A look back at glasses over the years
Many of us take for granted the fact that eyeglasses exist. For those of us with vision issues, life without our glasses would be fuzzier to say the least.
It’s said that it was a combination of the work of many artisans such as jewelers, glassmakers and clockmakers that brought this invention to life.
But for many a time, glasses were seen as an unfashionable necessity. Over the last century though, glasses have become synonymous with fashion and style.
The 1950s and 1960s saw the rise in popularity for men of plastic glasses and the heavier brow bar frames. The thick black horn-rims such as those worn by Buddy Holly or Woody Allen were very common.
John Lennon’s signature glasses were thought to give an added sense of intellect as well as sophistication.
For women, the cat’s eyes as worn by Marilyn Monroe were the height of cool, complete with rhinestones, glitter or other embellishments.
The 1970s saw the rise of the designer frames, with the likes of Christian Dior producing oversized frames for the masses, with faux tortoiseshell being ever popular. Celebs like Elton John were using big glasses as a fashion statement to match their big personalities; while Christopher Reeve as Superman even managed to turn glasses into a disguise.
The 1980s were still about designer frames, but the logo was even more prominent. Many styles were available to suit the wearer (and their 80’s hair), including bold solid colours to match their costume jewellery.
From 2000 onwards, the look has been varied with a mix of older style glasses (for that retro chic look – think Johnny Depp or Dianne Keaton) and even the idea of wearing glasses with clear glass as a fashion accessory is common.