Lovely Rita

You know her as Grams, Bubby, Nana.

Keeper of secret recipes; provider of candy; unassuming shark at any family card-game.

Also: the inspiration for your newest pair of shades.

At least if you talk to the optics dons at Arts Disctrict-based Saint Rita Parlor, now hucking heirloom-worthy specs online or in the flesh at nearby design emporium Hammer and Spear.

Helmed by Neil Bardon (designed merch for Wu-Tang; consulted for Contego Eyewear), SRP’s throwback designs pay tribute to Bardon’s grandmother, Rita.

Made in LA from Italian acetate and sporting high-abrasion lenses, these boxy shades are built to last.

Note the brass coin on each frame’s temple: it’s imprinted with a likeness of Rita’s senior-year picture – an allusion to Bardon’s memories of trading coins with his grandmother.

And every pair comes in a handmade leather case with a cotton paisley lens cloth that can double as a pocket square or hanky.

Our favorites:

The 2110, in rose, because Saint Rita – and Bardon’s grandmother – were known for rose gardens. These solars come with an extra dark lens for those Cali sunsets.

The 602 is a plastic-framed aviator that preserves the metal bridge.

Pearl is a color good for necklaces, handguns and these: the 1308.

Now be a good boy, and grab a pair.

Nota bene: Buy online or at Hammer & Spear.