In a cultural zeitgeist so obsessed with celebrities and Hollywood, most shops would just die to have one or two highly visible stars frequent their stores to create some much-coveted retail buzz. Silver Lining Opticians in Soho, NYC doesn’t have that problem. Some of their satisfied customers include marquee names like Jeezy, Diddy, Dustin Hoffman, Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati, photographer Mario Sorrenti, Black Eyed Peas, Talib Kweli and so many more.
The independent, highly curated, vintage and contemporary designer eyewear store located on Thompson street in Soho was opened in 2007, but the owners have been dealing in luxury eyewear since 2005. The store was started by two partners: Erik Sacher (a licensed optician) and Jordan Silver (a longtime eyewear industry veteran). Jordan offers the following about his initiation into the eyeglass business.
“I started collecting sunglasses when I was in school and my grandfather had an old collection of Persols that he would wear with his Coogi Bill Cosby sweaters – crazy looks. So I took his frames and started looking on eBay and just began collecting ever since. After that, I got a part-time job at a luxury eyewear boutique, and that’s where I met Erik, and we decided to start working together.”
In five short years, Silver Lining’s reach has grown exponentially – especially within the leagues of the fashion cognoscenti. They have even graduated to the point now where they have their own in-store brand – consisting of 5-unique styles – each of which is precision-crafted in Germany. Also to date, they have curated and provided eyewear for five seasons of runway shows for Scott Sternberg’s surging “Band of Outsiders” fashion brand and have developed a great partnership with Timo Weiland, an up-&-coming avant-garde NYC designer. “The way we’re set up here,” Erik begins, “we just make it really easy for stylists and designers to work with us. There’s no press office to go through – it’s just the two of us, we photograph everything, we’re hands-on, and you can just walk in and borrow or pull what you need.” Then Jordan laughingly interjects, “Thank-God for my fiancée too – she comes in every Sunday to help us out.”
So without a doubt, if you’re looking for the best frames or sunglasses in NYC – with a selection ranging from the coolest independent manufacturers out today to the best vintage pieces from the ‘60s going forward, it gets no better than Soho’s Silver Lining Opticians. And as stated earlier, there are no fussy clerks or receptionists to deal with. You will be handled personally and with the utmost care by either Jordan or Erik – and trust me, they are some really cool dudes.
Words and pictures by Geo Hagan
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