You know her as Grams, Bubby, Nana.
Keeper of secret recipes; provider of candy; unassuming shark at any family card-game.
Also: the inspiration for your newest pair of shades.
At least if you talk to the optics dons at Arts Disctrict-based Saint Rita Parlor, now hucking heirloom-worthy specs online or in the flesh at nearby design emporium Hammer and Spear.
Helmed by Neil Bardon (designed merch for Wu-Tang; consulted for Contego Eyewear), SRP’s throwback designs pay tribute to Bardon’s grandmother, Rita.
Made in LA from Italian acetate and sporting high-abrasion lenses, these boxy shades are built to last.
Note the brass coin on each frame’s temple: it’s imprinted with a likeness of Rita’s senior-year picture – an allusion to Bardon’s memories of trading coins with his grandmother.
And every pair comes in a handmade leather case with a cotton paisley lens cloth that can double as a pocket square or hanky.
Our favorites:
The 2110, in rose, because Saint Rita – and Bardon’s grandmother – were known for rose gardens. These solars come with an extra dark lens for those Cali sunsets.
The 602 is a plastic-framed aviator that preserves the metal bridge.
Pearl is a color good for necklaces, handguns and these: the 1308.
Now be a good boy, and grab a pair.
Nota bene: Buy online or at Hammer & Spear.
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