There is a dress code on this side of the jungle, and it is simple: eyewear on, schedule open. The Shades Crew is the AmazooMania collection for the animals who treat the glare as a personal style opportunity. Nobody here is squinting. Nobody here is in a hurry either.
The wheels and waves department
Half the crew is already moving. Radical Skate Lizard carves a turn in board shorts, and Skater Iguana Vibes follows on a pink deck with a crest that looks freshly styled. Cool Roo rides in a tie dye top with both arms out for balance, while Kangaroo Skate Dude pumps down the hill toward an orange sunset. Out on the water, Radical Reptile Surfer drops into a curling wave, Pete the Parrot leans into a windsurf sail with a rainbow of feathers, and Cool Penguin Slider glides across the surface on a pair of skis, angular and totally composed. Cool Cycling Squirrel takes the trail, tail up, on a mountain bike between blue peaks.
The lounge committee
The rest of the crew has chosen rest. Sunbather Vibes stretches an iguana out on a striped beach chair between two palms at sunset. Shade Seeker, drawn in crisp black line, coils a snake beneath a beach umbrella and does not plan to move until evening. Bamboo Sips props a panda against a bamboo grove with a tall iced drink, and Flamingo Beach Vibes poses in heart shaped frames inside a heart shaped view of the shoreline. Hippie Sloth wears round lenses inside a swirl of rainbow color so loud it could be seen from orbit, and Shades of Chill gives a second sloth the black and white treatment, framed by palm fronds.
Portraits with attitude
Some members prefer a close up. Tiger Chill stares out in blue lenses over a moonlit pine forest. Snowbird is a rainbow parrot in orange shades against snowy evergreens. Cool Llama Flight wears aviators with hot air balloons drifting behind, clearly the pilot. A crested iguana peers over orange lenses through jungle leaves, Rad Gecko Vibes wears pink frames among hibiscus, and Wild and Free sends a sleek little lookout in a cap and sunglasses peeking out of the ferns. Tropic Turtle Swim skips the eyewear and paddles under an island, which the crew allows because turtles have their own rules.
For the friend who is never without sunglasses
This is for the one who keeps a spare pair in every bag and the car. The kid who wears shades indoors and the grandpa who taught him. The friend who calls dibs on the lounge chair. Somewhere in this crew is their exact twin, frames and all.
Written by Pete the Parrot. Thanks for reading.
