What the Team at Garrett Leight California Optical Wears to Work

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Garrett Leight California Optical has been crafting celebrity-beloved eyewear since 2011. A favorite for everyone from Kristen Stewart and Kendall Jenner to Bradley Cooper and Johnny Depp, the LA-based brand continues to roll out frames that look fresh, timeless, and—above all—flattering.

Founded by Garrett Leight, the son of Oliver Peoples founder Larry Leight, GLCO currently has four brick-and-mortar stores—two in Los Angeles, one in San Francisco, and one in New York—and is stocked at tons of major eyewear institutions, including Gogosha and Opening Ceremony. We recently visited the team at their DTLA office to see what they wear while making eyewear magic.

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Garrett Leight, CEO and Designer, is wearing a Dries van Noten top, RTH reworked Levi's jeans, a vintage jacket, Common Projects shoes, a Dior watch, Cast of Vices accessories, and GLCO frames.

Earliest eyewear memory:
It's actually a negative one: when I was 13, my dad made me a custom pair of Oliver Peoples Aero. Not only was it a $400 frame, but it looked really rich—it was a beautiful silver frame with a blue gradient lens. This kid in school told me that they looked stupid and not like a frame that a teenager would wear. In a way he was right, at least for a student in public school in Venice.

Current favorite GLCO style:
I’m wearing Grayson a lot right now. It's a nice frame for a bigger head and the matte mirror is so amazing. We don't have another frame like it, and I’ve been wearing it every day.

Favorite travel destination:
Jamaica, without a doubt.

Go-to uniform:
Custom vintage blue Levi's jeans, white/grey/black T-shirt, and Chucks.

Most prized fashion item in your closet:
My Lakers jerseys.

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Amber Alper, Global Sales Director of Sun, is wearing a Zero + Maria Cornejo dress, her grandmother's dog collar necklace, a Steven Alan watch, a Le Gram bracelet, a Loren Stewart bracelet, H&M x Margiela shoes, and GLCO Wilson eyeglasses.

Earliest eyewear memory:
My mom's oversized cat-eye optical glasses in 1990. They were so different! She was a babe with killer fashion sense and confidence to stand out.

Current favorite GLCO style:
Wilson Optical, because it is equal parts Kendall Jenner and Larry David, like me.

Favorite travel destination:
Vieques Puerto Rico has never disappointed; all of the beaches are non-commercial nature preserves and feel like photo shoot locations.

Go-to uniform:
3.1 Phillip Lim silk black trousers, Lanvin water snake oxfords, The Row white linen coat, Isabel Marant T-shirt, and GLCO Hampton sunglasses in Champagne.

Most prized fashion item in your closet:
My grandmother's gold dog collar necklace—a timeless heirloom. She always dressed up and accessorized well. I never saw her dress casual once!

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Elena Doukas, Designer, is wearing an Alexander Wang top, Acne Studios jeans, a Cos bra, a Marina Tia Leight custom jacket, and Alexander Wang shoes.

Earliest eyewear memory:
I saved up my money in sixth grade for a light blue tinted pair of Steve Madden glasses that were heart shaped and rimless. They came in a florescent orange PVC case.

Current favorite GLCO style:
Cordova is my go-to sunny right now. It has leather wrapped around the eye wire and a geometric bridge. It's probably the edgiest style we've released and it makes me feel badass when I wear them.

Favorite travel destination:
Tahiti!

Go-to uniform:
Acne jeans, Kaptial t-shirt, leather jacket, and mules.

Most prized fashion item in your closet:
My mom made her own wedding dress, which was a silk slip dress that she cut afterwards to a shorter length. It has cut-out, hand-embroidered lace around the edges that she stitched on herself. I wear it all the time and it keeps being reinvented throughout the decades. I love that, for how delicate the piece is, it's lasted over 30 years in her closet—and mine!

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Darroll Jenkins, Planner, is wearing a Saturdays Surf NYC shirt, Publish pants, Adidas Stan Smith shoes, a Nixon watch, and GLCO Cordova sunglasses.

Earliest eyewear memory:
I'm from Detroit, and Cartier frames are a staple in Detroit fashion. I remember being a kid and asking my parents to get me a pair of "Yays" (how we refer to them in Detroit) with wooden temples and being pissed that they wouldn't buy them for me. As an adult, I now understand their reluctance in buying their 10-year-old son a pair of $2,000 sunglasses.

Current favorite GLCO style:
Wilson M sunglasses, for sure. They’re designed beautifully, and are perfect for any occasion. I wear them all the time to add a pop to my outfit, if I’m just wearing a T-shirt and jeans. But I'm also very, very classy [laughs], so when I’m wearing something a little more dressy, the Wilson M is a great addition for a more elevated look.

Favorite travel destination:
This may be lame since I live here now, but…Los Angeles.

Go-to uniform:
Denim on Denim! I’m a sucker for a pair of jeans with a denim shirt or jean jacket, or both! My personal favorites to wear are 7 For All Mankind or J Brand.

Most prized fashion item in your closet:
That would have to be a pair of Jordan III’s in Black Cement. Firstly, they have sentimental value because they're my favorite pair of Mikes, whom is not only the best basketball player of all time (not up for debate), but he's also my favorite. They literally go with everything, and it's such a classic shoe that people always either compliment me on or want to buy from me.

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Emily Draznik, PR & Social Media Coordinator, is wearing a vintage tank, a Reformation robe, See by Chloe pants, Vivienne Westwood x Melissa heels, and GLCO Dillon eyeglasses.

Earliest eyewear memory?
I got my first pair of glasses in the fourth grade from a Lens Crafters in a mall. They were blue, metal, and octogonal. I've been a fan of unique eyewear ever since.

Current favorite GLCO style and why?
It would have to be our latest collaboration with Clare Vivier. As a self-described cat lady who owns no cats (the boyfriend's allergic), I love a good cat-eye frame.

Favorite travel destination:
I visited Costa Rica back in October. The view from our room was like looking out into Jurassic Park. It was truly cinematic.

Go-to uniform?
I own multiples of this striped T-shirt dress from Muji that is just the best and is always the first thing to be worn after laundry is done. Throw a moto jacket over that and I'm out the door in less than five minutes.

Most prized fashion item in your closet:
I just scored a pair of printed silk Miu Miu mary janes. They're special because I've been lusting over pieces from that collection for five years and it felt like eBay was thinking of me personally when a pair in my size popped up online for a price that I could afford. Plus, they make me feel like Tavi Gevinson. (Hi, Tavi!)

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Sarah Oh, Design Assistant, is wearing a Sechung jumpsuit, Camper shoes, and GLCO Milwood Clip sunglasses.

Earliest eyewear memory:
The feeling of swim goggles getting caught in my hair and cutting circulation to my eyeballs. And yet, I was obsessed with them.

Current favorite GLCO style:
I used to never wear sunglasses because getting prescription sun lenses was just too much for me. Now, I wear Milwood because how could I live without having a clip? Love!

Favorite travel destination:
Santorini. I'm still not convinced this is a real place.

Go-to uniform:
Trusty black Uniqlo jeans, cherished Kimbra tee, denim jacket with the coveted Mrs. Doubtfire patch by Jess Warby (among many), and precious Hansel From Basel socks.

Most prized fashion item in your closet:
My dad's knit tie with pink embroidered polka dots from the '70s, which he never wore.

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