06 November 2009

R.I.P. Ray-Bans...x2

Living the affordable life isn't all a bed of roses. Recently, I have had the grand misfortune of laying to rest not one, but two pair of vintage 1950's RayBan Wayfarer sunglasses...real ones, with lenses actually made of glass.Even worse, both were gifts of Mrs. G.

I had one pair in brown tortoise, with lenses tinted green. Being a brown shoe sort of guy, these were quite the thing, and damned if they didn't look murder with a Barbour jacket. Then one day I dropped them, and they broke, but I kept them, always hoping that salvation would come.

Recently I posted about some other broken eye wear, and a commenter put me wise to Hilco, in Plainville, MA. According to their website, you simply mail them your busted glasses, and for $25 plus s&h, they fix them and send them back. Score!

So I sent them off. But today I received a call from a very nice lady at Hilco. She said they received my glasses, by they were unable to fix them. She felt so bad, she said they would eat the cost of mailing them back to me. Ashes to ashes.

Back when I broke these glasses, I had in reserve a second pair of black Wayfarers, also the gift of Mrs. G. I lost those back in August. Damn it!

Now, I wear these bad knock-offs that I bought for eight bucks some place. Sure, from a distance they look fine, and they do keep the glare out of my eyes when I drive, but they really are junk.

Back to pestering Mrs. G. for a new pair in brown tortoise shell for my upcoming birthday. She reads the blog, so feel free to leave comments in support of my plea for her to see.

11 comments:

Tom said...

Nooooooooooooooooooo. Bummer, man.

Anonymous said...

Heartbreaking...really! I bought a pair of Oakleys about a year ago, but decided that I looked like a hoodlum, so I only wear them on power walks. After trying on everything, with varying comic effect, I settled on a a pair of Ray Ban New Wayfarers (RB 2132). The original Wayfarers are just a little too big for my pale, balding head, but these units are perfect. You can't go wrong with the classics.

Armilyn and David said...

Dear Mrs. G,

The essence of your beauty shines so bright that Mr. G requires protection if he gazes at you longingly for more than a second.

Sincerely,
David








(Pssst, Giuseppe! Too much?!)

Giuseppe said...

Just Right.

NCJack said...

It's a double bummer: great shades broken, and you know you won't see a bargain like that again

Neal said...

Mrs. G- Buy this man his new glasses! While you're at it, could you let my hubby know that I deserve some RayBan aviators for Christmas? :-) Neal

Samxc said...

Mrs. G: If G-man doesn;t get a new pair of sunglasses, his vision will become impaired. If that happens, he will not be able to blog. If that happens, I will have nothing to read. So, you see, a new pair of Wayfarers are much needed.

Young Fogey said...

Worst of all, those original Ray Bans may have been made from real live actual tortoiseshell. Now all you can legally get in America is plastic.

Here's hoping you get something nice to replace them, and I'm sure the lovely Mrs. G will pony up for them--how could she not?

Lisa said...

I so know your pain. I had (until recently) a pair of Ray Ban aviator sunglasses purchased in the 70's. I dropped them several years ago and chipped one of the glass lenses. Unfortunately, the chip was right in the middle of the lense. I have been everywhere trying to get replacements. To make a long story short, I ended up giving them to Goodwill and I broke down and bought a new pair. That really killed me.

BeauJest said...

Have you tried a little Superglue?

It has worked wonders for me in the past, for I too trash my good glasses regularly.

Unknown said...

e-bay

I just bought a pair of club masters from the fifties in pretty much new condition for 45.00 they are much better than the Luxottica versions of ray-ban