Aviator Sunglasses - Back To The Start

Now universally recognised have you every wondered how the iconic Aviator sunglasses were first realised? No!? Well we're going to tell you anyway!

We can date the classic aviator shape sunglasses as far back as World War II. The original aviator design was by the iconic Ray Ban a former brand of the American company Bausch & Lomb. They were produced as a response to the US military's request for sunglasses protected pilots eyes whilst flying. Up until that point pilots had complained of headaches and eye strain from the glare while flying long distances.

When General Douglas MacArthur was photographed arrived in the Philippines wearing a pair of these Ray Ban glasses the craze took off with pilots particularly, hence the nickname 'Aviator' sunglasses. Pilots were particularly interested in the anti-glare properties of the glasses finding that those original Ray Ban aviators achieved this without reducing visibility.

The frame of the glasses was originally thin metal and the overall shape of the sunglasses has hardly changed over the convening 70 years with the classic oversize tear-drop lens never compromising eye protection from UV rays and glare. In fact the convex lenses are designed to cover the full range of the human eye preventing as much light as possible from getting through. The style looks equally good on men and women which can maybe account somewhat for the longevity of the product.

Oh and before we go, it would be awfully remiss to not mention that you can browse and buy a fine range of aviator sunglasses right here on this website, so you know the history, you know the style, now enjoy the look yourself!

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