So the sun has finally got his hat on and you’ve got yourself some nice suede or canvas shoes, a nice light sock, some cotton trousers or maybe even a nice pair of shorts and all topped off with polo shirt and a light jacket, lets say one of those impeccable new Baracuta G-9s from WP Lavori. But what’s missing? A bucket hat? A picnic friendly bag? Perhaps but what I’m talking about here are a pair of must-have sunglasses, shades, dark gigs you dig? When it comes to looking cool it’s hard to beat a well made pair of shades, it also helps if you’re from New York, which conveniently happens to be the home of the finest sunglasses brand in the world. Arriving from Eastern Europe in 1899 Great-grandfather Hyman Moscot started out with a pushcart selling ready-made spectacles on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. By 1925 they had their first shop on Rivington Street before moving back to Hyman’s old stomping ground on Orchard Street in 1936 where this wonderful family business remains to this day. Though they now have stores on Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue and Cobble Hill in Brooklyn they have retained their approachable, local, friendly optician vibe. Which is no mean feat when you can see their various models being sported by everyone from P.Diddy and Johnny Depp to Lady GaGa and Charlize Theron. In fact super-snapper Terry Richardson even has his own instantly recognisable pair of frames known simply as the ‘Terry’.
Moscot’s frames are divided into three categories the ‘Sun’ collection features a variety of bold and eclectic designs from their 1970 – 1990 archive, whilst the ‘Spirit’ collection carries a distinctive yet subtle array of glasses all of which are available in a New York scale of options, regarding size, prescription/non-prescription lens and colours. However my personal favourite is the Moscot ‘Originals‘ range which features some eye-catching designs from their 1930 to 1970 archive and using beautiful old school colours first used by the company in the forties. The list of names of these fabulous frames read like a role-call of neighbourhood characters and Moscot family members; Lemtosh, Zev, Yukel, Pushkin, Miltzen, Lemtosh, Bella, Mazel and Morris.
After much deliberation I’ve gone for a pair of black Nebb for my UV protection and also to instantly make myself a whole lot cooler of course. The thing that really sold it for me wasn’t the photo of Forrest Whitaker wearing a pair but the Moscot site description that read: The NEBB is chunky, rectangular, raw, aggressive and in your face — just like a real New Yorker. How can you not love a pair of glasses with that come with that description?
Just like putting on a pair of Selvedge jeans, a cashmere jumper or a super functional jacket, when you take them out of their exquisite packaging and put a pair of Moscots on, you know that you’ve just made a lifelong partnership between your face and a pair of very, very cool glasses. So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself acquainted with the Moscot family and their famous frames HERE.
