One should never leave home without your trusty pair ofsunglasses, especially on a sunny day, no matter what season. Although fashiontends to dictate which styles of sunglasses are trendy, you should look to makesure that the sunglasses you decide to purchase are able to block out 100% of harmfulUV rays. This article will explain a brief history of sunglasses starting offwith the five most popular models of sunglasses that have been worn throughoutthe last 70 years.


Wraparound Shades


Largely first made popular in the early 1990s wraparoundsunglasses are the number one choice for athletes, from regular teams sports toextreme sports.


Oversized Sunglasses


Oversized sunglasses first became popular in the 1960's whenwomen purchased them to mimic the ones famously worn by Jacqueline KennedyOnassis. They have recently made a comeback once again in the 21st century andtheir popularity is largely due to fashionistas like Paris Hilton.


Teashade Sunglasses


Teashades, also known as John Lennon glasses, were verypopular in the 1960's, but have largely fallen out of fashion since then. It isrumoured that they are making a comeback with recent paparazzi photos of famousactresses and musicians sporting the teashade frames.


Aviators

The Aviator design was introduced in 1936 specifically for U.S. military pilots and was not made available to the public until a few years later. In 1986Tom Cruise popularized Aviators as ace pilot Maverick in the movie Top Gun.


Ray-Ban Wayfarer


Created in 1952 Ray-Ban's Wayfarer sunglasses opted forplastic frames rather than the tradition metal ones. Originally developed forpilots, Wayfarers quickly became popular amongst Hollywood stars like MarilynMonroe and James Dean. In 1961 Audrey Hepburn wore them in the film Breakfastat Tiffany's and Tom Cruise sported them in the 1983 film Risky Business. Eventoday the Wayfarer is still a popular model of sunglasses.


Although sunglasses have been a popular fashion accessory inthe last 70 years, sunglasses actually date back much further in history. The firstever 'sunglasses' were made from walrus ivory and date back to prehistorictimes. Inuit peoples fashioned flattened walrus ivory with narrow slits to helpprotect their eyes from the harmful rays of the sun. In arctic regions unprotectedeyes will be affected by what is known as snow blindness.


It wasn't until the 12th century that we have writtenevidence of sunglasses being used in China. These first sunglasses wherecomprised of flat panes of smoky quartz and were used to protect the eyes fromthe sun. The 20th century is when the use of sunglasses really tookoff. In 1929 Sam Foster began mass-producing sunglasses for the American publicand from there many companies flourished by simply making sunglasses.


So whether your choice of wearing sunglasses is due tofashion or simply a choice to protect your eyes from the sun, remember thatsunglasses do not have to be expensive to work properly. They should however beable to protect your eyes from UV rays. A good pair of sunglasses, whether theyare a designer pair or cheap knockoffs, should be able to block out 100% of harmfulUV rays.



Corey Rozon is a freelance writer in Ottawa.


This article about the brief history of sunglasses was written for Olympic Eyewear, a sunglasses company specializing in selling wholesale sunglasses.