Throwing Shade: Me and Gigi Hadid Go “Matchy Matchy” … Not Really
My sunglasses always seem to come to tragic ends. My Persol 714 “Steve McQueen” series sunglasses? Unceremoniously sat on. My Dita Classe 19009d? Hung on the outside of a carry tote (dumb, I know) and left behind at In-N-Out Burger.
Making matters worse is how difficult it is for me to find sunglasses I like in the first place. Everything I wear inevitably seems to accentuate something I don’t like.
54mm-size frames look gigantic on me, making me look like Trevor Horn from The Buggles, or maybe Jeff Goldblum when he becomes The Fly. “Tiny” 47mm-size frames (like my Retrosuperfuture acetate shades) make me look like something horrible happened to John Lennon; although — at 49mm — my Saint Laurent translucent frames look pretty okay.
Long, tragic story short: I’m insanely picky, and probably just insane, when it comes to finding sunglasses I like.
Some make me look like something horrible happened to John Lennon.
Enter Sicky sunglasses, my latest eyewear acquisition.
I admit, since I’ve been in fashion, I’ve developed a weakness for eyewear from Japan and Italy. Although Italy still reigns supreme in the realm of handmade ready-to-wear, both Japan and Italy are renowned for artisanal eyewear, combining cutting-edge optics with painstaking craftsmanship etc.
I’ve developed a weakness for eyewear from Japan and Italy.
Mainly — after decades of being dirt poor, and going from one pair of $10 mall knockoffs to another, which tend to “spontaneously deconstruct” — my heart beats fast for anything that feels well-made. (See my entry on shoes, and prepare to shriek.)
Tangent alert: I spent the day off at Barneys yesterday, and couldn’t help but feel cheated that these Louboutin Spiked Dandelion Venetian Loafers shout “look at me! I’m fashionable!” … whereas my twice-as-expensive A1923 cordovan ankle boots go mainly unnoticed.
$1,395 – Fashion forward!
$2,200 – Lives on a railroad!
My point (I guess), is how things feel is as important to me as how they look, and maybe moreso. (Although it does help if they look great, too.)
So back to my latest acquisitions, just in time for summer: Sicky CS S10 in matte black (also available in ivory), and the Sicky S1 in coffee gloss.
You may notice that my new “bff” — in terms of two completely unrelated people who now own the same brand of sunglasses, as might happen with Nelson Mandela and Kid Rock, maybe — Gigi Hadid is also a fan of the brand, wearing a number of Sicky models including the aforementioned CS S10s and the Sicky S14 silver mirrored.
Gigi Hadid is also a fan of the brand.
The Hadidster Rocks Sicky
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I’m loving my Sickys. First of all, they indeed look sick. (In the “hip” sense — you know, “dope” — not like when I drive through Burger King and get the “jalapeño chicken fries” and regret it for the rest of the day.)
The CS S10s, handmade in Japan, feature polarized lenses, which is one of my all-time favorite sunglass features when I can get them. My cellphone screen looks green; the LED clock on my car dash flickers spookily; and there isn’t a glare as far as the eye can see. Since I don’t drink or take drugs, polarized lenses are about the closest I get to feeling high. (And that’s a pretty anemic rush, I do realize.)
The S1s, handcrafted in Italy, are framed by some really thick Italian acetate, which is great to hold. I love thick acetate because it’s sort of like wearing a frame made out of non-sticky Jolly Ranchers, creating that weird urge I sometimes get to chew things that feel really great to the touch, like my Guidi-leather M.A+ origami wallet. (TMI?)
Sick Looks
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The brand is the brainchild of John Hildebrand, whose website says: “Our story continues with every individual who joins the SICKY movement, eager to see the world through a different lens. SICKY’s has become a movement lead by tastemakers in art, music and popular culture.”
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With love,
FWO
