Sexy Stylish Sunglasses

 There's something about a pair of sunglasses that makes them arguably one of the most quintessential 'must-have" items of all time. Not only are they extremely practical, offering protection against the dangers of the sun, they are an extremely versatile fashion accessory, available in a huge range of styles, colors and prices for every budget. Recital of their worldwide popularity, sunglass manufacturing has become a very lucrative but highly competitive industry and while some manufacturers rise and decline in the public's love, there is one company that remains forever synonymous with the eyeglasses that protect our eyes rays from the sun: Ray-Ban

While Benjamin Franklin is often credited with inventing eyeglasses (he was the one who developed the first bifocal lens in the 1780s) was the first reading glasses developed in Italy as early as 1260.  People were fascinated by all things optical in the centuries that followed, then in the middle of the eighteen hundreds British scientist James Ayscough researched tinted glass, and the possibility that such technology can be used to visual disabilities improve research. As successful as he was, it was not until 1929 that the idea that glasses could filter the sun's rays was given any serious consideration. At the time, began UNITED STATES optical company, Foster Grant, to develop the idea further, until finally, later that same year the first ever pair of sunglasses were sold from a Woolworth's store on Atlantic City Boardwalk.

Recognizing that the new technology can be beneficial for its pilots, said the United States Army Air Corps, another prominent American company, Bausch & Lomb, to develop eyeglasses that would protect the eyes from the dangers of the glaring sun, when you fly.

It was UNITED STATES eyeglass company, Ray-Ban, who really ran with the concept. In 1936, using newly available polarized lenses, and a broad framework that offers maximum protection from the sheen of an instrument panel, Ray-Ban began to produce a lens that banned the sun's rays. Some three years later, this model of sunglasses so popular among pilots, easily accessible to the American public. Ray-Ban 'pilots' were born.

When the Americans came of age, so too did their eyewear. Through the war years, Ray-Ban continued its partnership with Air Force, creates Gradient mirror lenses that managed to be both highly practical and fashionable at the same time. There was something about that American flyer in his tough brown leather flight jacket, whose sunglasses hid his eyes. Ray-Ban had just made sunglasses sexy.

Ubiquitous in the 1950s became the sunglasses more than just eye protection. Worn by A-list celebrities in Vegas and Hollywood-stars whose every move was examined and followed across the country, sunglasses became a fashion accessory, and Ray-Ban was quick to the growing trend for new designs and colorful frames to meet, which they marketed to women in particular.

Keeping abreast of space-age technology, the company developed shatterproof lenses in 1960 and the popularity of sunglasses continued to rise when fashion icon Jackie Kennedy was often seen with her trademark oversized frames. On the screen was sunglasses become an important part of any actor costume, with movie stars like Peter Fonda and Audrey Hepburn, playing stylish sunglasses-wearing, characters who were able to hide their eyes from the audience and remain convincing.

Ray-Ban continued to new styles and designs in the years 1970 and 1980 to develop: Their 'Wings' model was indeed a forerunner of the modern, half-frame, the lens of today. In the era of American TV cop shows, like Starsky & Hutch, and Chips, was mirrored lenses once so popular in the 1940s, to reappear. Ray-Ban was retro.

Stylish and modern, funky and retro, Ray-Ban remains on the forefront of sunglass manufacturing to this day, no easy task when you look at the competition out there. Doubtless the company will continue to have staying power in the industry, because throughout the decades have evolved with the nation to give people exactly what they want for their eyes: The reliable protection of a hi-tech pair of sunglasses, and the serious 'cool' one damn sexy pair of shades.