I fell in love with American designer, Tom Ford, when he first started designing for Gucci. Everyone knows that Gucci kinda sucked for a few seasons when he left - but we were all so thankful when Tom Ford's own line of eyewear, clothing and lux perfumes popped into stores.
I purchased these Whitney shades @ Fred Segal in Los Angeles, CA circa 2006 and have been wearing them everyday since. I absolutely love the criss cross butterfly styling of the frames, gradient lenses, and rose gold detailing. They are such a classic/ timeless style with a vintage feel that makes me never grow tired of them.
The only down side to Tom Ford is that it takes a ridiculous amount of time to get them repaired if something should ever happen to them. (I bought a pair of Aviators to add to my collection and I wore them for 2 days in Santa Barbara and one of the legs fell off. Sak's said it would take anywhere from 2 months + to send them back and get them repaired.)
Everyone knows how clumsy I am, I mean I am the girl whose iphone got run over by a car when completely sober. So I got hammered one night in Santa Monica about 6 months ago - hanging out on the Promenade at Yankee Doodle followed by a fantastic dinner at Sushi Ryoku with my old boss. The next morning I reach for my shades only to notice a huge scratch running down the middle of the lens. When I got back to San Francisco, I went to Sak's, Nieman's, Nordstrom you name it and asked for information on how to contact Tom Ford for replacement lens. They all sent me running in circles and told me to try "Google." Wtf?
I ended up buying a pair of Chanel's as a replacement - but was never fully satisfied (a little too crayola). Then one day, I was down on Chestnut and popped into SF Optics - a great eyewear shop that carries a wide selection of Tom Ford eyeglasses and sunglasses. The clerk was extremely helpful and said I could expect replacement lenses in 6 days. The next Monday, he called and said 6-8 weeks. The lenses set me back $150 bones but were worth it. Moral of the story - don't follow my example, take better care of your shit and don't drink too much.