There is something about a pair of sunglasses that makes them arguably just about the most quintessential ‘must-have’ items of all time. Not only are they immensely practical, offering defense against the dangers of the sun, they may be an enormously versatile fashion accessory, available in a huge range of types, colors and prices to match every pocket. Given their particular worldwide popularity, sunglass manufacturing has turned into a very lucrative, but extremely competitive industry and while several manufacturers rise and deteriorate in the public affections, there is certainly one company that remains permanently synonymous with the eyeglasses which protect our eyes in the rays of the sun: Ray-Ban
Although Us President, Benjamin Franklin, is often credited along with inventing eyeglasses (he had been the one who developed the first bifocal contact lens in the 1780′s), the first reading glasses were developed in Italy, as soon as 1260. People continued to be fascinated by things optical throughout the centuries that followed, then, in the mid-eighteen hundreds British scientist James Ayscough began to research tinted glass, and the chance that such technology enables you to improve vision impaired eyesight. As successful as he has been, it was not until 1929 that the indisputable fact that glasses could filter sunshine was given any serious consideration. During those times, U.S. optical business, Foster Grant, began to develop the concept further, until finally, later in which same year, the first actually pair of sunglasses were sold from a Woolworth’s store on the Ocean City boardwalk.
Recognizing that the fresh technology could be beneficial to their pilots, the U.Utes. Army Air Corps asked an additional prominent American company, Bausch & Lomb, to build up eyeglasses that would protect your eye area from the dangers of the manifest sun, when flying.
It was U.S. eyeglass organization, Ray-Ban, who really ran with the idea. In 1936, using the newly obtainable polarized lenses, and a wide frame that offered maximum defense against the sheen of an instrument panel, Ray-Ban began to produce a lens that banned the sun’s rays. A few three years later, this style of sunglass so popular with pilots, started to be readily available to the American public. Ray-Ban ‘aviators’ were born.
As People in america came of age, so too do their eyewear. Throughout the battle years Ray-Ban continued its operating partnership with the Air Pressure, creating Gradient mirror lenses that managed to be equally highly practical and fashionable simultaneously. There was something about that United states flyer in his tough brown leather flight jacket, in whose sunglasses hid his eyes. Ray-Ban had just made sun shades sexy.
Ubiquitous in the 1950′s, sunglasses became more than just attention protection. Worn by A-list celebs in Vegas and Hollywood -stars whose every move has been scrutinized and emulated throughout the country- sunglasses became a fashion accessory, as well as Ray-Ban was quick to accommodate the growing trend for new designs and colorful frames, that they marketed to women particularly.
Keeping abreast of space-age technology, the organization developed shatterproof lenses in the 1960′s and the popularity of sunglasses ongoing to rise when fashion image Jackie Kennedy was often seen along with her trademark, oversized frames. About the silver screen, sunglasses were just as one essential part of any actor’s costume, with movie stars like Peter Fonda and Audrey Hepburn, playing fashionable, sunglass-wearing, characters who were able to hide their eyes from the market and remain convincing.
Ray-Ban ongoing to develop new styles and designs within the 1970′s and 1980′s: their particular ‘Wings’ model was indeed the forerunner to the very modern, half-frame, lens of today. In the era of American TV cop displays, like Starsky & Hutch, and Chips, the mirrored lenses once quite popular in the 1940′s, began to reappears again .. Ray-Ban was retro.
Stylish and also modern, funky and vintage, Ray-Ban remains at the forefront of sunglass manufacturing to this day, no mean feat whenever one considers the competition on the market. Undoubtedly, the company will continue to get staying power in the industry, because throughout the decades it has evolved with the nation to give people exactly what they need for their eyes: the reliable safety of a hi-tech pair of sunglasses, and also the serious ‘cool’ of a damn alluring pair of shades.