Designer Sunglasses Styles

Fashion conscious people always want to look their best and one of the most effective fashion accessories to top off your look is a quality pair of designer sunglasses. Fueled by people's desire for that perfect unique look fashion designers, like Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Armani, Foster Grant, Liz Claiborne and even Harley Davidson, have created thousands of designs to meet this demand.

Sunglasses did not come into general popularity until after the mid 1930's when Ray-Ban began producing the style of sunglasses that became known as "aviator" sunglasses. These oversized teardrop shaped lenses were fitted into thin metal frames and became very popular with the military, pilots and law enforcement. A variation on this style was created for automobile drivers as a chic substitute for the bulkier goggles that used to be worn for driving and racing.

By the 1950's entertainment celebrities began popularizing a wide range of designer sunglasses. With extremely bright studio lights causing many of them discomfort, they began wearing sunglasses to protect their vision. Sometimes the only time they would remove their "shades" was when they were on camera. James Dean often kept his Wayfarers on even then and the rest of designer sunglass popularity is history.

It wasn't just the movie stars that fashion plated designer sunglasses. The "Jackie O" style of overly large sunglasses were a common article in the wardrobe of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. To demonstrate the wide range of designer sunglasses, one can compare the Jackie O's with the small circular teashade sunglasses popularized by such musicians as John Lennon, Janis Joplin and Ozzy Osborne. Their "beatnik" style shades were too small to really afford much protection from UV rays but with their multitude of colors and overlaid designs they were a superior fashion statement.

Because of the unfounded conservative myth that everyone who wore large sunglasses did it to hide "drug" use, there are many school districts that forbid their students from wearing what they call "maddog" sunglasses. Maddog sunglasses are considered by them to be any of the styles that are large enough and dark enough to completely hide the eyes from view. Mirrored sunglasses that have a coating to reflect an image, while very popular with law enforcement officers also fit this category.

With the current popular culture seeking "retro" looks there are no styles of designer sunglasses that go out of style, at least not for long. So whether you seek a vintage classic look or the cutting edge of cyberpunk, you will find there is a pair of designer sunglasses out there that will fit you perfectly.