Vintage Cat's Eye Eyeglass Frames

Not to awfully long ago, although time is relative, wearing eyeglasses was not a cool fashion statement to make. People who wore glasses were often thought of as nerds or geeks, or as super smart. People who needed corrective lenses, to be able to see and function, flocked to be the first to own contact lenses. The inventor credited with being the first to dream about and design contact lenses was none other than the greatest inventor of all time -Leonardo da Vinci in 1508. Click on The History of Contact Lenses, for a good review of the history of eyeglasses and eye wear. Suffice it to say though, today more than 90% of all persons needing corrective vision support use soft contact lenses.

For those divas who know how to make a fashion statement and an entrance, wearing vintage and retro cat's eye eyeglasses is a fashion accessory must have. A little known fact is...although most of us believe cat's eye glasses were invented in the 1950s and 1960s, not so. Cat eye rims were being worn by those setting the fashion trends as early as the 1900s.

If you are not familiar with what vintage cat's eye glasses look like, check out the photos accompanying this article and this website. You may have seen the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn. If so, you have seen cat's eye glasses; as she wore them in this movie. After the movie was released, every woman who saw it was interested in finding herself her own pair of cat's eye glasses.

Not only were vintage cat's eye frames made for typical use, they became very "in vogue" as sunglasses too. The artists designing cat's eye eyeglass frames went out on creative limbs making the loops at the end of the cat's eye large, swoopy, and adorned with rhinestones and other jewels. It seemed like there was a period of time when the more extreme the design and pizzazz, the more coveted the glasses were.

It appears vintage cat's eye eyeglasses are having a revival among the young and retro, and the memorabilia collectors of today. In a survey conducted by Essilor of America people were asked whether they felt wearing eyeglasses was a fashion accessory, almost 50% said yes. So, the jury is in - wearing eyeglasses is a fashion accessory today.

If you want to know how to find authentic vintage cat's eyeglasses, one excellent place to look is on E-Bay. At any given time, there are hundreds of vintage cat's eye eyeglasses listed for auction or included in sellers E-Bay stores. You can also Google vintage cat's eye glasses and be prepared for a wealth of websites offering to sell you their specialty eyeglasses from the 50s and 60s. One of the resources listed at the end of this article typically has up to 20 or more vintage eyeglasses from the 50s through 70s.

If you are searching for your own special look and fashion statement, don't hesitate to think about and check out vintage cat's eye eyeglasses. If you just can't go that extreme, there are many awesome vintage eyeglasses from the 70s and 80s you will see celebs like Johnny Depp and Elton John wearing.

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