Itemized: Shwood x Bushmills Sunglasses

Photographer Maia Stern
March 27, 2012

Sunglasses! The most difficult accessory to purchase. Like, you put these things on your face. How hard is it to choose a face accessory? It took me 27 years to choose some. I am 27 years old. It's kind of a boring story, so I won't tell it in full here, but basically I've always had a difficult time with sunglasses. I've never found a pair that I felt fit my face right, mostly because I wasn't looking very hard, but also because whenever there's been a popular frame (aviators in college, those weird raparound Oakleys that look like eye protection for bugs that like extreme sports when I was in middle school), it's never felt right on my face. I resigned myself to being a dad sunglasses guy, or a guy who is into squinting long before that could be skewed anywhere close to cool (squinting will probably never be cool, though it's worth mentioning that Clint Eastwood built his career on squinting). Anyway, my luck finally changed recently with these Shwood sunglasses made out of old Bushmills casks. Style-wise they're pretty basic. They aren't in any crazy shape, and they actually fit my face the way I want them to. The key here, though, is that they are made out of wood. It's the kind of not-so-subtle detail that people stop me on the street to ask about. It's also the kind of not-so-subtle detail that gets dudes I know to aggressively smell them to see if they smell like whiskey. I'm less stoked about that one because it's weird, but I'll take the attention. The point is, these are the lightest, most flexible and interesting sunglasses that have ever fit my face, and that feels like some kind of weird minor milestone in my adult life.

From The Collection:

Itemized
Itemized: Shwood x Bushmills Sunglasses