Essential || Sunglasses

The aviator.  It’s understood throughout the world that the aviator is the most defining piece in sunglass technology, used throughout the armed forces of the world as well as on nearly every part of the world that is blessed with sunshine.  The web over the past couple years has been buzzing about Randolph Engineering sunglasses.  A relatively affordable brand that makes extremely quality sunglasses (far better than Lenscrafter owned Ray Ban), licensed for the U.S. Military, worn by Don Draper.  So good, in fact, that I bought myself a pair, wore it around Europe, and then subsequently lost it very recently.

Then, I found American Optical.  The company finds its roots in 1826 where it then flourished over the next century to become one of the main suppliers of the U.S. Military’s optical equipment from gun sights to flight goggles.  In 1958, Flight Goggle 58 became the Original Pilot that I purchased a few weeks ago.  Still manufactured in Massachusetts, the gold pair goes for an easy $50 on Amazon, a ridiculous price for a pair identical to the Randolph Engineering pair and far exceeding the quality of other aviators on the market today.  I personally opted for the ‘comfort cable’ temples, which gives me a more secure fit to my face than the ‘bayonet’ temples.  It doesn’t get more classic than this.