It’s early June and the summer is stretching out ahead of us. Time to gear up for camping trips, beach days, rooftop bars, and two years’ worth of summer weddings. And throughout it all, one summer accessory that I’m never without is a good pair of sunglasses – these delicate blue eyes can’t do much without them. I have a small collection of shades and like to add a new pair every couple of years; for this summer, it’s a pair from the good folks at Garrett Leight.
If you’d like an introduction to the Garrett Leight (GLCO) brand, check out my review of their classic “Hampton” lenses here. While it’s hard to call a brand a plucky little startup when the founder’s dad created Oliver Peoples, it still feels like a “boutique” brand in a world of Luxotticas and Warby Parkers. I’ve worn those Hamptons daily for over six years and if they were to break tomorrow I would buy another pair immediately. But fortunately for me, they’re still going strong and are still a joy to wear.
Glencoe Frames Overview
For sunglasses, I wanted something similar to the P3-style of my Hampton opticals but a tad thicker and available in a clear-ish acetate frame. While GLCO does have some sunglasses that fit the bill, most felt too big for me. I have a narrow face and prefer frames on the small side (below 48mm width). While I was at the store trying on sunglasses, the associate gave me a tip and ushered me to the other side of the store – “why not find an optical frame and then just put tinted lenses in?” The Glencoe is exactly that – here are some of the things that made these frames stand out after years of hunting for the right pair:
- 44m lens size – smaller than the typical ~48-50mm that you normally see.
- In the Goldilocks zone between slender and chunky frame thickness.
- Slightly tinted frame color rather than pure “glass” clear.
- Excellent quality, as I have come to expect from GLCO.
The Glencoe frames come in at a hefty $330, though I should note that GLCO has sales more often than they used to. It seems that every six months or so you should be able to score these for around 20% off, and they now have a standing 10% off if you sign up for the email list. I was able to grab these at 20% off and that feels like a reasonable price for them.
Lenses
Since the Glencoe is an optical style, they don’t come with tinted lenses. And while the frames themselves are pricey, getting plain colored lenses from GLCO is mercifully affordable. I got these bottle-green lenses for $30, and installation only took a day at their San Francisco store (sometimes they can do same-day installation, depending on how busy they are). Many other color options were available, though polarized options are more expensive. The affordable price also means that if I get tired of green and want to swap them out for blue, amber, or anything else, I can do it quickly and cheaply. I can definitely see myself trying some other colors down the road and like the option of being able to make these sunglasses feel new again with fresh lenses.
Conclusion
I should note that there are is absolutely no shortage of budget-oriented places to buy glasses. Over the past ten years the eyewear space has been Warby Parker-ified and there’s been a race to the bottom – it seems like every year there is a new player in the game offering glasses for even cheaper. I couldn’t even begin to count how many places exist to buy frames like these under $100. And it’s not an uncommon style either – the P3 design has been very popular over past decade, and translucent acetates have been everywhere for nearly as long. My roundup of “P3-style frames” from seven years ago, while still full of good suggestions, isn’t even close to covering all the options available today.
But while there is no real “need” to spend $300+ on these sorts of frames, I decided to anyway. The differences between these and the other options on the market are subtle, but meaningful to me. The quality and finishing is a bit better, the fit is a bit better, the ordering process is a bit better, and so forth. The differences are small but add up, and to me it’s worth the cost over the competitors. Garrett Leight is a brand that I have had great pleasure in wearing for many years, and given how often I use their products it’s a splurge I’m happy to make every few years.
