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For about as long as the internet's existed, images have circulated of JFK wearing the hell out of rolled-up Oxford shirts, faded crewneck sweatshirts, and one particularly rad pair of tortoiseshell frames. No commander in chief has contributed more moodboard fodder to the menswear canon than our 35th, and no piece has done more to solidify Kennedy's standing as a modern-day style god than his American Optical sunglasses. But until recently, eagle-eyed JFK enthusiasts couldn’t do much more than squint at their screens in disappointment—buying a pair of the former president's iconic sunnies was basically impossible.
American Optical, a Southbridge, Massachusetts-based operation founded in the 1830s, boasts a Forest Gump-like presence throughout American history. Ted Williams and Malcom X were both customers; Robert De Niro wore a pair of the brand's aviators in Taxi Driver, as did Neil Armstrong on a trip he took to a little place called the moon. (Kennedy himself visited the factory when he was a junior senator representing his home state.)
Until recently, though, the brand only produced two silhouettes: aviators it dubbed the Original Pilot, and a similar-looking pair called the General. But when new ownership took the reins in 2020, the company relocated its factory to Chicago and brought back a host of nearly-forgotten models, including the JFK-preferred Saratoga. All of which is to say: even without the presidential seal of approval, they're a pretty killer pair of frames.
Unlike the designer sunglasses lining the walls at your local optician, they’re made in-house, and by hand, right here in the US. They’re not cheap, but they don’t feel it, either: along with the historical pedigree, there’s a weightiness to the frames that helps justify the price. Today, the Saratoga comes in range of finishes, but if you want the real-deal JFK version—American Optical sunglasses that can reach across the aisle, so to speak, and work with every warring faction in your wardrobe—time-tested tortoiseshell is still the move.
