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Jacques Marie Mage - Wolves, Obnoxious Acetate and The American Dream

WBaker

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JMM collections
AddText_12-01-08.31.18.jpg
 

FlyingHorker

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@fmvazquez They look fine on you. Personally, I would pass on them.

I've never been a fan of the Molino, and you've already filled similar looking niches.
 

Thin White Duke

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Here my dilemma!
(Dealan AS Hickory missing)

View attachment 1862991
This is a nice collection - obviously a lot of overlap / repetition but if that’s your jam go for it.

Here’s a point that might be worthy of some discussion as it floats through my mind from time to time:

For those of us who enjoy some sort of luxury item - in this case our obsession with good quality but ridiculously overpriced sunglasses - have you achieved a happy medium between on one hand wanting ‘the world’ to know that your glasses were costly and aren’t run of the mill shades from the barrow in the mall while on the other not being that obnoxious flash twit festooned in logos?

I recently did a blog post which included being sat next to Hill Harper on a flight. He had on a polo shirt and jeans but something about his rig just quietly spoke of wealth and taste - without a logo in sight. Contrast that against an erstwhile board member Hermes Man who went to buy some Gucci **** in Singapore and said that he went early in the morning so he could spend the rest of the day wandering around the mall with the Hermes shop bag so everyone would know how rich he is to be able to afford something from there.

I’m sure none of us want to be “that guy” constantly banging on about how expensive his stuff is, but seeing as my JMM taste leans to the conservative like many in this picture, I have to admit that there’s a part of me that thinks - if I spent $600 to $1200 (LFs) on my shades I don’t want people thinking these are just ordinary RayBans. (“Glasses for the masses”’as a JMM SA once called them - I refer to Ray Bans as my gateway drug!)

Maybe this is why I like conservative frames but also like exposed and engraved wiring to set them apart. The collection in this picture would all fit within my own taste but if I owned all those there’s a part of me that would be slightly uneasy at the thought that I had a collection worth thousands but 99 percent of the public wouldn’t even be able to tell them from $50 RB knock offs.

I’m fully aware that good taste is in many ways its own reward. I have plenty of nice stuff like suits, shoes, watches etc and don’t agonise about what Joe Public thinks of me - just curious how the other JMM cult members think about this.
 
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FlyingHorker

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Well-thought-out post TWD. I don't know if I've achieved that happy medium of broadcasting my frame quality to the world, but it's a bonus.

For me, my first pair was a pair of all black Dealans. Today, I'd ideally want the wirecore exposed on the outside, but I'm ok with what I have.

My 2nd pair is Schindlers with sharp angles and bolder acetate towards the upper edge of the frame.

For me, JMM nails the shape and silhouette and fit for me, the thick build and detailing is the icing on the cake.

I do enjoy the "stealth flex" aspect of JMMs. This can relate to this post by Simon Crompton. I think JMM has enough variety that their frames can be flashy or fuddy(conservative).

 

d4nimal

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I dunno if this makes sense, but I generally have a level of visual impact I’m trying to achieve, at the risk of sounding like J Evans Pritchard scoring poetry or that I’m actively counting numbers (it’s more a general feeling than anything). This takes into account the shape of the frame (a Kobo or Edie or something is automatically a lot more than a Molino), hardware exposed vs. hidden, lens color, frame color, etc. So for some things I think the exposed hardware plus the frame shape and what I’m trying to wear with it etc. exceeds the amount of extravagance or impact I want the glasses to have on the whole. Other times I think the exposed hardware works great with what I want. I don’t think about it in terms of pure attention or status or whatever necessarily as much as a balance issue.
 

garigo

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I have to say, especially with accessories such as glasses and watches, my attitude has changed a bit lately. Whenever I consider a new purchase, I ask myself: is there any situation in which I would prefer it over something I already own? Most of the time the answer is just no, therefore I know I wouldn't get a lot of use out of the new item.

Of course your attitude might be different, and probably this means I'm not really a collector, but I feel like my three pairs of JMMs already give me plenty of variation in color and shapes.
 

hendrix

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This is a nice collection - obviously a lot of overlap / repetition but if that’s your jam go for it.

