter 1887896069914362317 Like on Twitter 1887896069914362317 Twitter 1887896069914362317
Retweet on Twitter Pixie Tenenbaum Retweeted
itgirlenergy linda‎‎ @itgirlenergy ·
29 Jan

Angelina Kendall closing the Jean Paul Gaultier couture ss25 show...the bride 👰‍♀

Reply on Twitter 1884683324616020361 Retweet on Twitter 1884683324616020361 1369 Like on Twitter 1884683324616020361 14008 Twitter 1884683324616020361
Retweet on Twitter Pixie Tenenbaum Retweeted
jacquemusx Kea @jacquemusx ·
29 Jan

To anybody doubting Glenn Martens’ abilities now that he is set to lead a big Couture house, Exhibit A:

Reply on Twitter 1884594110281003228 Retweet on Twitter 1884594110281003228 862 Like on Twitter 1884594110281003228 7627 Twitter 1884594110281003228
Load More

PINTEREST

POPULAR POSTS

Turtle Bay Comes to Middlesbrough

Sunderland Fashion Weekend

Copyright © 2025 · Theme by Blog Pixie