My Gear: Vintage Cazal 305s

As a kid I used to watch my father get dressed and zoom in and out of my grandmother’s house on the weekends. He always seemed so poised, so important and he always dressed really cool! He never really wore suits out to wherever he was going but he was neat and hip. He wore short shorts, long socks and expensive gold jewelry. Not too many men could pull that off like my dad. He was “Geechi” running around having fun with rings, bracelets, necklaces and a gold tooth of course. Although that may seem a bit flashy, his jewelry wasn’t his most noticeable accessory though, he was most widely known for always wearing dark sunglasses inside and outdoors.

Naturally as a child I wanted to be like my dad, he was the first super hero I knew. I took a liking to his jewelry and as I got older, I picked up his affinity for sunglasses. For a short period I used to wear sunglasses inside a lot, just like my dad. I stopped that quite few years ago but I never lost my liking for swanky glasses. Lately I’ve been looking for a pair of frames to add to my collection to kind of become a signature thing of mine. I have multiple pairs of specs that give me the chic intellectual look but since I don’t need a prescription yet I leave that look for when I actually do. I needed something that fits my personality not something that appeared functional. I began to hunt for vintage sunglasses and frames and found this vintage Cazals. They’re originals made in Germany sometime during the mid-80’s. Nowadays vintage shades have become a little more popular with retro looks becoming a new trend and original vintage designer glasses have become quite costly. I’m not that much of a collector so I scoured the Internet for weeks until I found some that not only fit my personality but also my budget for eyewear.

When I received these in the mail I didn’t get the same feeling I did when I saw them online. In my mind I wanted something with more gold. These have the original stainless steel finish. I tried them on and felt a bit iffy about them but I saw some potential. I tried them on again and again. The slight tent on the lenses is really clever and suits me. I’m not of fan of super dark shades like Biggie’s Versace’s but I to feel that the tent hides and protects me just enough from the Sun and the outside world.

I normally wear aviators or rectangle shape frames as they tend to compliment the shape of my face but like I said I was going for personality not function. These have a unique square shape that border oversized frames by a few centimeters. What really makes them unique is the butterfly effect with the lense holes. Both lenses are slanted inward towards the nose bridge similar to how a butterfly’s wings slant in towards its back as it sits on a flower petal.

I’m really pleased with my vintage Cazal 305s. I have feeling I’ll be checking for more vintage frames and becoming poised and maybe even more important, just like my dad.

Geechi!