Earlier this year, I decided to start the process of making some bespoke sunglasses with Maison Bonnet. I’ve had my optical glasses from them for six years now, and they’ve certainly proven their worth – they’re the best made and most comfortable glasses I’ve ever had. (See here for those I’ve tried.)
Just as importantly, I haven’t lost a pair of sunglasses for a couple of years at least. Like umbrellas, sunglasses are an easy thing to lose and doing so is an understandable reason not to spend as much money on them.
Although, interestingly, I’ve found a clear correlation over the years between the value I place on such items (often, but not always, connected to the price) and the amount I lose them. I’ve lost several umbrellas, but never the silver one Michel Heurtault made me. I’ve lost one pair of expensive sunglasses from Meyrowitz, but two or more cheaper pairs.
Maison Bonnet frames are expensive, and sunglasses more so for me personally – I have a handful of pairs, so they won’t be the only ones worn. But €1700 doesn’t seem that much compared to the price of other luxury things these days.
And, like the recent article on fellow Parisians Chapal, I know what I’m getting – there’s very little uncertainty in terms of the product, the quality or the service, and how much I’ll value those things over time.
In fact, it was that service that put the idea in my head in the first place. I was in Paris and popped into the Bonnet shop to have them look at the fit of my optical frames – they had loosened slightly, and perhaps got slightly squashed at one point.
During that visit, waiting for the acetate to be heated up and tried on, heated up and tried on, my attention was inevitably caught by the other frames on display. I began zeroing in on a few designs of sunglasses, ones with a seventies-style take on an aviator.
The three below were my favourites, the variation between them largely being in the straightness of the top line and the squareness of the frame elsewhere.
Now, I’ve written before about how crucial good advice is in the buying of glasses – and how much that can be lacking in high-street shops or big brands. It’s something you should pay for, much more important than the type of acetate or the finish of the hinges.
With sunglasses, you’d think this design advice would be less important, as the tinted lenses mean there’s much more freedom in terms of how the frame interacts with the rest of your face. (At the very least, the position of the eye within the lens is less of a factor.)
But, this freedom can also be dangerous. It’s easy to go for something too dramatic, or to not consider the shape of your face at all. The advice shifts somewhat from following your brow line and your cheek bones to ideas of personal style, but it’s still very relevant.
Maison Bonnet is equally good at this kind of advice, I find – and not sparing with it either. In a way I find tempted to call typically French, the wonderful staff in Paris will certainly (gently) tell you whether they think the frame suits you or not.
In my case, of those three pictured options, the central one was definitely the best. Subtler than the bottom one but with a little more style than the top, it had that seventies feel but with the volume turned down a notch.
I love the Bonnet shop, by the way. It’s so unassuming, just a little place near to the Palais Royale with hardly any signage. You can imagine Yves Saint Laurent popping in here on a lunch break to have a quick repair done.
The staff are also always friendly but efficient, with a mix of ages and styles. One morning I saw my friend Morgane, the communications manager, arrive in a glamorous coat with an armful of flowers, only to be quickly followed by a younger member of staff carrying in their skateboard.
When I went in to commission my sunglasses, several other pairs were pulled out that were similar to the ones I liked, and we tried on a fair few, inside and outside (see below). That was helpful to give context to the design, but also to compare different widths and depths.
My experience is that it can be dangerous to change a design, because even a millimetre can make a difference with something worn on the face, and the design is classic for a reason.
I was also tempted to do something more interesting with the arms (eg make them wider) but the sensible advice was that wouldn’t be in keeping with the thickness of the frame elsewhere.
I received the final glasses last month, and I’m very pleased with them – beautifully made of course, but also with the kind of subtle style I was after.
They’re definitely of a particular era, and that era is popular right now, but it’s also a look that has come around again and again: the design (HF-19) was first produced by Bonnet in the 1960s, was worn by Jacques Chirac in the 1990s, and is the model Franck Bonnet made for himself recently (in tortoiseshell) for his birthday.
So rather like the low double-breasted suits we discussed on Wednesday, the style has basically been coming around ever 30 years or so.
Interestingly, the one thing I decided to change was the tint on the lenses. I was a little concerned that the glasses looked a little blocky, being relatively flat and dark. The kind of light tints a lot of people wear these days wouldn’t be for me – too unusual, too fashionable – but it was because of their popularity that I thought about the tint.
We decided to reduce it from 85% to 75%, and I think it made a difference, albeit again a subtle one. My wife even remarked that it’s nice to see my eyes a little when I’m wearing them – nicer to talk to someone that way – which is something I hadn’t considered.
Of course, tints are there to protect your eyes and allow the sunglasses to function, so this is the primary driver – but I know what works for me in that regard, and tested the lighter tint outside before confirming it.
Also, lenses are an easy thing to change on regular non-prescription sunglasses, so I can try other tints in the future quite easily – especially with the kind of good advice you get from Bonnet as well of course…
Clothes shown:
Bespoke sunglasses at Maison Bonnet vary in price depending on design and material; these cost €1700.
