Favourite sunglasses brands?

I'm finding most brands are owned by Luxottica which is overpriced garbage.

I like B&L Ray Bans but it's hard to find vintage in good condition much of the time.

What other vintage/used and new brands do you like? Avoiding cheap crap hopefully.

Anything Japanese?

Randolph Engineering are my every day glasses. I've been wearing them more than 35 years. You used to be able to buy these at the Base Exchange for $13.50. A pair today will cost you $214.

Persol is my second favorite, but I haven't liked many of their recent styles. Tom Ford is another I like but I sold them after receiving them because they had plastic lenses. Serengeti makes many styles with glass lenses that I like and have a pair of those too.

The Persols I have don't see much nose time as I only wear those when dressing up. The other pair I had I really liked but unfortunately I lost them after a couple of years and they are no longer made. Finding a pair on eBay is nearly impossible and fetch up to $400 if they surface.

Randolphs appear to be the brand for aviators, certainly.

Persols I'm avoiding due to the Luxottica ownership.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...o-with-your-jackets.98186/page-8#post-2699240

This thread is a good sunglasses thread. I and others have posted many photos here.

Personally I am a huge Bausch & Lomb Ray-Ban fan , the classics made in Rochester new York. I have a massive collection.
I have been a B&L fan for 40+ years since my first pair of Balorama bought in Spain on holiday (from Scotland) early 80's.
I have ben actively collecting , used and NOS for over 20 years , still do. I have 2 ladies pair en route , both early 90's.
I have bought several pair out of the UK over the years and had them posted to Australia.
Just takes time and persistence I suppose

I also have a few "vintage" Persol , both in the daily wearer roster , and in the "collection". Pre Luxottica.

Here in Australia , sunglasses are a must or a "need" , not so much a want.

Lit Up said:

I'm finding most brands are owned by Luxottica which is overpriced garbage.

I like B&L Ray Bans but it's hard to find vintage in good condition much of the time.

What other vintage/used and new brands do you like? Avoiding cheap crap hopefully.

Anything Japanese?

Click to expand...

Kaneko optical
http://www.kaneko-optical.co.jp/en/company/stores/optical.html
HAKUSAN MEGANE
[URL]http://hakusan-megane.co.jp/[/URL]
Masunaga
https://www.masunaga1905.com/en

Effector
http://www.effector-eyewear.com/

TVR
http://www.tvropt.com/products/

Matsuda
https://www.matsuda.com/pages/shop

Bros Japan
https://www.bros-japan.co.jp/en/product/

Love my Randolphs as well. Recently got a pair of Garret Leight Wavecrest and the quality is outstanding!

I went through a hpase in my early middle thirties of wearing second hand B&L Ray Bans I picked up on eBay. Experimented with various types as a kid, realsied quickly I didn't like aviators, so the only Ray Bans I bought were Wayfarers and Clubmasters. Wayfarers are nice fo casual contexts, Clubmasters with suits. I always wore them with contacts (wearing glasses all the time was the reason I never owned a pair of anything but the cheapest sunglasses from the age of about thirteen, though from sixteen onwards most of my glasses have had photochromic lenses, so the suglasses weren't necessary). Then I got glasses I actually liked, and I've not worn sunglasses since. I'll probably sell my RayBans at some point - those and I also have a pair of RAF aviators, the only style I like, with the really round lenses, notg the teardrop style.

I do have one pair of prescription sunglasses at present - very close to the RAF aviator style - and another pair of glasses with transitions (as well as a pair with clear lenses). Going forward, I don't tink I'll change that much with this approach. I'd rather buy a decent pair of prescription frames and have my own lenses tinted than bother with contacts and shades again.

I like and own several by Tom Ford. His sense of style is right up my alley. Although I experiment with other more unique brands as well:
Cazal
Sunnei
Dita
Randolph Engineering
AO Eyewear
Kaenon

Didn't 60 Minutes do a piece on the weird world of sunglass business?

I'm pretty certain they did in the past.