High Adventures in the Great Outdoors
Rock and Roll and Sunglasses, Pared Eyewear
Putting on a set of sunglasses can transform your whole look or as good ole Mulholland Man put it ever so eloquently, “when I put my sunglasses on, I am Jack Nicholson, without them, I am fat and sixty.”
If you think about it, glasses have a long history within the confines of music, specifically rock’n roll. Buddy Holly’s trademark thick framed glasses were so iconic that German punk band Die Ärzte dedicated a song not to the man but the frames.
Roy Orbison is another godfather of rock and roll who singlehandedly made Ray Ban Wayfarers effortlessly cool and made them part of his trademark look.
Then there is the cock rock / hair metal era, where some of the main protagonists might not even have gotten recognized if it not have been for the shades that have become part of their costume – think memorable figures like Slash and the rest of Guns ‘n’ Roses.
The swingin’ sixties had its own trademark glasses and the etymology of the phrase “viewing the world through rose coloured glasses” might be traced back to Janis Joplin and John Lennon, the latter of which suffered from poor vision so it might have been less of an aesthetic choice.
Then there’s icon like Elvis Presley who had a distinctive appearance throughout all ups and down of their career yet still coined their own glasses genre simple by association.
I like different kinds of sunglasses and would like to think that there’s ones for every occasion. An interesting entity I have come across is Pared Eyewear, which is quite a telling name as their credo is not only to refine and put focus on subtlety but a play on “pair” as they are all about collaborations with other Australian designers, be it withing the confines of glasses and fashion or areas as diverse as music, jewellery and art.
Pared releases two collections , which are highly anticipated down under as their trademark style based on clean lines with signature details has established itself on the firmament of connoisseurs.
Now, travelling a lot when pandemics permit, I have owned a large variety of glasses, bought on different continents and no matter how much I love some of them, most eventually broke as they looked cool but were essentially of the flimsy kind. Needless to say, I have come to appreciate a brad where the eyewear components are chosen with a long life span in mind.
Enter Pared Eyewear, which was recommend to me by a lady friend as she loves their creations so much that she has taken to have their sunglasses frames scripted for her optical lenses.
What I like about Pared’s frames is that they are handmade and use high quality 6mm acetates, sourced from long established suppliers. The advantages of using acetates are obvious as they are not only lightweight, hypo allergenic and flexible but also allow to be infused with vibrant pigments to enhance their looks.
Given that the lenses are both solid, gradient, shatterproof and scratch-resistant and deliver in sun protection department with both UVA and UVB protection as it is much needed on terra australis, I have started to wear them for long runs and find them more comfortable and much cooler looking than “sporty” ones.
The fact that Pared’s unisex range offer a glamourous edge that most cookie-cutter formula frames lack, adds a dimension of fun, which can be become a tad annoying when your partner starts enjoying your pairs more than her own.
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