White people love these Ray-Bans because they were very popular in the 1960s and the 1980s. This gives them a historical precedent and allows white people to classify them as “timeless.” That way when they purchase these sunglasses they can talk about how they were inspired by the fashion and music of these bygone eras. When a white person says this, you should just nod and mention how they look like young Johnny Cash, a dead Beach Boy, Audrey Hepburn or an extra from a John Hughes movie. This will make them happy and likely to give you their old, expensive sunglasses that you can sell for a significant profit.

I am tempted to say that since they’ve now been blogged in this manner, people seeking to be cool shouldn’t wear them anymore. But his argument – that white people love retro – goes for just about any of the styles talked about on this site, and, indeed, the entire concept of the site itself. Still, my Indian/British next door neighbor has a tortoiseshell pair and they look awesome. Make of that what you will.

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I’ve posted before about my purchase from Fabulous Fanny’s, but they deserve a whole post. An unassuming shop in the East Village of Manhattan that specializes in eyeglasses, they also sell antique glasses, including pince-nez, and various other eyewear oddities such as antique chains. They also have an excellent collection of vintage sunglasses. Some of their catalog tends toward the costume-y, and some of the frames aren’t vintage but rather new frames modeled after older styles.

If you’re not in New York, they also have an online store with a very wide selection.

They’re not opticians – the vintage frames are mostly sold without lenses (except for some of the antiques), and they sent me to Optical 88 in Chinatown to have my prescription added. However, they do offer services that a regular optician wouldn’t, like replacing missing parts from antique spectacles or the custom addition of rhinestones to your frames.

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For reasons that are pretty mysterious to me (who among us can know the vagaries of search engines?) I’m getting tons of traffic from people searching for Wayfarer sunglasses. I don’t own a pair myself, or even a knockoff – something about their skyrocketing presence turns me off – but I have to say that they look awesome on most people.

If you’re anything like me, and start shunning a style when knock-offs start seeming ubiquitous, maybe some lesser-known – but still classic – styles are worth investigating.

The Persol 714, for example, created 1957:

Persol 714

This style was made famous in the 1961 film “Divorzio all’italiana”, directed by Pietro Germi. Steve McQueen also wore them in the movie “The Thomas Crown Affair”.

Persol Sunglasses Ad from the 1990's

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Ray Ban designed these back in 1936, but many associate them with the 1970′s and 1980′s.

Today, of course, aviators are worn as much for fashion as for flying. The style is aggresively masculine, but both genders can wear them effectively to add a little “badass” to their image.

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If you’re looking for “Buddy Holly” glasses, those are also the Wayfarer style, but in black with clear lenses, worn as regular eyeglasses instead of sunglasses.

Today you can find knock-offs on every street corner, but why not have the real thing?

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2. Similarly, perhaps you don’t want them to see crows’ feet, dark circles, or pinkeye.

3. Put your hair up and look like Audrey Hepburn. Put your hair down and look like Jackie O.

4. Putting them on and taking them off can be honed into the perfect dramatic gesture with enough practice. I recommend working on this with the aid of a mirror.

5. Perhaps mosquitos won’t bite you if they think you’re a massive, frightening insect.

6. Even if the rest of your outfit is a tracksuit, they look pretty glamorous.

7. The bigger they are, the harder they are to accidentally leave sitting on a park bench.

8. Other people will see themselves reflected in the shades. Perhaps this will make them subconsciously like you.

9. If you’re The Terminator, they do a good job of covering up your frightening robot parts and lack of a soul.

10. And yes, they keep out the sun and harmful UV rays and blah, blah, blah.

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Retro Sunglasses

Since most vintage sunglasses are available only in very small quantities (and since you have literally decades worth of styles to choose from), it’s unlikely that you’ll see ten different knockoffs in mall kiosks, on department store racks, on your entire circle of friends and acquaintances… since the style will have that “not off the rack” look, it’s quite likely that people will ask where you got them, and being able to answer “they’re vintage, so they’re hard to find” is always a pleasure.

WhySince styles seldom come back in quite the same way, there’s always an element of dress-up or costume to vintage sunglasses that many people enjoy. I may never look quite like Audrey Hepburn, but if I can don a pair of massive shades and a black dress, I’m a good bit of the way there.

Unlike buying vintage eyeglasses or spectacles, which I’ll write about more in the future, sunglasses are fairly low-stress and low-commitment. Unless they’re prescription (and for most, they won’t be) you can slide them on and off at will. Save them for bright days and hangovers.

I’ve had quite a bit of success finding beautiful, unique pairs over the internet – which saves me from having to paw through a bin full of scratched-up lenses and bent temple arms. I’m looking forward to posting pictures of my favorites!

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