Around the twelfth century and before 1430, sunglasses were worn by Judges in the Courts of China. The smoky quartz, flat-glassed panes were not used as protection from the sun. They were used to conceal any expression in their eyes to keep from giving away the outcome of their decisions. Prescription sunglasses were developed in Italy in 1430 and were later used by the Chinese Judges.
By the 1600’s people began to realize the benefits of prescription glasses as helping the elderly to see better and the motto “A Blessing to the Aged” came into being in 1629.
In the mid 18th Century, James Ayscough developed blue and green corrective lenses which began the use of sunglasses for correcting optical impairments.
The development of glasses and sunglasses evolved. Problems in keeping eyeglasses propped on the nose led to experiments. Glasses frames had been made from leather, bones and metal and were propped on the nose. Sidepieces began as silk strips of ribbon that looped around the ears. Instead of loops, the Chinese added ceramic weights to the ends of the ribbons. Solid sidepieces were invented by Edward Scarlett in 1730. Benjamen Franklin’s invention of bifocal lenses followed in 1780.
By the 20th Century, sunglasses were used to protect the eyes from the sun. In 1929 Sam Foster began selling his protective sunglasses at Woolworth stores on the boardwalk at the beaches in Atlantic City and New Jersey. His Foster Grants were the first mass-produced sunglasses and they began the trend of sunglasses for fashion.
In the 1930’s the Army Air Corps asked Bausch & Lomb to develop sunglasses that would efficiently reduce high-altitude sun glare for pilots. Bausch & Lomb came up with sunglasses that had a dark green tint that absorbed light through the yellow spectrum.
Edward H. Land had invented the Polaroid filter and by 1936 he was using it in the making of sunglasses and soon, sunglasses became “cool.” Movies stars began wearing sunglasses as a statement and to hide behind. Aviator glasses became popular with the movie stars and the general public in 1937 after Ray Ban developed the anti-glare sunglasses using polarization. The longer lens was created to give more protection to pilots’ eyes from the light reflecting off their control panels.
By the 1970’s Hollywood stars and fashion designers made a huge impact on the sunglasses market. Clothing designers and stars put their names on glasses and sunglasses and everyone had to have them.
In 2007, stars are still hiding behind their oversized designer sunglasses, making fashion statements and protecting their eyes from the harmful effects of the Ultra Violet (UV) rays of the sun. With modern technology and improvements, the making of sunglasses continues to evolve. We have gone from holding green gems up to our eyes to watch Gladiator sports to Oakley’s 2004 sunglasses with digital audio players built in. What’s next?
Bobby
What do you think are the best types of sunglasses for this facial type? Things like, small, large, circular, wide, sporty, ect? As always, 10 pts for best answer, thanks!
Ronald
Fossil sunglasses are marketed in both men and women’s fashion styles and sold with people names. Trevor, Ben and Elwyn reflect the personality of these fashion shades. Other styles like “Assertive” imply that these shades can walk into the boardroom as easily as onto the beach.
The approach with Fossil is to wardrobe and accessorize whereas other companies concentrate on just sunglasses or athletic wear. Fossil coordinates from footwear to handbags so that every aspect of apparel is easily matched. Fossil sunglasses styles perfectly work with the over all trendy appearance of both casual and business attire.
The overall appearance of a Fossil shopper will always be more put together looking since the sunglasses, watches and handbags are designed to match. Simply take a look at the web site www.fossill.com
to get a good look at how Fossil styles work together. Leave nothing to the chance of error by making an entire wardrobe coordinated in one company’s styles.
Fossil sunglasses coordinated with an entire Fossil outfit is budget conscious yet quality dressing. Many of the women’s styles of Fossil sunglasses are large. Not only is the larger sunglass better protection for the eyes it also provides needed protection for surrounding tissue. Most people forget that the area around the eye is a source of pain and tenderness when exposed to excessive environmental factors. Not so with the larger lens and frames styles from Fossil sunglasses.
Keep in mind that light entering the sides of sunglasses contains harmful UV rays that can harm the eyes in the same way that direct light does. Wider sunglass frames will block this light and produce hours more comfort for those exposed to extensively bright light. Wrap around styles that fit close to the face will be of still more benefit in excessive light exposure.
At the risk of looking like the Terminator, eyes need to be kept safe when very bright exposure lasts for extended periods of time. The jury is pretty much in on this one–eye care takes precedence over fashion concerns in high energy light or in the presence of reflective surfaces. Pity the overly fashion conscious who wear inadequate sunglasses to watch a water ballet or other summer event. There’s almost no end to the suffering!
