Aviators

Hi guys,

First time poster, long time lurker. I'm at that late-20s age at which one's taste begins to mature, and find myself wearing less SuperDry and more Sunspel. As such, my Oakley A-Wire shades and even my blue-lens Revos are beginning to look a little out of place on me and so I'm feeling a pull towards some classic-but-still-cool aviators.

I'm open to suggestions, but I'm thinking Ray Ban are the way to go for a few reasons:

1. I'm thinking of prescription lenses so I can also use them for driving and shooting. As a more accessible brand than RE or Tom Ford, I imagine this will be a simpler job with Ray Ban.

2. I live in England. Aviators are, in my opinion, one of the few styles that you can wear in the winter to cope with the low sun without looking like you wish it was still summer.

3. They're something of an icon.

My quandry is this: I do not wear gold. My watch is stainless steel and if I'm wearing a suit I only wear silver cufflinks. But the "classic" Ray Bans are gold framed; if I'm going for the icon thing, then gold frames, rather than the silver I would normally go for, are the way to go. I know, I know- be individual. But I think you guys will know where I'm coming from. I can't afford both at the moment.

Any thoughts?

My post will likely be the antithesis of help, but I own a pair of Oakley 2.0 Square Wire's Polarized (I know, old school) that I love to wear while driving and love them even more for shooting. Why I'm on this forum, beats me, haha.

Why do I love them so much for shooting? The frame over the ears is so incredibly thin, so when I put on my earmuffs over my earplugs, hardly any sound comes in at all. That's not the case when I wear a pair of thicker frames. So in whatever you choose, you might want to think about the frame thickness.

Originally Posted by Stack

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1. I'm thinking of prescription lenses so I can also use them for driving and shooting. As a more accessible brand than RE or Tom Ford, I imagine this will be a simpler job with Ray Ban. My quandry is this: I do not wear gold. My watch is stainless steel and if I'm wearing a suit I only wear silver cufflinks. But the "classic" Ray Bans are gold framed; if I'm going for the icon thing, then gold frames, rather than the silver I would normally go for, are the way to go. I know, I know- be individual. But I think you guys will know where I'm coming from. I can't afford both at the moment.
Sorry to be rude, but do you not know how to use a search engine? 1. Ray Ban makes both the Caravan and the original "teardrop" aviator in chrome, gunmetal, and black...
2. There's no reason that you can't wear gold frames with a stainless steel watch. 3. Randolph frames can take prescriptions lenses too. 4. Out of curiousity, what makes RE less accessible? At around $100 MSRP, the Randolph aviators are cheaper than Ray Bans.

Originally Posted by jrd617

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Sorry to be rude, but do you not know how to use a search engine?

I do indeed. It looks like I gave the impression that I was asking if Ray Ban offer any frames other than gold. I am aware that they do offer other colours (I used a search engine), I was really asking for opinions on whether anyone holds the classic gold frames in high enough regard to advise me to break my 'no-gold' rule. I hope that's more clear now. Apologies for the confusion, I was typing while at work and was supposed to be doing something else!

I was also wondering:

Originally Posted by jrd617

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2. There's no reason that you can't wear gold frames with a stainless steel watch.

That is the kind of opinion I'm looking for. Thank you.


3. Randolph frames can take prescriptions lenses too.

4. Out of curiousity, what makes RE less accessible? At around $100 MSRP, the Randolph aviators are cheaper than Ray Bans.[/quote]

I've never seen them here in the UK, so unless anyone can point me in the direction of a supplying optician in the Wiltshire/Hampshire area, I wouldn't be able to try them on.

On this, I've read that Randolph are a better product, despite the lower cost, but that seemed to be opinion and not based on much other that the fact that the military use them. Any thoughts on this?

Many thanks

From my experience, if Ray Ban Caravan 3136 looks good on you, then RE/AOOP will look good on you too. The RB 3136 was a tad small for my face, so I went for the AO Original Pilot in size 57.