The Bespoke Glasses I'll Wear Till The End

"I've been wearing glasses since college. I've had vintage pairs here and there, but a few years ago I heard about Maison Bonnet in Paris, which makes bespoke eyeglasses. They've done glasses for Saint Laurent, Le Corbusier, I. M. Peiyou know, famous glasses wearers. The idea of having a pair of glasses that was uniquely mine became really appealing. It's a significant investment, but I wear them every day, so it felt worth it."

"Glasses define your visual presentation. It's often what people see first, you know? So I made an appointment with Steven Bonnet, who's the fourth generation of the family, and met with him at the shop at the Palais Royal. He looked at my facescrutinized itas we talked. It's a funny process. Although having someone stare at you intently like that is a luxury, it's also somewhat off-putting. But he was gentle and lovely."

"A few months later, I went in for my fitting. You go into this subterranean workshop where they're cutting acetate and firing and melting. You sit with them and they shift this and play with that until it fits perfectly. The stems of my glasses are the same as on Le Corbusier's glasses. And the frame was adapted to my facial structure, like rounding out the eye shape. They even engraved a B on the inside of the stem for me."

I've worn glasses since college and owned vintage pairs. I discovered Maison Bonnet in Paris and pursued a bespoke pair because the idea of uniquely mine glasses appealed. I met Steven Bonnet at the Palais Royal shop; he examined my face, tried frames, made modifications, and drew a frame. Months later I visited the subterranean workshop for a fitting where artisans cut acetate, fired and melted materials, and adjusted the frame until it fit perfectly. The stems match Le Corbusier's, and the frame was adapted to my facial structure with a rounded eye shape and an engraved B inside the stem. I plan to keep this distinctive shape indefinitely.

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