Here’s a point that might be worthy of some discussion as it floats through my mind from time to time:

For those of us who enjoy some sort of luxury item - in this case our obsession with good quality but ridiculously overpriced sunglasses - have you achieved a happy medium between on one hand wanting ‘the world’ to know that your glasses were costly and aren’t run of the mill shades from the barrow in the mall while on the other not being that obnoxious flash twit festooned in logos?

I recently did a blog post which included being sat next to Hill Harper on a flight. He had on a polo shirt and jeans but something about his rig just quietly spoke of wealth and taste - without a logo in sight. Contrast that against an erstwhile board member Hermes Man who went to buy some Gucci **** in Singapore and said that he went early in the morning so he could spend the rest of the day wandering around the mall with the Hermes shop bag so everyone would know how rich he is to be able to afford something from there.

I’m sure none of us want to be “that guy” constantly banging on about how expensive his stuff is, but seeing as my JMM taste leans to the conservative like many in this picture, I have to admit that there’s a part of me that thinks - if I spent $600 to $1200 (LFs) on my shades I don’t want people thinking these are just ordinary RayBans. (“Glasses for the masses”’as a JMM SA once called them - I refer to Ray Bans as my gateway drug!)

Maybe this is why I like conservative frames but also like exposed and engraved wiring to set them apart. The collection in this picture would all fit within my own taste but if I owned all those there’s a part of me that would be slightly uneasy at the thought that I had a collection worth thousands but 99 percent of the public wouldn’t even be able to tell them from $50 RB knock offs.

I’m fully aware that good taste is in many ways its own reward. I have plenty of nice stuff like suits, shoes, watches etc and don’t agonise about what Joe Public thinks of me - just curious how the other JMM cult members think about this.

Interesting thoughts. I think taste is status, to some extent. I hate that too but it's hard to escape.
 

ijgood123

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Anyone here have their sunglasses held up by US customs? I purchased from a vendor in the EU and was informed by DHL that the item was on hold, pending the provision of quite a bit of information. Apparently, sunnies, even nonprescription, are considered medical devices by the FDA.

I'm not optimistic at this stage, as the vendor needs to provide much of the information and documents. If the info is not provided, the item will be returned to sender. I've successfully purchased three times from overseas without incident.
 

Thin White Duke

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I have to say, especially with accessories such as glasses and watches, my attitude has changed a bit lately. Whenever I consider a new purchase, I ask myself: is there any situation in which I would prefer it over something I already own? Most of the time the answer is just no, therefore I know I wouldn't get a lot of use out of the new item.

Of course your attitude might be different, and probably this means I'm not really a collector, but I feel like my three pairs of JMMs already give me plenty of variation in color and shapes.
Nothing wrong with a tightly curated collection if it meets all your needs.

Looking at my recent purchases and trying to explain (self-justify?) them - I usually only get suited up when I’m visiting a job site and i’ve been WFH more lately the last few years so expenditure on threads has slowed down, but I never leave the house without a watch and shades so money not spent on suits / jackets / shirts / shoes has transferred to the accessories budget!

Famous last words but I can’t think of anything I NEED right now and not much that I want either so I’m going to see how far I can last though next year without succumbing to temptation.

There used to be a fella post on CM inviting us to join the No Purchase Club for a month - I could do with him coming back!
 

Thin White Duke

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Anyone here have their sunglasses held up by US customs? I purchased from a vendor in the EU and was informed by DHL that the item was on hold, pending the provision of quite a bit of information. Apparently, sunnies, even nonprescription, are considered medical devices by the FDA.

I'm not optimistic at this stage, as the vendor needs to provide much of the information and documents. If the info is not provided, the item will be returned to sender. I've successfully purchased three times from overseas without incident.

