On the corner of 81st Street and Lexington Avenue, a dark building with gleaming white trimmings rests underneath a clear blue sky and a hazy afternoon sun. Pulling open the wooden doors, I walk into a brightly lit room. In the first overwhelming moment, my eyes are dazed by the sight of hundreds of glasses gracefully perched on transparent shelves lining the store. Sunlight streaming in through the windows glints off the lenses. My hand brushes against some of the frames, picking some up, trying some on; big frames, small frames, red, blue, circle, square. The glasses are cool against my face, and I grin at myself in the mirror. My old thin metal pair resting on the counter looks out of place next to the sleek, tortoise frames. Vaguely, I wonder when the fashion of glasses had changed, and why hadn’t I noticed earlier. I decide to do some research.
I find out that it is believed eyeglasses were invented in Italy in the thirteenth century. In those beginning years, glasses merely consisted of two magnifying glasses fastened together and were mostly used by scholars and monks. Temples, the arm of the glasses that passes over the ears, were invented in the 1700s, along with bifocals. Scissor spectacles and lorgnettes, both of which were held in the hand with a handle, were popular around this time. People associated eyeglasses with old age, disability, and weakness, and thus many men and women favored the handheld pieces that allowed them to use the eyeglasses only when necessary.
This all began to change in the 1900s when increasing numbers of people began wearing glasses. Slowly, after frames were seen regularly on celebrities, the masses eventually began to accept the eyeglasses as a fashion item.
The particular style of the eyeglass frame has evolved throughout the years. Browline glasses are thicker in the upper portion of the glasses frame and were very popular in the 1950s and ‘60s. In many cases, in order to emphasize the natural brow line, browline glasses were designed so that only the temples and upper portion of the frame were made of plastic.
Cat-eye glasses, which have an upsweep at the point where the temple connects with the front of the frames, and G-man specs, thick black-rimmed glasses, were also popular during this time. In the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, bug-eyed glasses became fashionable with its bold, round shape.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, soft, disposable contact lenses were introduced to the public, and glasses again took a backseat. In the ‘90s, a more serious, simple, and sporty look in eyewear was sought. People preferred to understate their glasses by wearing a thinner, smaller frame. Later, in the early twenty-first century, square thick frames became fashionable.
Today, glasses have become a statement accessory, and bold, oversized glasses are the latest style. Instead of trying to hide their glasses, people began to wear them as a fashion statement and as a reflection of their personal image. Square and cat-eye glasses are still in fashion, but partially round and even completely round glasses have also found their way into the market. Nowadays, we see the resurgence of the large oversized glasses of our parents’ time that we may or may not have made fun of as a kid. It is interesting to note that many of today’s popular glasses are a blend of various different styles from the past, and we can see the cycle of fashion repeating itself.
So what’s the next style? Warby Parker, the name of the store I entered on that particular sunny afternoon, has a collection that highlights tortoise frames and bright colors along with more typical black and neutral tones. Their latest trend is ocean-themed glasses. Warby Parker’s Spring 2015 collection is described on their website as “decked out with subtle nautical details borrowed from life at sea.” Coastal, another glasses company, when naming the top six glasses trends of spring 2015, claimed on their website that “classic frames are given fresh life with blue tones in dark navy and azure.” However, if one wants a style of glasses that won’t quickly go out of fashion, the tortoise, square shape will probably stay popular for a while.
Finding a pair of glasses that won’t ever go out of style, however, is probably impossible, and the best you can do is to keep up with the times. And perhaps it’s a good thing to change glasses once in a while. Freshening your style provides the chance to reinvent yourself. So I encourage you: Go out there and find your style. Change your lens. There’s a whole world of glasses to choose from.