Garrett Leight California Optical Wilson Eyeglasses


By Elena Doukas

It’s unclear exactly when John Lennon started wearing his signature, small, round metal frames, but the popular style blew up after the famous Beatles performer and songwriter paired it with fatigues in the goofy British film How I Won the War in 1967.

vintage photos of John Lennon

Lennon would go on to wear multiple iterations of round frames, but the first was a pair of the government issued British National Health Service NHS frames that were covered by the free British Health Care system. (Of course, Lennon would take the frame of the “commoner” and make it sought after!) There have since been some famous Japanese optical shops that have come out of the woodwork, claiming they made Lennon his glasses in later years, and we believe them since he seemed to have an endless array of the same, timeless look in both sun and optical styles, which became kind of the gold standard for hippies and musicians in the late 1960s and early 70s. If a pair of frames wrote “Imagine,” it was these.

vintage photos of John Lennon

When we first launched the Wilson it was one of our first metal optical frames in the collection, and it came in the most classic version: a small, metal frame with authentic Windsor rims. A lot of frames that look like Wilson have the pattern painted on the rims, but we wanted to stay true to the original craft and get a Windsor (plastic) rim that wrapped around the eye-wire. Plus, Garrett wanted to make sure we stayed as true to Lennon as we could, not a millimeter too large.

Garrett Leight California Optical Wilson EyeglassesGarrett Leight California Optical Wilson Sunglasses
Dark Wave Rock-Brushed Silver
Dark Wave Rock-Brushed Silver
Dark Wave Rock-Brushed Silver
Dark Wave Rock-Brushed Silver
Honeycomb Tortoise-Pewter
Honeycomb Tortoise-Pewter
Honeycomb Tortoise-Pewter
Honeycomb Tortoise-Pewter
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Sage-Seafom
Sage-Seafom
Brown Pearl-Mauve
Brown Pearl-Mauve
Brown Pearl-Rock
Brown Pearl-Rock
Brown Pearl-Rock
Brown Pearl-Rock
WILSON
$385
SHOP THIS STYLE
A design sketch of GLCO Wilson glasses.GLCO Wilson M Eyeglasses

In 2020 though, the Wilson comes in multiple sizes and constructions, and while we realize a round shape might not be for everyone, this is about as versatile as they come: it has adjustable nose pads to fit many different bridges and comes in multiple metal and non-metal styles, and even as a clip-on.

Garrett Leight California Optical Wilson EyeglassesGarrett Leight California Optical Wilson Sunglasses
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Denim-Blue
Denim-Blue
Denim-Blue
Denim-Blue
Tort-Antique Gold
Tort-Antique Gold
Tort-Antique Gold
Tort-Antique Gold
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
WILSON SUN
$415
SHOP THIS STYLE
A design sketch of GLCO Wilson glasses.GLCO Wilson M Eyeglasses
Gold-Beige
Gold-Beige
Gold-Beige
Gold-Beige
Copper-Tortoise
Copper-Tortoise
Copper-Tortoise
Copper-Tortoise
Antique-Pinewood
Antique-Pinewood
Antique-Pinewood
Antique-Pinewood
WILSON M
$385
SHOP THIS STYLE

The idea was to make such an iconic look wearable through the seasons, both formally and informally, dressed up or down. And while this frame may have started with John, we’ve discovered it works equally as well for Yoko: with Hollywood “It” girls like Emily Ratajkowski and Kendall Jenner having worn it in recent years. Consider it a frame for the people.

Garrett Leight California Optical Wilson Sun Shield Sunglasses

SHOP THIS STORY

Dark Wave Rock-Brushed Silver
Dark Wave Rock-Brushed Silver
Dark Wave Rock-Brushed Silver
Dark Wave Rock-Brushed Silver
Honeycomb Tortoise-Pewter
Honeycomb Tortoise-Pewter
Honeycomb Tortoise-Pewter
Honeycomb Tortoise-Pewter
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Sage-Seafom
Sage-Seafom
Brown Pearl-Mauve
Brown Pearl-Mauve
Brown Pearl-Rock
Brown Pearl-Rock
Brown Pearl-Rock
Brown Pearl-Rock

WILSON

$385

Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Tortoise-Amber
Tortoise-Amber
Demi Blonde-Gold
Demi Blonde-Gold
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Bourbon-Tortoise
Bourbon-Tortoise
Black-Gold
Black-Gold
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Matte Black-Tort
Denim-Blue
Denim-Blue
Denim-Blue
Denim-Blue
Tort-Antique Gold
Tort-Antique Gold
Tort-Antique Gold
Tort-Antique Gold
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort
Butterscotch-Tort

WILSON SUN

$415

€325 $570 485CHF

Gold-Beige
Gold-Beige
Gold-Beige
Gold-Beige
Copper-Tortoise
Copper-Tortoise
Copper-Tortoise
Copper-Tortoise
Antique-Pinewood
Antique-Pinewood
Antique-Pinewood
Antique-Pinewood

WILSON M

$385

€310 $510 435CHF


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