Gentlemen’s Breakfast Vintage Eyewear

This man knows his stuff; trust me. Not only does he have impeccable taste in vintage frames and men’s furnishings, but he is an absolute perfectionist when it comes to your vision (and after all, what good are cool frames, if you can’t see out of them?) He’s the only guy I’d fully trust with my most treasured frames (he’s worked on glasses 100+ years old, after all), and his shop is a delight. (What OTHER eyeglass store in LA offers a glass of scotch with your shopping?)
A true find. And a true gentleman.

Strolled in here a couple weeks ago and had the pleasure of meeting Van. It’s a testament to Van’s carefully curated selection that even a notoriously picky frame buyer like myself was able to quickly find a pair of sunglasses here. In fact, I think they were the first pair Van suggested I try on! Now, I don’t mean to suggest that this was a quick in and out experience. Van knows so much about the history of everything in his shop, and is such a great conversationalist, that my visit was long enough to make a real lasting impression and connection. I think this is how it must’ve been in the old days when you could be on a first name basis with all the local business owners. We need these kind of shops more than ever these days and I have a lot of respect for Van for making such a contribution to the neighborhood. Also, Scotch!!!

Lost a screw to a pair of 1930s sunglasses and had no idea how to fix them. Called GB and Van invited me over to swap in a screw for free. Had a great conversation about some of the pieces in the shop — fascinating how much detail he knew about each piece. Very romantic. Ended with an invite back for scotch and cigar, so, I will be back.

This is without a doubt the best experience I’ve ever had with an optician. After spending my entire life going to LensCrafters, coming here was a a breath of fresh air. The customer service is phenomenal. I walked in and immediately Jason greeted me, offered me some scotch, and began picking out frames that worked for me. Which was amazing because I do not have an eye for what looks good. If you aren’t sure what look to go for, let them work their magic here. You won’t be disappointed.
I back later when Van was there and he helped set me up with precise measurements and recommended certain lenses based on my prescription. He is extremely knowledgable and I loved how he walked me through the physics behind which lenses are best and why others are not that great.
Oh and here’s the best part. With the level of care and expertise here, I expected to shell out a ton of cash, but the prices here are VERY reasonable. I paid more at LensCrafters for less attention to detail and an inferior product. This place is legit.
I cannot recommend this place enough. If you need glasses, here it is, the last stop you’ll need to make!

A friend told me about Gentlemen Breakfast in Echo Park has a great selection of Vintage eye wears. Van the owner is very knowledgeable, helpful and great service. I fully recomended to go there.

Van is very passionate of his work! He’s very knowledgable! This shop is definitely one of a kind! If you’re looking for great quality and authentic brands this is your one stop shop! Love the décor and all the varieties!

Van & Thomas are so knowledgeable about vintage eyewear and all of the related history of the optic industry! We got really awesome frames here and they filled our Rx with no issues at all. I already have my eye on a few pairs of sunglasses they have there… hopefully they’ll still be there in a few months! They even served us a glass of scotch while we perused the shop. Thanks guys!

I wear glasses every day and I only like cool unique glasses… But I’m blind… So LensCrafters won’t cut it and I like unique frames … Solution? Only Gentlemens Breakfast I swear I will never take my business anywhere else. I’m sold.
Wear them everyday with pride !!

I’ve been owing Van and Gentlemen’s Breakfast a rave review for over a year.
I recently started wearing glasses for the first time after flunking the DMV test. Bummer. My first pair of glasses was picked out of a case at the optometrist’s office and weren’t much to get excited about, fashion-​wise.
So when I wanted prescription sunglasses I decided to do it right. After a few profoundly unhelpful trips to fancy stores (hi, Googoosha or whatever), I decided I would take matters into my own hands. I ordered (deeply discounted) designer sunglasses off
and headed to Gentlemen’s Breakfast.
I was expecting a whole lot of «No, this won’t work.» The glasses had kind of an unusual design, and all my experiences in the world of eyewear thus far had been with people telling I couldn’t have what I wanted and would have to settle for some bullshit. But Van took care of everything– from contacting the optometrist for my prescription, to making the lenses, to asking me enough questions to get the tint and color just how I wanted them. None of my unusual requests were a problem for him in the least.
A week later I had my sunglasses. I wear them every day and they’re probably my favorite possession. A year later, it’s still fun to put them on every day.
(He will also offer you Scotch. I don’t really drink Scotch in the middle of the day, but it was a nice touch.)

A neat selection of eyewear, but I went for the neckpieces they’ve got, as I needed ties for my brother and I for my wedding. There were a handful to choose from, and I sent pictures to my wife of them in the dim light, avoiding using the flash so they wouldn’t look washed out. She helped me narrow down the choices, and I got the two best looking ones — really neat patterns. We left town for the wedding the next day, and it wasn’t until the day before the wedding, when I pulled the ties out of the bag they were in that I saw them for the first time in daylight-​level lighting. Oil blotches all over the one, which in the dim light had been invisible, were now glaring. I ran it to the dry cleaner and they worked a near-​miracle on it, and the splotch was only visible from a certain angle, at a certain time of day, near a specific forest grove. Still, it was frustrating to have to dry-​clean something fresh from the store.

Manly good times… And fancy eyewear.
Free scotch. Light up a pipe. Talk politics or anything you prefer. Very comfortable atmosphere. Very welcoming host… Oh and he sells eye glasses. I wasn’t sure what Gentlemen’s Breakfast did at first. Ran by an optometrist who got tired of running a traditional shop he now focuses on vintage eyewear. And this shop has vintage cool
In spades. Stop in anytime they are very welcoming. And he has many unique and vintage offerings to fit any budget.

