Vintage Lovers... Don't Miss This One!

Yes, that's me modeling...ha ha...stop laughing!

It's been awhile since I've truly flipped out over a "new haunt." Well, I found it! After searching tirelessly for the perfect pair of distance eyeglasses, I was referred to RetroSpecs in San Francisco. Why hadn't I heard about this shop? Perhaps because they've only been in San Francisco for a little over a year.

RetroSpecs & Co. began as a one-man show in 1992. Jay Owens leased a Fleetwood Jamboree and hit the road in search of 1/10th 12k gold-filled American manufactured eyeglasses that he believed he could restore and resell in the antique world. Fast forward to today, teamed up with Marya Francis, their 46 person company offers the most amazing antique/vintage one-of-a-kind, and custom eyeglass designs to an international market.

The San Francisco shop has the most magnificent safe that houses their amazing, carefully edited "museum collection" of glasses that date from the late 19th century to the 1980s. What does "museum" mean? It means there are five or fewer known to exist worldwide. They are in mint condition, and many are unused old store stock. There are hundreds to choose from!

Glasses aficionado, "rockstar" Nita, opened that safe, and let me model some of the most wonderful glasses. Here are a few of my favorites...

1950s Bausch & Lomb "Outdoorsman" Aviator

1960s RayBan "Bewitching" Sunglasses (black with embellishments, carvings and rhinestones)

One of my favorites... c. 1950s West German Cat-Eyes

1950s Bay State Optical Gold-Filled Sunglasses

1960s French Rhinestone Cat-Eye Sunglasses

Now, back to reality. I found my dream pair. Exactly what I wanted. A pair that I could wear daily, and that would look dressy enough for a formal occasion.

These glasses are replicas of the 1938, American Optical, The New Mont Full Frame Ful-View.

They are 12 carat gold-filled with finely detailed filigree on the frame bridge and temples. The nose pads are gold-filled.

RetroSpecs knowledgeable staff takes time to measure every aspect of the glasses, from the bridge to the lenses, to get you the perfect fit. I'm anxiously awaiting my new fancy pair of custom eyeglasses! And, my photos don't show the entire shop that has literally hundreds of varieties of yellow and gold-filled frames, as well as anything and everything that you can imagine!

RetroSpecs staff of 46 craftsmen, highly skilled in the lost arts of frame shaping, precision lens drill mounting and frame polishing, produce, distribute and restore over 30,000 early and late modern 20th century eyeglass frames each year. Each antique frame that enters the restoration facility goes through an extensive process before receiving a registration number approving the frame for sale.

There are RetroSpec shops in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seoul, Korea, as well as online vendors that carry their products. Or, please, do yourself a favor and visit their website RetroSpecs to see just a sampling of their stock, as well as the many locations that carry their products.

Thanks all for tagging along with me. It was such a fun discovery!