Tortoiseshell with a Twist

According to this very interesting and well put together journal post that we compiled a while ago, tortoiseshell was prized for its decorative abilities as far back as when the Ancient Greeks were using it to decorate their lyres. Still considered a luxury material in the 1920s, when glasses were just starting to become popular, the frames of choice for movie stars like Harold Lloyd were nearly always tortoiseshell. While you’d struggle to find a pair of glasses made from the real-life shell of an actual tortoise today, tortoiseshell style frames are, as you probably know, still humongously popular.

Remixing and pushing the colours and patterns of tortoiseshell, today’s independent eyewear designers have proved that the world's most longevous frame finish has got more than a bit of life left in it yet. Featuring vibrant yellows, muted monochromes, and deep, dark reds, Tortoiseshell with a Twist is a hand-curated collection of new takes on tortoiseshell eyewear, the classiest of classics.