Silver Lining Opticians

Profile

Silver Lining owner Jordan Silver is something of an eyewear historian, having collected glasses seriously for years and shilled his rare finds to stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Opening Ceremony, and Jeffrey. In 2007, he opened his own Soho shop with licensed optician Erik Sacher. Unlike nearby competitors Illori and Solstice Sunglass Boutique, Silver’s stock focuses on new and vintage eyeglass and sunglass frames from hard-to-find global brands like Kame Man Nen from Japan, Oliver Goldsmith from London, and Lafont from Paris. He scouts vintage pairs from Germany and Japan with an expert eye, accumulating exceptional finds like leather-wrapped Ray Bans, authentic vintage tortoise-shell frames (real tortoise shell is now illegal), Ted Lapidus originals—a shape now mimicked by Tom Ford—and the same Neostyle sunglasses that Elvis Presley wore. Silver has little interest in contemporary designer brands (“Prada is a bag company—they should stick to bags”), focusing instead on construction details, like real rivets instead of cosmetic ones. The shop features a small bar for trying on the wares, and Sacher can create prescription lenses for any of the frames. — Lauren Murrow

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