Men might try wrap styles like Hadden ($38) to ease the endurance of summer’s punishing rays. Lorilee ($38) is a women’s style providing a dark lens and wide frame arms to provide similar comfort. For lower light situations the paler lens and frames of Jill ($38) will compliment colorful summer outfits. Men may find that Bennett ($38) will lend style while blocking less light when either a business suit or beach attire are worn.
In any light situation there is a style and lens color for most tastes to be found in the Fossil sunglasses line.
Read more - FashionXonline Sunglasses
Coach sunglasses are a mark of uniqueness and quality par excellence. A pair of Coach Sunglasses is visible on face of several fashion and style lovers. Over the years, Coach has added multitude of new model designs of sunglasses for men and women in different shapes, styles and materials, but every Coach Sunglass collection embodies the same principles of classic design, proven quality and American style fashion sense.
Some of the most all time popular models of Coach Sunglasses are Addison Sunglasses, Lexi Sunglasses, Elizabeth Sunglasses, and Hazel Sunglasses. All designs of coach sunglasses provides 100% protection from harmful ultraviolet rays, featured with gradient lenses, available in several cool colours, shapes and shades. Hazel series of sunglasses are famous for its super cool designs, which are suitable for every face shape. Moderate prices, class sense, stylish looks, and luxury feeling makes Coach Sunglasses very much popular among customers of all age groups.
However, what is the need of paying that much money for a pair of sunglasses only. At Sunglass Replica Store, you can buy multiple pair of cheap discounted sunglasses with same designer looks, styles, colours and shades. Sunglass Replica presents dynamic collection of Replica Coach Sunglasses. You can enjoy the fashion sense as well as diversity with our collection of designer inspired sunglasses.
As you probably already know, sunglasses provide protection from ultraviolet rays in sunlight. UV rays can cause serious damage to the corneas, and a good pair will shield 100% of these rays. A protective coating on the outside of sunglasses acts as a kind of filter. While it allows light through, it helps to filter out the radioactive light waves that can lead to so many dangers to your eyes.
Possibly the most prevalent purpose sunglasses serve is to provide protection from intense light. Intense sunlight can cause you to squint, a natural reaction to too much light entering the eyes. If squinting does not provide enough protection, damage to the cornea can occur next. This is especially common when outside in the snow without your sunglasses. The white of the snow reflects and magnifies the intensity of the light.
The tinting of your sunglasses will help determine the amount of light your eyes will be exposed to. As there are different types of light, all the colors of the rainbow, different shades of lenses will protect in their own ways. Gray and almost black tinted lenses will offer the greatest amount of protection from intense lights while avoiding distortion of most colors that you see.
Another quality sunglasses carry is something we are all most likely thankful for. They can provide protection from glare. Water and other shiny looking surfaces can produce a glare. These glares can block out other objects, like a car turning out of a parking lot just ahead of you. Good sunglasses can completely eliminate this kind of glare using polarization.
Light waves vibrate just like sound waves do. When a group of light waves come together but are traveling in different directions, a glare occurs. When you are blinded by a glare off of the water or another vehicle’s windshield, what you are seeing is a traffic jam of light waves. Polarization filters built into sunglasses are made up of molecules that realign the light waves with each other and eliminate the glare.
As noted before, Sunglasses can eliminate specific frequencies of light. Certain light frequencies can cause blurred vision, while other frequencies enhance contrast between colors. Choosing the right color for your sunglasses lets them work better in specific situations.
Yellow, gold, amber and brown tinted sunglasses are especially good for blocking out blue light. Blue light is the color of light in the spectrum that scatters and causes blurred perception. While the yellow shades can make the rest of the world look a different color, you will see most clearly and detailed through them.
Green tinted sunglasses are better for filtering some blue light and reducing the occurrence of glares. They also offer the highest contrast and greatest visual sharpness of any other colored lens. For this reason, green sunglasses are very popular. Rose colored shades and purple tints offer the best contrast of objects against a green or blue background and make great sunglasses for hunting or water skiing.
Now that you know how sunglasses work you can be a responsible consumer. Know what to look for when choosing your sunglasses. It is not a bad idea to have more than one pair around for different reasons. This is especially true if you spend a lot of time outdoors on a variety of activities. Be responsible about your eyes and learn to protect your vision while it’s still yours to protect!
Stephanie