Because they tend to “shop outside the box” for “the weird and unusual,” owner Doug Gaudet is reluctant to speak to too many trends in eyeglass fashions. But three shopping trips in the past year---to New York, Paris and Montreal---have revealed a few things: “Larger frames, a little bit of something granddad or grandma would have worn,” he says. “So, if there’s anything new, it’s old.” Gaudet’s store is for the iconoclast, someone who likes to think of how their personal expression extends to their spectacles. “We like to think we have the most interesting people in the city coming to us, a fabulous clientele” he says. And though he is too discrete to say whom, he has seen “one or two celebrities come in” on the strength of their rep as Halifax’s most unique, and best, optical store.6465 Quinpool, 423-6255

1st Runner-up: Vogue Optical, 1645 Barrington, 492-1234

2nd Runner-up: Hakim Optical, 5511 Spring Garden, 422-9900