Skift airlines editor Gordon Smith discovered his favorite pair of travel sunglasses through a rather unofficial testing process: a friend accidentally left them at his house. Now a convert of Barcelona-based Meller sunglasses, Smith shares why they’re the only pair he’ll travel with, whether it’s across the globe to India or just across the city to a dinner reservation.

“I've kind of had a natural evolution of sunglasses, and being born and bred in Scotland, sunglasses don't come up very often,” says Skift airlines editor Gordon Smith. “So, it's always a bit of a novelty when you do get to wear them. 

“When I first had my first proper paying job in London, one of the first things I bought was a pair of Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses. I had a tiny bit of disposable income. I thought, OK, let's get a nice pair of glasses. I spent about £120 on a pair, and I thought, ‘Wow, you made it! I can afford real sunglasses now.’ 

“They were fine. They did the job. I bought them maybe another two times over the years, just kind of whenever they got super scratched or I lost them,” says Smith. “It was like, OK, I'll just replace them with the same pair. Then, I thought, I can do better than this.” 

The quest for the perfect pair

“I would see sunglasses on the street that people were wearing, and I always kind of wanted to run up and say, ‘Where are your sunglasses from?’ But I was too shy,” says Smith.

Then fate struck. “Our friend Izzy and her other half Ben were visiting my house in Lisbon,” he says. “Ben left his sunglasses at our apartment. They went back to England, and we were going to the UK in a couple of weeks, and we would hand them over then. 

“So then I had a two-week period with Ben's sunglasses, and they were just sitting on the desk. I was like, they're actually quite cool. I sort of clocked them when he was wearing them here, but obviously never tried them on. So when the cat is away, the mouse will play.” 

Why Meller sunglasses gets Smith’s vote 

“After putting on [Ben’s] Meller sunglasses, I was like, ‘Oh! These are good,’” says Smith. “Then I did some research on them, and I’ve now bought a pair.” 

Specifically, Smith’s now the proud owner of Meller’s Hasan sunglasses in fog olive.

“They're super practical,” says Smith. “They're not expensive at all. So you don't feel like you're paranoid about losing them or getting them scratched. But at the same time, they feel really durable.”

“They come in cool colors, have a bit more of an independent vibe, interesting shape, and they do the job really well,” he adds. “I really like the color, and they’re not full circle frames. I don't want to look like John Lennon. 

“I get more compliments wearing these than any other time I was wearing my Ray-Bans,” Smith says. “Ben leaving his pair behind was the best thing that ever happened to my sunglasses collection.”

Why it works 

“They're super practical, [and] they're not expensive at all, so you don't feel like you're paranoid about losing them or getting them scratched,” says Smith. “But at the same time, they feel really durable.”