When I start to think about a new menswear purchase I tend to spend a lot of time planning, pondering, and researching. This surely comes as no surprise, given that I have been having most of those thoughts out loud on this website for over eleven (!) years. But eyewear is hard to plan like that – sometimes you put a pair on your face and immediately realize that this is now your look. There is a bit of serendipity to the process that can’t be analyzed or scrutinized, and that was the exactly case with the Moscot Dahven.
After a rough stretch of bad eyewear luck I recently found myself without a go-to pair of sunglasses. And given how pale my eyes are, sunglasses are a necessity for me to function out of the house. So with a immediate need for UV protection I set out to visit some of my favorite eyewear brands, and after visiting the Moscot store I called the hunt off early – these shades have been a near-permanent fixture on my face ever since.
About Moscot
Moscot is a rather unique eyewear company in that it is both a heritage brand with a century-old history and also is not a part of the Luxottica Group. Many of the independent brands that haven’t been bought up by Luxottica are relatively new to the eyewear scene, so Moscot is one of the few remaining originals that is still independently run (American Optical and Randolph also come to mind, though I’m sure there are a handful more). The brand is known for its New York style and heritage, and many of their historic frame designs are still available in their “originals” section.
Dahven Design
When I think of Moscot, I think of frames that have a bit more visual heft than what you might find at other American eyewear brands. Their iconic Lemtosh definitely has P3-style DNA with its round lenses and keyhole bridge, but it has a lot more presence than something like the Oliver Peoples O’Malley. The Dahven follows suit and features a thick, squared-off acetate that creates a bold appearance.
To be frank, there’s not a lot of elegance or refinement to these frames – the shape is thick and blocky, without any significant contours or detailing. They basically look like a chunky frame punched out of a sheet of acetate without much else done to dress them up. But to me, the cool factor is undeniable – they’re great because they’re not refined or sophisticated. They’re a little sleazy, a little blunt, and a little endearing for that reason.
One of my favorite features of the Dahven sunglasses is the chestnut brown fade lenses (part of Moscot’s “custom made tints” collection, though I am unclear on what makes them custom). On paper I don’t think I ever would have picked chestnut brown lenses to go with the olive oil-colored frames, but the combination is undeniably great when you see them together. The fact that you can still see the wearer’s eyes through them adds to the sleaze factor and also has the added benefit of making them great for situations where you’re going in and out of sunlight. While they’re not dark enough to be ideal for bright direct sun, they’re good for cloudy days (of which San Francisco has many) or when you’re indoors but want to look like you’re hungover.
The Dahven comes in two sizes – 44mm and 47mm – and I have the 44mm here. I have a narrow face so generally err towards smaller lenses, but it’s worth noting that these have more visual presence than the 44mm measurement might suggest due to the thickness of the frames themselves. I would recommend trying the 44mm first and sizing up if necessary.
Materials and Construction
The frames are made with a chunky Italian acetate and feature 5-barrel hinges with engraved filigree on the temples. The lenses are CR-39 plastic, and unpolarized.
For comparison, I find the materials and finishing quality of Moscot to be below Garrett Leight, another personal favorite brand and also an independent company that is around the same price. While Garrett Leight does feel like an elevated product with excellent details and a high degree of detail, Moscot frames feel more mass-market to me and there isn’t as much that immediately separates them from the many entry-level eyewear brands on the market now (aside from the company pedigree).
With all that said, Garrett Leight doesn’t have anything on the shelf right now that really speaks to me; I’ve been wearing slim keyhole frames for over a decade and was ready to try something new. So what the Dahven may lack in detailing and unique materials, it makes up for with charisma.
In short, Moscot frames do feel a bit too expensive to me. For a mass-produced product made in Asia from fairly standard materials, I would feel much better if they were in the $200-300 range instead of $300-400. But the price is what it is, and it was a price I was happy to pay to feel as cool as these frames make me look. The quality of the construction and materials is only part of the story – the design has to be good, too, and that’s where the Dahven excels. And if you do plan to grab a pair, don’t forget about that 10% off for signing up to the email list to take the sting out of the purchase.
Other Bold Eyewear
I would be remiss if I wrote a full article on bold sunglasses without mentioning Jacques Marie Mage, the darling of the statement eyewear world. Their frames are handsome, daring, and blisteringly expensive. Eyewear is important enough to me that I would consider buying a pair, but the limited-edition nature of the product (along with the limited brick and mortar presence) makes them hard to track down and try on. I just can’t justify dropping that much money on eyewear without trying a bunch on first, and I would hit my credit card limit long before I could make that happen. So for now, JMM frames will be appreciated from a distance – and they also have the side effect of making the price of Moscots seem much more palpable.
Conclusion
It’s difficult to give specific eyewear advice because the style is so personal. Like fragrances, the best I can do is nudge people towards what has worked for me and encourage them to experiment. The Dahven is a great example of that serendipity – not something I ever would have picked from an online catalog, but an immediate favorite in person. If you have the opportunity to stop by a Moscot store, I encourage you to try them on – they might just add the perfect amount of sleaze to your style.
