Some people walk into an eyewear shop looking for a frame that disappears. Others want the opposite: a frame that says something. If you are the second kind, there is a French name you should know. Lafont Paris. We carry it at City Optix, and it is one of the first houses we reach for when someone tells us they are tired of black rectangles.
Here is the story behind Lafont, why the frames look the way they do, and how to tell if one belongs on your face.
Who makes Lafont eyewear?
Lafont is a Parisian family house, and it has been one since 1923. That year Louis Lafont opened a small optical shop on Rue Vignon, near the Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The shop had an Art Deco spirit that set the tone for everything that came after.
The turn toward color came in the 1970s, when Louis’s grandson Philippe Lafont and his wife Laurence, a Parisian fashion designer, took the reins. They started treating eyeglasses as a fashion object rather than a medical device, with bold color and contemporary shapes. That is the moment the Lafont look we know today was born.
The house is still family-run. Today the company is led by brothers Matthieu and Thomas Lafont, great-grandsons of the founder, who have kept full control of the design and the brand for a full century. Thomas designs around thirty new models each season. Frames are produced in the Jura region of France, the traditional heart of French eyewear manufacturing.
A century of one family designing under one roof shows up in the product. There is a consistent point of view, a confidence with color that brands without that history tend to fake.
Why are Lafont frames known for color?
Color is the whole signature. Where other houses lead with a logo, Lafont leads with palette and pattern. The brand works with more than two hundred color combinations, and the material play is where it gets interesting.
Lafont is known for layering things between two sheets of acetate: Liberty prints, tartan patterns, panther motifs, horn, tortoise. The result is a frame with depth and detail you keep discovering the longer you look. It is playful without being loud, expressive without tipping into costume.
That balance is the hard part, and it is why the house has lasted. A Lafont frame is colorful, but it is still wearable to a meeting. It reads as personality, not as a stunt.
Who Lafont is for
Lafont suits a specific person. Someone who sees glasses as part of how they present themselves, not just a vision correction they tolerate. Someone who would rather be remembered for an interesting frame than blend into the room.
That describes a lot of the Marina. People here dress with intention and are comfortable with a little boldness when it is done well. A Lafont frame fits that instinct. It is the pair a friend compliments before they even say hello, the small detail that makes an outfit feel finished and personal.
It also suits anyone who has felt boxed in by safe eyewear. If every frame you have owned has been some version of black or brown, Lafont is a door into color that still feels grown-up and considered.
How to choose a colorful frame like Lafont
Bold frames reward a little strategy. A few things worth knowing before you go looking:
- Let the color do a job. The best frame color either warms your complexion or plays off your eyes. It is not about matching an outfit, it is about flattering your face. This is easier to see in person than to guess.
- Balance bold with fit. A colorful frame still has to sit right. Bridge, temple length, and proportion decide whether the color reads as confident or as costume.
- Look at the detail up close. Lafont’s patterns and layered acetate are part of the value. Hold the frame, turn it in the light, see the work that went into it.
- Trust your reaction. With a colorful frame, your first honest reaction in the mirror tells you a lot. The right one feels like you, not like a dare.
This is where a neighborhood optician matters. Choosing color well is a skill. Knowing which of Lafont’s two hundred combinations suits your coloring, and adjusting the frame so it sits perfectly, is the difference between a frame you love and one that stays in a drawer.
The City Optix view
We have spent more than thirty years on Chestnut Street helping Marina faces find frames that actually feel like them. Lafont comes up again and again because it answers a request we hear constantly: give me something with color and personality that I can still wear every day.
We carry Lafont at City Optix, and it is a house that really needs to be seen in person. Photos flatten the color and hide the pattern work. In the light, on your face, it is a different thing entirely.
Come try a few on. Bring the frames you own now, bring the boldest thing you have ever admired on someone else, and let us find the Lafont that looks like you. No pressure, just a real conversation about color and what suits you.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lafont eyewear?
Lafont is a Parisian family eyewear house founded in 1923. It is known for handmade frames with bold color and layered patterns, produced in the Jura region of France.
Who owns Lafont Paris?
Lafont is still family-owned. It is run by brothers Matthieu and Thomas Lafont, great-grandsons of founder Louis Lafont, who have kept control of the design and brand since 1923.
Why are Lafont frames so colorful?
Color is the brand’s signature. Lafont works with more than two hundred color combinations and layers patterns like Liberty prints, tartan, and horn between two sheets of acetate, creating frames with real depth and detail.
Are Lafont frames good quality?
Yes. Lafont frames are designed by the family and made in the Jura region of France, the traditional center of French eyewear craft. They are built to be worn daily and to last.
Where can I buy or try Lafont frames in San Francisco?
City Optix carries Lafont at 2154 Chestnut Street in the Marina District. It has been the neighborhood’s independent optical shop for more than thirty years, so you can try the frames on, see the color in person, and get an honest opinion on what suits your face.
City Optix · 2154 Chestnut Street, San Francisco · The Marina’s independent optical shop for 30+ years.