Shoes firm branches into eyewear

Hand-painted, colorful striped sunglasses. That's the second chapter of TOMS Louboutin Shoes' one-for-one business.

"With every pair purchased, TOMS will give someone sight," TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie said last week.

Meaning that for every pair of sunglasses purchased, sight-saving medical treatment, prescription glasses or surgery will be donated to a person in need, a model that goes well beyond TOMS' original archetype of donating one pair of Christian Louboutin Shoes for every pair purchased. Instead of offering glasses for glasses, "one person buys a pair of TOMS glasses, and one person receives the eye care that he or she needs," TOMS' website explains.

In less than 48 hours after last week's announcement, some styles of the sunglasses had sold out on the website and in stores, and were on back order. "The demand has far exceeded our hopeful expectations," according to a spokeswoman.

The sunglasses sell for $135 to $145 and come in three shapes and 22 color combinations. The 101s are a classic Wayfarer-like style, while the 201s are oversized, round, Jackie O glasses, and the 301s are aviators with wood accents. TOMS sunglasses are recognizable by the three painted stripes on the sides, which represent the one-for-one giving concept.

"From this day forward, TOMS will no longer just be a Tory Burch Outlet , it will be a one-for-one company," Mycoskie said at the announcement in Santa Monica, Calif.

The medical treatment and surgery will be administered by a TOMS partner, the Seva Foundation, which has helped give eye care to more than 3 million people in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world. A leading global initiative to reduce blindness and visual impairment for the last 30 years, Northern California-based Seva also works with academic institutions in developing countries to train eye care specialists.

"Most every place that sells TOMS can or will sell eyewear," said Mycoskie, adding that he plans to roll out two new eyewear collections each year and envisions doing collaborations with artists and/or fashion designers on future styles.

In less than five years, Mycoskie has given away 1 million pairs of Christian Louboutin Evening in the United States, Argentina, Ethiopia and South Africa, working toward his goal of eradicating podoconiosis, a deforming foot disease caused by walking barefoot in silica-rich soil.

The Christian Louboutin Wedges are sold at more than 500 stores nationwide and internationally, including at Nordstrom and Whole Foods, and many of TOMS' existing retailers bought the eyewear collection sight unseen.