Pocket Square
The new sunnies take a look back.
They’ve long been a universal signifier of cool, so when it comes to men’s sunglasses, it’s no surprise that old styles are new again. Case in point: The classic Wayfarer, ginned up by Ray-Ban in 1952, has been the gold standard in plastic frames for generations. And while you won’t win a whole lot of originality points for pulling out your wayfarers, you’ll join an army of men who, when it comes to their eyewear, would rather look back than ahead.
Sebastien Durelli, creative director of Ross & Brown, a line of Italo-Chinese eyewear that launched last year, designs with this in mind. “All of my sunglasses are an original creation based on the feel that I have of an era,” says Durelli. “I research all the possible visual references I can put my hands on and mix them with my imagination.”
If Durelli isn’t exactly a strict revivalist, he does get at something essential about retro-leaning shades: It’s less about nailing every period detail and more about evoking an era.
Look no further than Ross & Brown’s European-inspired suite of sunnies that might just as easily serve as a heat map for continental luxury travel. St. Tropez, Paris, Capri. Each pair is premised on a place, a decade and a feeling.
“I named our 1970s-inspired style Firenze because back then it was the undisputed Italian capital of fashion and worldwide symbol of savoir faire,” Durelli says. “In the ’70s men started wearing bigger sunglasses, just like women. For this decade I wanted a big frame that both sexes could wear. As for the Monaco, I created its shape with the ’80s James Bond movies in mind. Like James Bond, Monaco is tough and fearless.”
I’m partial to Monaco ($130), myself; sophisticated frames that don’t crowd out the rest of your face.
Tough and fearless is an apt description for a new limited run of sunglasses from San Francisco denim brand Self Edge, or perhaps more specifically, for their inspiration. Modeled on an unknown pair of frames that journalist Hunter S. Thompson sported on a trip to Mexico in the 1970s, the Cozumel glasses are a collaboration between Self Edge founder Kiya Babzani and Tokyo’s Globe Specs.
Though Babzani has been a Thompson fan for years, he concedes that “writers don’t usually turn out to be style icons.” When Babzani took the Thompson photos to Globe Specs owner Tetsuya Okada, he had no idea who made Thompson’s glasses, but he was hooked. In effect, the acetate and titanium Cozumels ($345) are meticulous repro- ductions in search of an original.
Should the ’70s-style Cozumels — with their geometric lenses and metal bridge — set you to undue fear and loathing, two classic eyewear brands continue to set their sights on approachable vintage vibes. Persol, founded in 1917, might be best known for throwing shade on the handsome face of actor Steve McQueen, but the brand’s new PO3091SM ($310) harks back even further. Its round polarized lenses and acetate frame evoke the 1920s. Not for the faint of heart, perhaps, but when every other gent is angling to look like a Kennedy, why not strike a different note and aim for Stravinsky?
And JFK brings us right back to those wayfarers. The news from Ray-Ban on that front: unconventional materials, from denim to velvet. The shape remains essentially the same, but Ray-Ban riffs on the classic constructs.
I’d likely go with leather ($300), a luxe twist on the original and a chance to make a real spectacle, yourself.