If you take my last two purchases/​experiences with Dr. de la Plante and Gentlemen’s Breakfast, and then add Van kicking me squarely in the balls as I left, they would both still rate five stars. Minus the nut shot, a measly five stars doesn’t feel right. Yeah, there’s the scotch, sure there’re the great nylon frames that look like they just fell off Buddy Holly’s head, and OK, there’s that pic of Bill the Butcher just left of the counter («You see this knife? I’m gonna teach you to speak English with this fucking knife!»), but what really makes the place is the fact that, if you will (please, God) take the time to check it out, and buy some glasses, thereafter, you’re going to want to stop by just to say «hello.» Just something about the place. Don’t you want that in your life?

Van the owner was the ultimate professional!
I got great vintage glasses at great prices…
Van, went above and beyond to make mel happy.
I would recommend «Gentlemen’s Breakfast» to anyone who has high fashion taste, loves old school business, chivalry service, and best of all, glasses that are not only authentically antique but functional!
Michael

I’m a big sunglass guy and although I don’t mind spending a pretty penny on my sunglasses, I’m not one to do so on glasses that EVERYONE else has. (i.e. Rayban, Marc Jacobs, Maui Jim, etc.) A buddy introduced me to GBVE and I’ve come here exclusively for my last two pairs of shades.
There’s nothing like getting a fresh new pair of sunglasses, especially when you get tons of compliments on them. It’s way better when people ask what kind they are and have never seen them because they’re not like the 20 other Raybans they already saw that day. Why spend a lot of money on shades when everyone has them? I don’t get it.
GBVE has an awesome selection of shades that fit tons of different styles. Nice shades that aren’t crazy expensive and are guaranteed to up your style and get you some compliments from the ladies.

This place is fantastic — a hidden gem in a converted garage in Echo Park. Bought a pair of specs from there a year or two ago, and I still go in to say hello to the friendly sales people and have a quick Scotch. They not only sold me my glasses they have a guy who fills the prescription for you at a discount and he did a great job. I went back there about a month after I bought my glasses because I had sat on them in Vegas. I expected to pay 50 – 100 bucks for the repair, but they charged me nothing. I’ll definitely go back for my next pair of glasses and my next Scotch.

This is a place that knows what it wants to be. Come here instead of Goggosha. Save hundreds, and you can still turn heads.
Check out the vintage prison glasses. So affordable and so very cool and so incapable of being a lethal shiv.
But check the hours before you roll up on their roll-​door. I feel like this place should be open earlier and closed later. Or am I the only one who wants to accessorize before noon?

Not a bad place to get glasses.
I feel like I walked through «somebody’s» looking glass. If I knew them, I would have sat down and poured someone some tea.
Are they small? Yes.
Do they have great frames? Yes.
But it is quite the experience. I know, I know, they have a website, but wouldn’t you rather just go in and have the whole experience?
There’s something to be said about seeing, touching, feeling.
btw, I had a challenge finding them at first.

What’s there to say about Van’s place that hasn’t been said? Well, Mr. de la Plante has opened a second location in painfully ritzy Laguna, so his ragtag crew of stylish, well-​intentioned deputies are holding down the Echo Park location. Well, c’est la vie, Van, but the selection still remains FANTASTIC, the service impeccable and the location, so very close to home.
I bought a pair of Tart Arnell frames, my first designer pair, over a year ago. These things are vintage from the 50’s and have become an accessory I am PROUD to wear every single day. I had a pair of custom fitted sunglass clips but managed to misplace those. They were great and I weep daily over their departure.
Drop in for a very low-​pressure sales environment, have a splash of booze, check out the great products and celebrate with a craft brew at Mohawk Bend once you’ve bought your first pair of REAL GROWN MAN GLASSES.

This place is awesome. After leaving Mohawk Bend which is right around the corner I spotted this little hole in the all place from across the street. I’m a gentlemen and I like breakfast so I checked it out.
Wow, was I not disappointed! First of all, Ramsy was cool from the moment I walked in the front door… erm, it’s not really a door, it’s more of a garage gate. The whole thing is an old converted car port and living proof that things can evolve from strange beginnings.
I say this because this store has all of the tailorings of a 1960’s high end fashion optical store that got caught in a time warp and landed in 2012. No remnant of the greasy, stuffy car garage that it probably once was.
I’m guessing at a lot here, but something I’m not guessing about is the glasses I bought. They are 1960’s prison glasses made from high quality, hardend nylon. They look like what Ray Ban’s are supposed to look like– old, classic and seriously fun.
The place is small, but awesome. You should check it out.

I admit this is the first vintage eyewear store I’ve been in and boy is this a fabulous niche.
The optician, Van de la Plante, is very knowledgable, fashion-​wise. And I’m not talking about some of the posers we have now walking around in their Prada shoes thinking because they shelled out for designer items and are draped in designer duds, they are fashionistas.
Nooooo… this guy knows his fashion history! And as any historian would love to tell you, «if you don’t know your history, you don’t now anything.»
Yes, the brands he carry are «designer» and «brand name,» but Plante chose these items not because of the name but because of their fashion significance.
Who else would wax poetic about the curves on a horn-​rimmed glass and can tell you exactly when this particular line and model was manufactured and for long… and why it was discontinued.
His vintage items are in mint-​condition. I never quite got a straight answer in regards to it’s «pre-​ownership» status but it’s all good.
I think my heart melted when Plante looked at my face and reached under the glass display case and picked, imagine this, the perfect pair of frames for my face!
I usually spend at least half an hour nit-​picking frames, finding fault with this and that. This time, when I saw myself in the mirror, with the frames he picked out for me, I just thought: «Wow, he’s not only a man of science, he is a man of art!»