California, without the costume.

There is a particular ease to Garrett Leight California Optical. The reference point is Los Angeles, but less the red carpet than a neighborhood: music, friends, shops, sunshine and the people who make a place interesting. In a 2016 conversation with Surface, Garrett Leight described opening his store on Abbot Kinney and finding early inspiration in the musicians, artists and writers around him.

That is a helpful distinction when looking at the frames. The collection’s identity comes from interpreting everyday life through shape and color, rather than trying to make each pair announce a radical new invention. In the same interview, Leight described prototyping shapes, developing a mood through materials and working through a substantial library of colors.

For someone who wants designer eyeglasses that can become part of a regular wardrobe, this is an inviting approach. A frame may feel familiar at first, then become more specific through its proportions or finish. Take time with the quieter options as well as the bolder ones. The right choice is often the one that makes the rest of what you wear feel more like you.