Not only are glasses a necessary medical tool, they are a great way to showcase your style and personality. Throughout the ages we’ve seen iconic styles worn by celebrities as well as the everyday spectacle wearer. Taking a look back through the history of eyewear can provide some fun fashion inspiration for your next glasses purchase (and some good laughs!).

Origins

The first wearable glasses originated in Italy in the early 13th century. Glass blowers made these lenses and set them in leather, wood, or sometimes animal horn rims. Wearers had to hold the glasses or pinch them on their noses to keep them in place.

Hands free

Benjamin Margin created the first hands-free frames when he made the extended temple arm to go behind the ear. People called them “Martin’s Margins”. They began the pursuit of more durable and stylish eye-wear options for the coming years. We can’t forget about Benjamin Franklin, the inventor of the ubiquitous bifocal lens. These allowed the wearer to have corrected distance and near vision all in one lens.

1800s – Utilitarian

In the 1800s, prescriptions became increasingly more and more accurate. Finally in the 1900s, the eyewear industry took a turn toward focusing on both vision quality as well as fashion. 

1900s- New styles

Theodore Roosevelt popularized the pince-nez spectacles which stayed put with a nose clip. Aviator style glasses and sunglasses were popular during WWII, as pilots used them during the war. Cat eye frames were invented in the 1930s and popularized by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. 

Mid-century to 1990s

Shuron Ronsirs created browline frames in 1947, and they were iconically worn by figures such as Malcolm X and Bruce Willis. In the 1980s the trend was oversized spectacles and bright, flashy colors. On the other hand, the 1990s was known for small, rectangular frames in both plastic in metal. 

New technology in the 2000s

In the 2000s, we created completely rimless glasses. People such as Steve Jobs and Sarah Palin wore these with an heir of sophistication. These days, people of all ages and cultures wear each of these styles.

Every era of glasses style has seen a resurgence in the recent decade giving glasses wearers the option to explore many styles, colors, shapes, and lens options. Now thanks to the affordable online-glasses industry, you can try all sorts of different frames and find what expresses your unique style and personality.