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Designer Eyewear. Paris. New York. Jackson, Mississippi?
By Shoshana Cenker
Most people are fashion conscious
about their clothing; they like certain brands, stores and styles. But an item
that many tend to overlook is eyewear, likely because they don’t consider it
fashion. “Oh, but it is! I’ve seen people with very expensive clothes, but
cheap glasses,” says Cleve Barham, cheerful owner of Fine Eyes in suburban
Jackson, Miss. “Just like clothes, eyewear changes with the trends of the
fashion industry.”
And Cleve should know. With an extensive background in fashion and eyewear, he is the go-to eyewear man of the South. “When my wife, Karen, and I were married in May 1984, I was a traveling salesman. The company asked us to relocate and we didn’t want to, so I left that job and began selling optical items to eye doctors,” explains Cleve, of his first foray into the eyewear industry. “From there, I went into selling clothes in the women’s fashion industry. I had actually majored in accounting in college, but always knew I wanted to be in fashion. And eyewear is fashion too.”
Cleve was later hired as one of
the first employees for Calvin Klein’s new eyewear brand. By this time, he had
two young daughters, Katy now 19 and Shelby now 16. Traveling 50,000 miles a year
was too much. “I realized I needed to spend time at home with my family,” says
Cleve. “It was more important for me to be Daddy.
“I noticed that the optical boutique trend was happening across the United States, but not yet in Jackson,” Cleve continues. “After Karen and I discussed opening our own retail store, her father gave us his blessing, and we opened Fine Eyes in September 1995.”
Cleve has obviously been doing something right. Thanks to his gut instinct, ambition and love of fashion, Fine Eyes has been a true success with sales and profits improving every year. “It’s very cool getting to run my own business,” says Cleve. “I love going to trade shows in New York and Las Vegas. I even sat on the board of the International Vision Expo, which is attended by more than 15,000 people. I’ve made my mark in this industry and have become known as a major retailer.”
Fine Eyes extensive inventory includes Judith Leiber, David Yurman, Betsey Johnson, Vera Wang and more. Prices range from $150 - $900. “I’ve noticed one thing that helps,” says Cleve, “thank goodness, high–end goods are recession proof.”
It’s not just the exceptional name-brand
inventory that keeps the customers coming through Cleve’s doors; it’s also the
care he provides his clients. “I’m at the store every day, and I truly love to
sell,” says Cleve, who has a great sense of humor. “I try to make it fun! I am
very hands-on with clients; I ask what they do, how they wear their glasses and
about their lifestyle.
“Most people can pick out their clothes, but they can’t pick out their own glasses,” he explains. “When white-coated lab technicians help choose a client’s frames, they’re looking at things from the medical perspective whereas I look at things from the fashion point of view. I mean, if you need a prescription, you might as well like the frame you wear, right? It’s on your face after all! I personally have several different frames that match the different clothes I wear. Your style of fashion is whatever makes you feel good, and when you look good, you feel good.”
Because of his fun, friendly demeanor and industry knowledge, Cleve’s clients become repeat customers. “I get a lot of people in the Jackson area, but thanks to word-of-mouth and my reputation, I also get people from other states coming in or ordering from our Web site Fineeyes.com.” says Cleve.