Not held up but I bought a pair of Mason and Sons Yvan sunglasses from England as worn by Michael Caine in the Harry Palmer films. This was pre JMM but I thought they fit me huge so I sent them back. The fella at Masons even admitted they were large and due to a lot of returns wished they’d made them in a smaller size. Anyway along with having to eat the cost of shipping both ways I was hit with an import duties bill. I provided evidence that I’d sent them back then after a clear out destroyed the documents. Months later I was hit with a duty bill again and they kept coming at me over and over and sent it to collections. It took me two years to finally (hopefully) clear this so if that happens to anyone DO NOT destroy your evidence that you shipped them back.
 

Easily Amused

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Anyone here have their sunglasses held up by US customs? I purchased from a vendor in the EU and was informed by DHL that the item was on hold, pending the provision of quite a bit of information. Apparently, sunnies, even nonprescription, are considered medical devices by the FDA.

I'm not optimistic at this stage, as the vendor needs to provide much of the information and documents. If the info is not provided, the item will be returned to sender. I've successfully purchased three times from overseas without incident.

I've purchased a bunch of times from UK and Italy dealers, this happened to me only once. I contacted and sent all customs notices/links/emails to the vendor, Seen Opticians. They took care of it within a day, no extra fees on my part. The vendor should have the documents that are required.
 

ijgood123

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I've purchased a bunch of times from UK and Italy dealers, this happened to me only once. I contacted and sent all customs notices/links/emails to the vendor, Seen Opticians. They took care of it within a day, no extra fees on my part. The vendor should have the documents that are required.
Thanks, good to hear these things can be worked out.
 

Colrais

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Received my various Black Friday wares today - in need of opinions!

First up - Molino 55 in juniper. Thinking of using them as opticals.
Screenshot 2022-12-02 at 2.01.07 AM.png


Prudhon in flash. Really pretty, delicate glasses but thinking the lenses are too small and the relative thickness of the acetate emphasizes that... trying to decide between these and the Molinos!
Screenshot 2022-12-02 at 2.02.04 AM.png


Enzos in surplus. Love these. Could see myself using them as sunnies here - and maybe a pair in black/havana as opticals (unlike my Yves). Is that a reasonable thought?
Screenshot 2022-12-02 at 2.02.43 AM.png


A reference pic of Mykita Buds for my usual vibe- they're about the same lens size as the Molinos.
Screenshot 2022-12-02 at 6.43.19 AM.png

The Prudhons and Enzos with their supposedly-wide bridges didn't bother me at all - pretty snug fits (Prudhons maybe a little too snug). I love the idea of juniper as an off-color transparency for an optical. But Prudhon is so pretty! But maybe an Enzo optical works better than Prudhon?

I'd like to eliminate one (maybe two) of these three and need your help!

As an aside, I'm quite unhappy with the fit of my Torinos, having compared with all of these. They keep slipping off my ears if I even look down! It's a shame, they're such a lovely pair otherwise.
 
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fmvazquez

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Received my various Black Friday wares today - in need of opinions!

First up - Molino 55 in juniper. Thinking of using them as opticals.
View attachment 1863333

Prudhon in flash. Really pretty, delicate glasses but thinking the lenses are too small and the thickness of the acetate (relative to normal brands) emphasizes that smallness... trying to decide between these and the Molinos!
View attachment 1863335

Enzos in surplus. Love these. Could see myself using them as sunnies here - and maybe a pair in black/havana as opticals (unlike my Yves). Is that a reasonable thought?
View attachment 1863337

A reference pic of Mykita Buds for my usual vibe- they're about the same lens size as the Molinos.
View attachment 1863330

Surprisingly, the Prudhons and Enzos with their nominally wide bridges didn't bother me at all - pretty snug fits (Prudhons maybe a little too snug). I love the idea of juniper as an off-color transparency for an optical. But Prudhon is so pretty! But maybe an Enzo optical works better than Prudhon?

I'm keen on eliminating at least one of these three (two if you guys can argue for it) and need your help!

As a total aside, I'm quite unhappy with the fit of my Torinos, having compared with all of these. They keep slipping off my ears if I even look down! It's a shame, they're such a lovely pair otherwise.
The Enzo look great on you! The Molino are also ok. I personally don't like the other two.
 

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