Saturday, April 7, 2012

Glasses history lesson? Coming right up.

We're warping back in time today, digging deep into the archives to understand the inspiration behind a few trends we've seen lately.

First up, Pierre Cardin. Famous for his cosmic eye wear styles of the seventies, Cardin's design concepts were derived from the french word for glasses, lunettes. Lune, means moon. Lune, cosmic styles, you're catching on, right? The designer was once quoted saying, "This pair is very much a comet. It conjures up the cosmos."  Here's a few examples:

 Lady Gaga anyone?
Okay next, The Original Ray-Ban Wayfarer, made famous by James Dean. Below he's pictured in a later version (that's Elizabeth Taylor next to him--such a classic photo!). The first Way-Farers sported a trapezoidal frame, similar to the one we spot plenty of Chicago-ans showing off now a days, with black frames and a dark tint.

Further down the timeline Drew Barrymore donned a pair. Perhaps she glaring into the fire here.

This is famous photographer, Nina Leen, wearing "Grace Kelly," circa 1950.
 And speaking of Grace herself, here she is in a pair of cat eyes, a signature style accessory of hers. So, that begs the question, would these glasses and others above be so popular right now if it weren't for these iconic inspirations? You tell me.


That concludes our history lesson boys and girls! No, there won't be a quiz.

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