Wow! We've got a proper summer at last! This provides a perfect opportunity for a bit of vintage glamour in the form of some cool sunnies. I was looking into their history; it is only in the last 50 years or so that they have been widely available to the masses. Modern sunglasses originated in America; in 1929 Sam Foster began selling sunglasses through his eyewear company Foster Grant, an enduring name which is still popular today. In the thirties and forties sunglasses were luxury items mainly worn by the glamorous elite.
Polaroid, a brand name synonymous with sunglasses was created by Dr Edwin Land who invented polarizing glass which effectively filters out horizontal rays of light. Polaroid went on to be the biggest seller of sunglasses and is now part of Safilo, the Italian eyewear company.
In 1936 American pilots were issued with large sunglasses to protect their eyes, these were soon known as aviators after the people for whom they were originally designed. These were manufactured by Ray Ban and Shuron. They proved so popular that a year later they were sold to the public and have been an enduring fashion statement ever since. General MacArthur, the WW2 commander of Allied Forces in the Pacific was regualrly photographed wearing his and did much to promote the style.
The most common lens colour of vintage sunglasses is green. Dead Mens Spex. can fit green, brown or grey lenses, either plain or prescription, into any pair of our vintage spectacles. Take a peek at our range of sunglasses which include original vintage frames and Swing frames from the Polaroid Hertiage range.
So have fun in the sun.
TTFN Mrs Deadman
